Closing the School Year with Purpose: Mindful Rites of Passage

Send us a text

We explore how to end the school year with mindful intention and purpose by creating powerful rites of passage that help students recognize their growth, learn from challenges, and prepare for summer with confidence.

• Experiential mindfulness activity for you, the listener, to help all teachers acknowledge their own accomplishments, learn from challenges, and recognize personal growth
• Creating conscious endings for students that transform an academic year closing into a meaningful rite of passage
• Guiding students to re-contextualize mistakes and identify their new capabilities and responsibilities
• Helping students create summer support systems with identified go-to people for different needs (fun, advice, safety)
• Developing "streak buddies" and activity plans to maintain positive habits during unstructured summer time
• Teaching the balance of strong moral values while holding space for growth after transgressions
• Implementing simple celebration rituals that honor the journey shared between teachers and students

To learn more about these practices, visit innerstrengtheducation.org where you'll find additional resources and information about conscious classroom approaches.

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review!

Your review supports our podcast to reach more educators and share the importance of creating more conscious classrooms.

The Conscious Classroom was honored by Feedspot in their Top 100 Classroom Podcasts. We are committed to sharing insights that transform outlooks and inspire with what's possible.

Subscribe so you don't miss a single episode!

Visit Inner Strength Education for more on the great work of the Conscious Classroom.

Want to train to teach mindfulness, compassion, and systems thinking to students? Courses are available at The Conscious Classroom.

Get your copy of the award-winning, bestseller The Conscious Classroom: The Inner Strength System for Transforming the Teenage Mind.

Episode Transcript

Amy (00:10):
Welcome to the Conscious Classroom podcast, where we're
exploring tools and perspectivesthat support educators and
anyone who works with teens tocreate more conscious,
supportive and enrichinglearning environments.
I'm your host, amy Edelstein,and I'll be sharing
transformative insights andeasy-to-implement classroom
supports that are all drawn frommindful awareness and systems

(00:32):
thinking.
The themes we'll discuss aredesigned to improve your own joy
and fulfillment in your workand increase your impact on the
world we share.
Let's get on with this nextepisode.
Hello, my name is Amy Edelstein.

(00:55):
Welcome to the ConsciousClassroom podcast.
I can't hardly believe it, buthere we are at the year's end
yet again.
Somehow, those long days ofFebruary have passed, and here
we are in June.
School will be out in a fewweeks, and the summer, though

(01:22):
welcome, welcome will also passquickly.
In this podcast, I want to talkabout ending the year well.
How to end the year well, howto support your students with
the contemplative practices thatwe've been doing all year in
order to create that sense of areal rite of passage order, to
create that sense of a real riteof passage of accomplishments,

(01:47):
of resolutions, of growth andmoving on.
And let's start with a shortpractice ourselves, to drop into
that experience of completion,recognition of growth and
acceptance.
So take your best mindfulnessposture.

(02:12):
If you're driving, then pleasejust pause and wait and do the
meditation at some other time.
And do the meditation at someother time and allow yourself to
really sink in, no matter howbusy you are, how much is on

(02:39):
your to-do list.
Just, metaphorically, close allthe doors to your meditation
space, surround yourself with afield of stillness and depth and
dimensionality, purpose andpotency.
As you settle in, rest in yourheart, letting your shoulders

(03:25):
drop, letting the muscles ofyour face soften, allowing the
breath to be an anchor andcreate stillness and calm, let

(03:51):
your attention shift from yourthoughts and feelings and
sensations to that field ofknowingness, that expanse of
awareness, that bigger contextin which you situate your life,

(04:23):
allowing yourself to see fromall directions without moving or
straining or stretching.
And now, as you rest here,bring to mind three things that

(04:43):
you did well this year, thingsyou created, relationships that
you navigated, situations yousupported, students you inspired

(05:20):
.
Allow that objectiverecognition.
Come to the forefront of yourexperience, feel a smile on your
face as you remember whatyou've done well and the

(05:45):
positive pride andacknowledgement, while you
remain humble, finding thatperfect balance so that all of

(06:07):
the momentum of the things youdid well can continue to nourish
you and support you and giveyou strength.

(06:31):
And now shift your attention towhat you learned this year,
situations that maybe weren't sosmooth, where your emotional

(06:55):
stability was a little morerocky than you'd wish.
Recognize how you came throughin the end and how you might be
able to let go of fear, conflict, guilt, shame, anger,
resentment sooner.

(07:17):
How you can center yourself inyour trust for yourself so that
if you tip off balance, youright yourself more quickly,

(07:44):
remembering those childhood toys, the weebles that wobble and
don't fall down.
Notice how you can let gosooner Out of care for yourself

(08:07):
and the whole situation and howyou're getting your fingers all
sticky with conflict doesn'thelp in the end in the end.

(08:30):
And how, even if you have toengage in disagreement that
creates friction because ofvalues, because of greater care,
you can do so with an openheart.
Allow those learnings to seepinto you so that they become

(09:03):
your own, and when you start thenext school year you'll be
starting from a different level.
And in this final part of ourthree-part contemplation,

(09:30):
reflect on where you grew, likechildren who grow out of their
shoes, who grow taller thantheir pants, who stretch beyond
the shoulders of their shirts,beyond the shoulders of their
shirts.
We also grow out of limitedways of seeing, limited

(10:00):
assessments of our skills,limited beliefs in what's
possible.
As the meditation keeps youanchored and steady, where did

(10:22):
you grow?
How have you become a more fullperson?
What have you learned?
What have you left behind?
What old ways of thinking andfeeling and responding simply no

(10:48):
longer fit, so that you'retruly a different person than
you were before.
On the next few breaths, allowyour breath to deepen, filling

(11:22):
your whole body, oxygenatingyour cells and letting the
breath carry with it that deeperand wiser self, letting your
whole body adjust andinternalize and coalesce around
your accomplishments.
And on your next two breaths,really exhale any residual

(11:57):
self-doubt, any lack ofresolution, any insistence that
you're not ready to leave behindthose things that no longer fit
.
And now we can bring ourattention back.

(12:22):
Thank you.
As educators teachers in and outof the classroom we're often
looking at what we could do more.
We're often working hard tocatch up of self-reflection,

(12:50):
internalization and ownership ofour own growth and development
are an essential, foundationalpart of our teaching.
Our ability to continuallyrenew and inspire gets
transmitted from our ownconstant renewal and inspiration

(13:12):
.
Growth and learning inspires.
Whether other people see it ornot, we become inspired.
We pay attention to that edge,that frothy edge that is always
bringing forth intimations ofgreater degrees of happiness,

(13:37):
positivity, optimism, wholeness,goodness, creativity, love.
The purpose of self-review isnot to go over what wasn't done
well, it's to internalize thelessons learned without further

(14:09):
judgmentalism.
And when we do that, then wecan embrace this graduation

(14:34):
sense of rite of passage Reallylooking at what are the
accomplishments that they'vemade, having them draw or create
a vision board, anaccomplishment board board, an
accomplishment board, using thecontemplative practice to do

(14:55):
that mindful breathing and toidentify where they feel
stronger and identifying, whenthey remember their
accomplishments, how that landsin the body, how that makes them
feel tall from the inside, andhow students practice this art

(15:27):
of recontextualizing mistakes.
Even if a student needs to goto summer school, even if they
need to repeat a grade, soimportant that they embrace that
from a position of strength,openness, possibility, letting
go of disappointment, letting goof embarrassment, what are the

(15:55):
new capabilities andresponsibilities that they have
now that they're older, thatthey've graduated their grade?
Get them to list them andacknowledge to the class what's
the next step after where theyare now, and you can do this as

(16:17):
you go from fourth to fifthgrade and, equally, do it as you
go from 11th to 12th grade.
Can they vote?
Can they drive?
Can they work?
Do they have deeperresponsibility around the house
for a job, for college?
How did they grow into thosenew capabilities and

(16:42):
responsibilities and get them toarticulate?
How will they show anddemonstrate this new stage of
capacity?
You can do timed sessions ofmindful contemplation and then

(17:08):
timed sessions of identifyingthese things.
And then timed sessions ofidentifying these things, and
especially the sharing out infront of the class, can help
them internalize lessons learned, even for the shyest ones.

(17:31):
And as they go into their summerwith its openness, have each
student create a little bookletdecorated on their phone in
their notepad, so it's alwayswith them, or a physical one,

(17:52):
that they then take a picture ofwho are their go-to people for
the summer?
Who do they want around themfor fun?
Who do they want around themfor advice?
Who do they want around themfor play?
Who do they want around themfor play?

(18:13):
Who do they want around themfor encouragement?
Who do they want around them tofeel safe?
Who do they want around themwhen they need help.
Make sure each student goes intothe summer not feeling adrift

(18:34):
and fearful of no structure, butfeeling that they have that
sense of support.
And then have them make asecond little kit, which is what
are they going to do for fun?
And especially get somepromises for what to do around

(18:59):
boredom, how to stay off socialmedia, what new friends do they
want to make?
Is there a hobby or art thatthey want to do, and where are
they going to do that specialactivity?
Do they have a spot on theirback porch or in a corner of
their room, or do they go to therec center for it?

(19:22):
Challenge them to have somestreak buddies.
Maybe those streak buddies arefor exercising every day, being
outside, learning a new language, doing art, doing something fun

(19:42):
, making the most of their time.
They can come up with a littleemblem and they can share that
emblem with their friend andfigure out how they're going to
track their streak and timecounts for when they make sure
that they've been outside andplayed or learned something or

(20:09):
made art or made music.
And again bring them into theircontemplative practice, bring
them in with a thought bubble ofall the doubts or fears that

(20:29):
they want to let go of all theconcerns and shame from the past
year, of things they didn't dowell or times they got in
trouble or quizzes that theydidn't succeed at.
Allow them to let that all goand remind them that the

(20:51):
learning from mistakes can bewith them for the rest of their
lives Learning that they neededto study more instead of going
out with friends or scrolling onsocial media.
Learning that they like to readinstead of waiting to the last
minute to read that English book.

(21:13):
Learning that they can make newfriends if an old friend moves
away.
And then, finally, to reallycement their rite of passage,
have them write an essay orcreate a poem, even a fun one, a

(21:36):
limerick or a haiku or a spokenword.
What are their commitments andpromises now that they've grown
and learned?
What are their commitments tothemselves, what are their
commitments to their friends,what are their commitments to

(21:56):
their family and community, andwhat are their commitments to
the world as a whole?
Children can think about theirrelationship to the whole world,
how they want to walk softly onthe earth, how they want to

(22:17):
care for the creatures in thenatural world the trees and the
flowers, the animals, the birds,keep expanding their field of

(22:43):
care and do a nice long love andkindness practice caring for
their school community, adultsand youth, caring for themselves
through success and littlebumps, caring for their
communities in specific ways andcaring for the world as a whole

(23:08):
ways.
And caring for the world as awhole, young people can develop
a deep sense of morality, ofright and wrong and as teachers

(23:34):
of contemplative practice, wewant them to be able to have
that strong ethical frameworkwhile holding the dichotomy
loosely.
So young people can also becomevery righteous and they can
hold grudges for slights andthose grudges, sadly, in this
day and age, can escalate withsocial media and with the

(23:57):
availability of weapons.
So let's be real about theseriousness of teaching our
students how to have a deep,deep moral center and yet how to
hold out the possibility forchange for someone who is

(24:17):
transgressed.
Through the contemplativepractice you can teach.
Just as we have grown andlearned from our stumbles and
mistakes, we wish you to growand learn from your mistakes,

(24:41):
emphasizing the possibility ofconstant growth and change.
And as we grow and change,we're no longer the same person
who made that mistake.
So teaching them really thescience of human development.
So we're not just asking themto not hold a grudge, which is

(25:06):
very hard to do, when we're alsoasking them to develop their
sense of right and wrong.
Put time and thought into yourconscious endings.
Have celebrations, have food,have fun and, as much as

(25:29):
possible, connect with each andevery student.
You've been through somethingtogether and the summer break
marks an ending of that period,even if you have the same
students next year.
This year has come to a close,students next year.

(25:53):
This year has come to a close,making a conscious ending of it,
really reinforcingintentionality, focus,
directionality, so that thestudents are always learning.
They're always learning fromeverything that happens and
every moment that happens andevery marker and bookend.
You're elevating theirexperience, creating a book of

(26:19):
life for them, and through thatthey're going to learn not just
how to navigate this transitioninto the next grade, but they're
going to learn how to navigatetransitions which really seem to
be so hard for adults.
In our culture.

(26:42):
People are very afraid of change, in part because we don't have
markers and ritual and lifepassage.
Put some time and thought andcreativity into creating this
rite of passage as you come tothe end of the year.

(27:03):
It's not too late, even if yourstudents finish next week, you
don't need fancy equipment orslide decks or preparation.
Bring your heart to it, bringyour care to it, care to it and

(27:26):
put time into allowing thestudents to learn the lessons of
life that they've passedthrough over this year and to
make the most out of their timethat they spent with you.
This will help them rememberyou, it will help imprint a

(27:55):
positive memory of yourclassroom onto them and as that
happens, you can also reallyfeel your own sense of
accomplishment deepen as you seehow much they've changed and
grown and learned and how proudthey are of the journey they've

(28:15):
been on.
Thank you for listening to theConscious Classroom.
I'm your host, amy Edelstein.
Please check out the show noteson innerstrengthfoundationnet
for links and more informationand if you enjoyed this podcast,
please share it with a friendand pass the love on.
See you next time.