Integrating SilencePracticesInto the

ClassroomThe Value of

Quiet

Cathleen Haskins

olitude and silence: Trappist Monk Thomas Mer-ton wrote about it, renowned Buddhist teacherThich Nhat Hanh teaches about it, Mother Teresa

spoke of it, spiritual guide and author Eckhart Tolleaddresses it, and Jesus spent 40 days in it. FromChristianity to Buddhism, Hinduism andQuakerism, silence has held particular significancein the search for human wholeness. Ancient sages,scholars, and philosophers have historically soughtout the refuge of solitude and silence. At the sametime, engaging in moments of silence or practicingperiods of solitude are not born of, nor do they be-long to, any particular religion, but are of a broaderspiritual nature. As we seek and work toward holis-tic education reform at all levels, we might considerthe value of creating learning environments that of-fer exercises in stillness and silence. Not the silence

commanded by a higher authority (adult), but thesi- lence that fosters inner peace, creativity, and

re-newal.

Most young children today are bombarded witha deluge of daily activity that are supervised byadults; their young lives are too busy for quiet time.They are rushed from one after school activity toanother, hurriedly shuttled off to summer classesand camps when they could be reading on a blanketunder a tree, gazing out a window, or sitting by astream no- ticing pebbles, twigs, tadpoles, or the

S

movement of the water. For these children, theslow, easy freedoms of childhood barely exist. Theyhave so little time for doing nothing, so fewopportunities to just be. Adolescents are growingup with technological in- novations that interferewith their ability and desire to know quiet andsolitude and to draw from the

2 ENCOUNTER: Education for Meaning and Social Justice

well of resources that private, silent experiencespro- vide. Technology is easy and portable; stashedin pockets and purses, tiny devices make every mo-ment an opportunity for communication with allthings external, suppressing the sound of theinward call.

We adults know that the sounds of silence arehard to find these days, all but replaced with asinking un- settledness, feelings of beingoverwhelmed, and an unconscious tendency to turnon the TV, radio, mu- sic, computer, or cell phonewhen we are alone. Our comfort with quiet hasgone missing, noise has be- come commonplace,and we are disconnected from our own innerresources.

If children, starting at a young age andcontinuing throughout their school years, were ableto experi- ence stillness and silent activities duringthe school day, might they be better equipped todraw on the benefits that silence and solitude offer?

How Silence and Stillness Benefits Children

Slowing Down

When I was teaching I had a handmade poster ina frame on a shelf that read, Dont just dosomething, sit there. Those words werent my own,but I liked the concept because the message signaleda shift in my productivity-centered paradigmtoward an un- derstanding of the value of balancingdoing and non- doing. The notion that non-actionmerits consider- ation is a radical departure fromthe commonly held belief that has taken deep rootover the last half cen- tury: that activity andproductivity are the true mea- sures of success.(Dont just sit there, do something!) Such an attitudepromotes busyness over restorative practices,efficiency over craftsmanship, and multitaskingover mindful presence and awareness. This is thesame paradigm that values output more highly thanfocusing inward, and intellectual prog- ress morethan inner growth. Carl Honore, author of In Praiseof Slow (2004, 14) writes,

Fast and slow do more than just describe a rateof change. They are shorthand for ways of be-ing, or philosophies of life. Fast is busy,control- ling, aggressive, hurried, analytical,stressed, superficial, impatient, active,quantity over quality. Slow is the opposite:calm, careful, re-

ceptive, still, intuitive, unhurried, patient, re-flective, quality over quantity. Its aboutmaking real and meaningful connections with peo- ple, cultures, work, food, everything.

I worked at a public elementary school in whichsome members of the faculty did not want benches,picnic tables, or other seating on the playground forthe children for fear they would just sit and donoth- ing. Can we come to see that simply being stillis ben- eficial in itself? How are the first flowers ofspring discovered, the fluid shapes of cloudsobserved, or the fragrance of dried autumn leavestaken in, if we are in constant motion?

It goes without saying that as long as our educa-tional system remains standards-based and main-tains a structure in which all students study thesame thing at the same time, there will be littleroom for practices that support pause, pondering,or for breath-based exercises. Teachers who arepersis- tently pressured to improve test scores willfind it difficult to honor slowness, stillness, andsilence.

In Waldorf and Montessori schools, however, thestructure and philosophy do allow for such activi-ties.

Transitioning and Renewing

Within traditional schools of thought, muchlearn- ing in early childhood education is based inplay, and it is thought that learning activities forolder stu- dents should be fun. In a Montessorilearning envi- ronment, the childs school activity isregarded (in a very positive way) as work, respectedand esteemed. There is something deeply authenticin valuing a childs school activity as purposefulwork. Fun may not be the word of choice todescribe a Montes- sori childs attitude toward herwork, rather she might express enjoyment oracknowledge feeling satisfied or inspired by herwork at school. It was Maria Montessoris (1972,104) firsthand observation that a child is oftenenergized by in-depth engage- ment work.

Children have instincts whose existence we didnot even suspect. They possess a surprisingfundamental instinct he wants to work. Thechild teaches us that work is not a virtue, notan effort that man is forced to make; it is notthe

Volume 23, Number 3 (Autumn 2010) 3

need to earn a livelihood. Work is fundamentalinstinct.

Imagine an early elementary classroom in which,as Montessori envisioned it, the children are free tochoose their work each day. This is possible whenthe classroom environment is prepared in such away that all options are meaningful learningactivities, and when from the earliest educationalexperiences the issues of choice and responsibilityare addressed. (The secret of successful choice-based classrooms is always in the preparedenvironment.) The student not only chooses whatshe will study, but where in the classroom she willsit, and whether or not to work alone. This level ofcontrol and choice fosters a deeper sense of purposeand the child becomes more deeply invested in herwork.

When a child has completed a project in whichshe has invested so much of herself, working withvigor and diligence for an hour or a full morningwork pe- riod, she may feel exuberant or excited inher accom- plishment. She may feel tired or like shehas lost her focus. A brief period of silence, somesimple breath- ing exercises, or a visit to the innerpeace area will provide an opportunity for the childto clear the mind, shift gears, and prepare a mentalspace to fo- cus on the work activity that is chosennext. In this way, a short time spent in a silence andstilling exer- cise becomes a successful tool fortransitioning from one activity to another.

Cultivating Concentration

The ability to concentrate deeply is necessary forany significant accomplishment that is undertakenin life. Higher levels of concentration make learningeasier, yet concentration is often elusive, interruptedby noise, either external or internal, most oftenboth. Who will argue that our world has gottenprogres- sively noisier as technology has advanced?Author Anne LeClaire spent two Mondays a monthfor five years in silence and suggests in her book,Listening Beneath the Noise (2009), that much of thenoise that invades our homes and communities is aform of vio- lence. Most people would think herassertion an ex- aggeration, yet for those who cometo know silence intimately, who practice it on adaily basis and who find shelter and calm withinthe folds of quietude, LeClaire speaks a truth.There are few remaining

sanctuaries of silence. Machines make our work eas-ier and faster, but they add a lot of noise to ourdaily living. Innovations for personal amusementassure that in our homes, vehicles, and backyardswe shall not be without entertainment, but at thesame time they distract and derail us. Thediversions we seek to fill would-be moments ofquiet have robbed our homes, neighborhoods, andcommunities of silence.

This is the world todays children know: nonstop,incessant noise. From the time they wake until thetime they go to bed children are immersed in exter-nal noise from things we take for granted, rarelythinking twice about washers, dryers, dishwashers,garbage disposals, coffee grinders, blenders, electrictoothbrushes, TVs, radio, music, and computers.Step outdoors and add lawnmowers, leaf blowers,snowblowers, and rototillers, not to mention trafficnoise, car alarms, aircraft, and trains. We entertainourselves with all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, andmotorboats. At the very least we should be awarethat we all live in a storm of noise that depriveschil- dren of knowing the beauty of silence. Theywalk around with ear jacks and cell phonespushed against their ears and they travel from placeto place in vehicles whose headrests have beenreplaced with monitors for movie viewing. Howcan they know si- lence? How can they growcomfortable in quiet? How can they cultivateconcentration?

However, in Montessori classrooms and otherslike them, children become familiar with the beautyof silence. Preschoolers learn that they have thepower to create silence, having experienced QuietlyBe! instead of Be Quiet! When students create a cli-mate of quiet during work time, they are cultivatingan environment that fosters concentration andatten- tion. Unlike many classrooms in which quietis com- pulsory, children take great pride in beingable to cre- ate a quiet environment. As a newMontessori teacher, I was initially puzzled how Icould create a learning environment that allowedfor a low level of noise an inherent part offreedom, movement, partner work, and discourse while at the same time securing a quiet placethat allowed deepened concentration and focus. Thestudents and I found that by designating a sectionof the classroom as a sa- cred, silent place forworking individually in silence and another area forworking with partners, both ele-

4 ENCOUNTER: Education for Meaning and Social Justice

ments could co-exist in the classroom. (This was aclassroom that consists of tables and areas with car-pet for floor work rather than a desk for each childand each child in his desk.) Through discussionsand experience the children came to value workinginde- pendently and began to understand thatsometimes working with a friend or in small groupsis the better choice, but at other times it is preferableto work in- dependently. Given opportunities,students will come to understand the positivepower of silence in developing strong habits ofconcentration and focus.

External noise is not the only barrier todeveloping concentration and attention; if the mindis cease- lessly chattering, silence is impossible.Imagine try- ing to read a science journal or a how-to book with an overactive mind. You are distractedinternally by rac- ing thoughts and you find thatalthough you have read a page, you really dontremember what youve just read. You either losesome of the informa- tion, or you must reread thepassage because your ac- tive mind interfered withyour ability to concentrate.

Can we talk with our students about this? Are weable to help them find ways to still the overactivemind so that they are able to experience the innerpeace of concentration and sustained attention? In-ner silence is the more difficult silence to cultivate;yet it is the more important. It is often difficult tosub- due external noise, but the silence of the mindis within our control. If our environment is quiet butour mind is chaotic, it is nearly impossible toachieve deep and lasting concentration. However,even when the external environment is noisy, if themind is free of incessant chatter one can focusdeeply on the activity at hand. Students want todevelop these inner powers; they simply need to begiven the proper tools and exercises to learn how tocontrol in- ternal noise. In this way students of allages can im- prove their own concentration andattention which can make learning easier.

Mindful Awareness and Presence

The practice of mindfulness has been getting agreat deal of attention recently, and has found itsway into classrooms across the country. My owninterest in mindfulness in the classroom has beenongoing over the past decade, and thoughconcentration and mindfulness often work together,for classroom pur-

poses I differentiate between them. Concentration isa single-point focus attentiveness, to the exclusionof all other thoughts or surrounding activity,whereas mindfulness, as described by Jon KabatZinn (1994,4) is

paying attention in a particular way: on pur-pose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. This kind of attention nurturesgreater awareness, clarity, and acceptance ofpresent-moment reality.

In silent mindfulness exercises students focus ontheir own breathing, learn to pay attention to thesen- sation in their bodies, and be more aware oftheir sur- roundings. Mindfulness is an experiencein slowing down, increased clarity, and heightenedsensory awareness.

For example, you may ask students to look aboutthe room for objects that are a specific color, say,blue. After they have had a few minutes to scan theroom, ask them to look for objects that are dark blue,next ask them to find light blue items. Continue onby changing the criteria: blue-gray, blue-green,blue-vi- olet, turquoise, or robins egg blue. Perhapsyou can ask students to be mindful of the color bluethrough- out the day, noting all of the differentshades of blue.

Mindfulness fine-tunes the senses in ways thatbring clarity and keener awareness of the worldaround and within. While the decades-old practiceof multitasking as a method for getting moredone has diminished our ability to see clearly andhas muddied the waters of tranquility, the slow,quiet practices of mindfulness allow full attentionand wakefulness to what is going on in the presentmo- ment.

Creativity

Early on I discovered that there is a direct correla-tion between quiet and creativity. In the space ofsilence, ideas can surface and connections can bemade. All distractions distort and ultimately de-stroy creativity, noise most of all. And, of course,

on the most basis level, silence is enormouslyrestful to both body and mind and that frees up

energy to create. (Anne LeClaire 2009)

Albert Einstein (2006) once said, I lived in soli-tude in the country and noticed how the monotonyof a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. We all,

Volume 23, Number 3 (Autumn 2010) 5

regardless of our age, need quiet time to mullaround ideas, contemplate and reflect, just asEinstein came to appreciate monotony. If creativityrises up when the mind is still enough for ideas andvisions to sur- face, then we need time to empty intosilence. When the surroundings are quiet and themind slows down, there is space available to lay outand organize thoughts and for new ideas to surfaceand be known.

Solitude, writes Bucholtz (1998)

is required for the unconscious to process andunravel problems. Others inspire us, informa-tion feeds us, practice improves our perfor-mance, but we need quiet time to figure thingsout, to emerge with new discoveries, to unearthoriginal answers.

Are we able and willing to consider the practicalvalue of silence for a child who simply needs time tothink? Or is the potential for wasted time likely tostop the teacher from exploring with her studentsthe meaning, value, self-discipline and trust that is anec- essary prerequisite for the freedom to createand re- fine ideas. Virginia Woolf (1927) wrote ofthe creativitysilence connection in her book, ToThe Lighthouse.

And that was what now she often felt the needof to think; well, not even to think. To be si-lent; to be alone. All the being and the doing,ex- pansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; andone shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to beingone- self. When life sank down for amoment, the range of experience seemedlimitless.

Becoming Calm

I was about ready to begin my second year as anelementary Montessori teacher, preparing my class-room on an August day when my principal stoppedin to inform me that a new student had beenenrolled in my classroom. This young boy, Ill callhim James, was entering as a third grader, andhad tried to kill himself only three months earlier.Al- though I was new as a Montessori teacher, I hadyears of experience working with children of allages in many different environments. Despite that, Iwas- nt sure how I could meet the needs of thislittle boy, wounded as he must have been.

I had just read Aline Wolfs (1996) book, Nurturing the Spirit of the Child, and it inspired me to create a peace area with a Japanese rock garden at the table. Since we were a small country school and my class- room was at the end of a short hallway, I made a quiet area directly outside the classroom door, wherea large window provided a view of the pastoralcountry setting beyond. On the wall I hung a peace-ful poster of a young child on the grass holding asmall bunny, and on a small wooden TV table Iplaced my homemade rock garden. I brought out awicker chest donated by a parent, upon which Iplaced a large, thriving philodendron plant.

It was a simple setting, but James, a tense, hesi-tant, distrusting child, was clearly drawn to it; heused it often, along with the other children. I sawhow raking the paths around the pebbles in therock garden calmed him. Sometimes he just satand looked out the window. At the end of the yearhe gave me a hand drawn picture of himself in theclass- room and across the top he had written, I lovethis class. I wish I could be in it next year. From thenon, I al- ways found a way to incorporate aquiet/peace area in my classroom.

Experiences in silence and stillness provide path-ways to easing stress and calming the mind andbody. Students often come to school bearing theweight of stress from the home environment andduring the day friendship issues, schoolwork frus-trations, and other worries add emotional distress.An inner peace area in which students can spend abit of time relaxing by themselves is needed to nur-ture the spirit of the child.

Creating Dedicated Inner Peace Place

Its not unusual to find a peace area in a Montes-sori classroom. A large space is not needed to createa place of inner peace. A chair by a low windowfunc- tions as well as a quiet corner in the room anda low room divider or shelf partitions can define apeace area. Furnish your inner peace place simply; acom- fortable chair and a small table will suffice. Ifyou are fortunate to be in a classroom with morespace avail- able, you can set it up to be used by twostudents at the same time. Again, if space allows,include a shelf for peace objects or activities. Aplant, fresh flowers,

6 ENCOUNTER: Education for Meaning and Social Justice

or other natural items add to the ambiance of yourclass peace area.

Students should have free access to the innerpeace place, but its helpful to give students ageneral idea of what is a reasonable amount of time.A small clock works for older children, but youngchildren might fare better with a sand timer.

Peaceful Quiet Activities

There are, of course different ways to set up anin- ner peace place. The simplest arrangement is atable where a peaceful activity is available. Twoexcep- tional activities are the tabletop Zen rockgarden and a Japanese brush painting activity.

With the Zen rock garden, even young childrencan arrange pebbles and create paths in the sandaround the pebbles with miniature rakes. The brushpainting activity involves making strokes on a spe-cial board with a brush dipped in water. After thechild has created a design on the board, he puts thebrush down to sit still and quietly watch the designslowly disappear.

The soothing rhythmic motion of a sand pendu-lum will also calm students as they silently observeits movement trace intricate patterns in the sand. Abattery-operated candle that changes colors, asandtimer, a water fountain, fishbowl, ant farm, pairof binoculars (if near a window), or a mandala peacering are all objects that encourage children andolder students to point their focus on an object tostill their bodies and quiet their minds.

It is worth considering setting aside a short timefor silence each day, during which students mightclose their eyes, daydream, sketch, write poetry, en-gage in yoga, or simply do nothing. I incorporatedthis idea into my classroom the last year I wasteach- ing. A teacher at a peace retreat shared itwith me and when I told my students about it theywere enthusi- astic about trying it. We did, and theyloved it!

Conclusion

Most children know silence only as an action de-manded from them, or as punishment from control-ling adults and teachers. They have been denied, byadults who have lost their own way in this noisyworld, the resources of quietude and contemplation.Yet, if we offer children opportunities toexperience

the sacred splendor of silence, they will receivewhat no textbook can offer access to his innerself, a place of wisdom, authentic power, andcreativity.

ReferencesBuchholz, E. The call of solitude. 1998. Available online at

www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199802/the-call- solitude

Einstein, A. 2006. The Einstein reader. New York: Citadel.Honore, C. 2004. In praise of slowness; How a worldwide move-

ment is challenging the cult of speed. New York:HarperCollins.

Kabat-Zinn, J. 1994. Wherever you go, there you are. New York:Hyperion.

LeClaire, A. 2009. Listening beneath the noise. New York:Harper.

Montessori, M. 1972. Education and peace. Chicago: Regnery.Wolf, A. Nurturing the spirit of the child. Hollidaysburg, PA:

Parent Child Press.Woolf, V. 1927. To the lighthouse. Richmond, Surrey: Hogarth

Press.