The Mindful Teacher (series on school reform)

As academic achievement becomes narrowed into a single-minded obsession with test scores, what possibilities remain for ethical, caring teachers to hone their craft and inspire their students with the joy of learning? In The Mindful Teacher, authors MacDonald and Shirley begin by articulating the prevalent problem of alienated teaching the kind of teaching that teachers perform when they must comply with external conditions that they feel do not serve their students well. As a solution, they propose mindful teaching the kind of teaching that is informed by contemplative practices and teacher inquiry. The authors identify key strategies that teachers can use daily to integrate more reflection and awareness into their busy classroom life. The seven synergies of mindful teaching are Open-Mindedness, Caring, Stopping, Professional Expertise, Authentic Alignment, Integration, and Collective Responsibility