"I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my daily mood that makes the weather." – Haim Ginott

 

As I walked to my classroom this morning I witnessed an intense conflict between members of the custodial staff. Everyone had gathered around as two custodians violently screamed at each other in Hindi. I could only make out every other word and as they yelled I noticed what happened in my body and how uncomfortable I felt especially in my stomach. It’s been awhile since I’ve been around that kind of anger. I went to my breath and began practicing tonglen, trying to take in their suffering and anger with my breath.

It’s common to forget the countless individuals that make schools possible from the custodians, to the bus drivers, to the cafeteria workers and many more—teachers, administrators, counselors, and admin staff can live in a bubble.  I wondered what the needs were behind their feelings of anger and wanted to step in but my Hindi isn’t good enough to communicate in a situation like this. I saw their Supervisor coming over and I looked at my watch and knew if I didn’t leave right then I’d be late for my students. As I mindfully walked to my classroom I remembered a quote placed at the top of this post from an article my dear friend, Linda Lantieri, founder of the Inner Resilience Program and author of “Building Emotional Intelligence” had sent last night on “How Teachers Can Build Emotional Resilience.”  The article cites research on the effectiveness of the Inner Resilience Program and defines emotional resilience as “how you roll with the punches, how you handle and adapt to stressful situations. Emotionally resilient people understand what they’re feeling and why. They persevere and believe that they are in control of their lives, and they are optimistic and believe in their own strength. They don’t see themselves as victims and see obstacles as challenges and adversity as something that will make them stronger. In addition, emotionally resilient people tend to surround themselves with supportive friends and family, have a sense of humor, and are connected to their spiritual side.”  

For me, mindfulness practice is the foundation for my “emotional resilience.” The violent conflict between custodians I witnessed this morning made me think about the importance of not just bringing mindfulness to students and teachers but to all members of the school community.