The Mindful Teacher

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 create a bold and original analysis of the pervasive 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 a multifaceted concept of"mindful teaching" that is informed by contemplative practices and collaborative teacher inquiry. The authors identify practical strategies that teachers can use to integrate more reflection and awareness into their busy, everyday classroom lives. Book jacket.