One take away point from these chapters is that although many scientific studies empirically demonstrate the effectiveness/positive of meditation practices on things like attention level, ability to focus, stress reduction, etc., and although people generally do not challenge these findings, a good portion of academics consider the integration of meditative practices into the classroom as "new agey" or "out there." Yet, both students and educators benefit from an attentive, focused, low-stress teaching environment.
I think those hesitant to integrate contemplative practice are well-intentioned, and want to ensure that the limited face-to-face interaction between educators and students is not "fluff."
So then, where contemplative practices are integrated into a class meeting, it should be thoughtfully done, with intention and purpose. Barbezat and Bush both give interesting and applicable examples from their respective fields of how they each have incorporated practices into their teaching in the subjects of social work and economics. I will give an example from my own experience.
I would not have called it a contemplative practice at the time, but now I realize that what I did was exactly the type of meditative practice encouraged by this book.
We were studying the music of Madagascar, and the piece of music on the syllabus that day was a fishing song from that country. Before listening to the piece, I asked the students to close their eyes and imagine they were a fisherman. I told them to imagine what it was like to be a part of that culture, to imagine what they would feel at the end of a long day that began before sunrise and ended after a day of hard manual labor out at sea. To think about what it would feel like to come home and pick up a kabosy. And then we listened.
I feel quite sure that framing the piece in such a way and asking the students to focus their attention prior to listening was a much more effective approach than simply rattling off facts about Madagasy music and then saying, "And now we will listen."
Another example in the book took place in an English Comp. classroom. The professor was faced with the challenge of teaching freshmen how to become effective writers. In one exercise, students were asked to free write, beginning each paragraph with the words, "Here and Now..." They were then to describe things which were going on in the moment.
I think this exercise could be adapted to most fields which require a term paper, particularly in freshman classes. Many of our students have never written a research paper, and they've never had someone show them to do it. Having just gone through 50+ topic proposals, one consistent problem I see is the use of passive language. There is an awful lot of has, had been, was and were going on there. I think spending a few minutes of class in a "Here and Now," exercise would be much more effective than saying, "And please refrain from using a passive voice in your writing." It is not unthinkable that many of my students may not know what that meant, anyhow.
Contemplative practices need not be fluff or new-agey. They can be focused, effective, and helpful in doing just what they've been scientifically demonstrated to be, and that is to create people who are attentive, focused, and engaged- and as a result more receptive. Who wouldn't want more of that in their classroom?
