It probably won't surprise anyone that I'm one of those new age type of folks. I'm all down for the yoga, meditation, and you bet your ass I have a collection of crystals and a penchant for the zodiac. And while this pretty much makes me like every other woman in her thirties with a liberal arts education, I do think it's an important part of my life.
And yeah, admittedly, I'm that asshole who asks if you've tried yoga when you start to complain about how your back hurts. Or if you've tried meditation to deal with your anxiety. Or if you want to hold my black tourmaline that I keep in my bra so maybe you can feel a little more grounded. So it comes as no surprise that I'm totally down with what this OKC special ed teacher is doing.
According to KFOR.com:
OKLAHOMA CITY - It's a basic reality for many teachers and students. Traditionally, when a student is disruptive in class, they're sent to the principal's office and some form of discipline will follow.
Well, this year, at Edgemere Elementary, the teachers and students will be trying out an alternative to the old forms of discipline.
Peace. It's not something you find often at an elementary school - but Joanna Eldridge said, at times, it's exactly what her students need.
"Meditation class was a response to a need to address mental illness in young children," she said.
Eldridge is a special education teacher at Edgemere Elementary. She said, sometimes, students act out or struggle in school because they don't know how to handle the cards they are dealt.
Well how about that! This is a pretty exciting thing, especially since healthy coping mechanisms are things that are rarely taught in schools. I hope this is a thing that we start to see in more local schools, and even in local workplaces.
Which gets me to thinking...wouldn't it be great if we could give our state legislators a bit of a time out every time they acted out? Wouldn't it be great to send lawmakers to a room in the capital where they could meditate every time they tried to insinuate that Oklahoma voters didn't understand what they were getting into? Or, what if, as a pre-emptive measure, we replace opening prayers with a moment of contemplative silence wherein our lawmakers can center themselves so that they're better able to make decisions? And you know, we do have a lot of lawmakers who, despite being paid professionals, waste a lot of time and money by pushing through legislation that's completely unconstitutional. So maybe they need some meditation time to clear their heads of bad ideas.
I mean, it would be great. But I don't have that much hope for adults, let alone for our lawmakers.
