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What do you think is a better way to influence and change bad behavior? Is it punishment or meditation?

One Elementary School Makes a Change

At most elementary schools, bad behavior lands you in the principal’s office. Not at Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in West Baltimore, though. No, staff there handle troublemakers a little differently.

Instead, at Robert W. Coleman, kids who misbehave get sent to the “mindful moment room” – a relaxing environment filled with soft cushions and pink Himalayan salt lamps. Yes, a nice place for reflection and, dare we say it, meditation.

It’s all thanks to an initiative from the Holistic Life Foundation. HLF is a non-profit organization founded by Andres Gonzalez and brothers Atman Smith and Ali Smith, all of whom grew up in West Baltimore.

After a successful after school program, HLF launched their efforts at Robert W. Coleman ES out of a desire to provide kids from the crime-ridden area with healthy coping strategies for stress and anger.

Image: The Rockefeller Foundation meditation elementary school

Image: The Rockefeller Foundation

Apparently it was working, too. In the 2013/2014 school year, the school handed out a grand total of zero suspensions.

“Instead of the students fighting or lashing out, they started to use words to solve their problems,” said Ms. Thompson, principal at Robert W. Coleman (see video below).

As an added bonus, according to Andres Gonzalez, kids are even taking their meditation skills with them when they leave school.

“We’ve had parents tell us, ‘I came home the other day stressed out and my daughter said, Hey mom, you need to sit down. I need to teach you how to breathe,'” Gonzalez said.

Mediation Galore

Thanks to the Holistic Life Foundation, kids at Robert W. Coleman also start each day with breathing exercises conducted over the PA system. As of 2018, 85 kids enrolled in the extracurricular yoga classes, also provided by Holistic Life Foundation. When choosing kids for the program, staff focused on those with anger issues and/or low self-esteem.

“The after school program is benefiting the school in tremendous ways,” said Ms. Thomas, a teacher at Robert W. Coleman. “I know for a fact that the services they’re providing to the students helps them calm down.”

Seriously, you’ve got to check this out for yourself. Have a look at the video below.

In this article, we discuss 5 reasons all kids need to meditate in school!

Be sure to let us know what you think of this in the comments below! And don’t forget to share this post.