Prof. Dennis Shirley (LSOE) with his Mindful Teacher co-author, Boston Public School teacher and adjunct BC faculty member Elizabeth MacDonald. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
Giving Teachers a Peace of Mind
Lynch School of Education’s Shirley co-authors book offering advice, strategies for stressed-out educators
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A Boston College professor and a Boston Public Schools teacher have co-authored The Mindful Teacher, a book that offers a new strategy to help overburdened teachers resolve the pressures that are driving them out of the classroom.The book is based on the success of The Mindful Teacher leadership and support seminars developed for Boston teachers by Lynch School of Education Professor Dennis Shirley and Elizabeth MacDonald, a 14-year veteran Boston teacher and adjunct faculty member at BC.
The co-authors say there’s a better way to support overwhelmed teachers. It starts by talking with colleagues about the daily challenges inside and outside the classroom and draws on the use of small group discussions, journal writing, research-proven strategies and even a little meditation.
Shirley emphasizes that there are no quick fixes in the effort to retain good teachers.
“Mindful teaching is not a program that can be purchased, a recipe that can be followed, or a silver bullet that can be fired into your instruction to raise your test scores,” he says. “It is a form of teaching that is informed by contemplative practices and teacher inquiry that enables teachers to interrupt their harried lifestyles, come to themselves through participation in a collegial community of inquiry and practice, and to attend to aspects of their classroom instruction and pupils’ learning that are ordinarily overlooked in the press of events.”
The Mindful Teacher is based on the observation that the pressures on classroom teachers have become so great that few teachers are able to find time to reflect on their successes and failures in the company of their fellow teachers. Mindfulness is a term that is used in a variety of forms in different philosophical and religious traditions. Shirley and MacDonald use the term to denote heightened awareness of the choices that teachers make and their consequences for pupil learning.
MacDonald says teachers – particularly those working in urban schools – face numerous pressures that make teaching today harder than ever.
“The measures of accountability forcing teachers to constantly look at data to improve their numbers, the greater expectation to serve on multiple committees within and outside of their school, the frequent changes of curriculum and district mandates along with meeting the emotional, linguistic, cultural and academic needs of their children and families have contributed to the professional burnout of teachers today,” MacDonald says.
Mindful Teacher workshops are where a teacher’s voice is heard and their leadership is fostered, nurtured and supported, say Shirley and MacDonald.
Initiated through a grant from the Lynch School’s Boston Collaborative Fellows Program, The Mindful Teacher is a way to address “alienated teaching” – the kind of teaching performed under external pressures that can range from policy changes to union politics to street violence in the school community.
Overcoming alienated teaching calls for “mindful teaching” that helps teachers lead themselves, their schools and their students to a more satisfactory and successful classroom experience.
Former Boston Public Schools Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant offered advance praise for the book: “In The Mindful Teacher, Elizabeth MacDonald and Dennis Shirley show that even the best of reforms require a distinctive blend of professional expertise and ongoing reflection if they are to reach their full potential. This book provides powerful evidence of the benefits of authentic school and university partnerships. The Mindful Teacher will be treasured by educators everywhere.”
The co-authors will celebrate the release of the book on Nov. 21, from 1-4 p.m. at Rocca, 500 Harrison Avenue, in Boston’s South End.
For additional information about The Mindful Teacher, see the website www.mindfulteacher.com