How My 4th Grade teacher Taught Mindfulness

I don't remember much about 4th grade. I can't remember my teacher's name or what we learned that year. I do remember the look of the classroom, sitting next to best friend, Lindsay, suffering through timed math drills, a field trip to the state's capital, and savorings.

Savorings were a special treat in class. About once a month or so, when we all had been well behaved or performed well on a test, our teacher would give us each a Hershey Kiss. She would turn off the lights, just leaving the dim glow of the emergency light, and have us sit on the floor. We closed our eyes and put the chocolate in our mouths and just sat quietly. We weren't allowed to talk, or giggle, or chew the chocolate. If we did, we were banned from future savorings. We were just supposed to sit and let the Hershey Kiss melt in our mouths, experiencing it, and savoring it.

As far as I know, my teacher never intended to teach meditation, or promote any certain spiritual practice. I don't even know that she intended to teach mindfulness. At least, she never said anything about any of those things. She just loved chocolate. As a kid I assumed she wanted to pass her love of chocolate on it us, give us a treat for being good, and that a couple minutes of quiet in the classroom was an added bonus to her as well.

But looking back as an adult, I can appreciate her lesson even more. First of all, she got 20 or 30-some nine-year-old kids to sit still and quiet, in the dark, with candy in their mouths. I don't know exactly how long it takes for a Hershey Kiss to melt, but it's not instantaneous. A teacher maintaining that level of quiet and calm for even a minutes deserves an award.

Also, I can now appreciate the savorings as a lesson in mindfulness. Our teacher would talk to us quietly as the chocolate melted, not so much about our breath or letting thoughts pass like clouds or anything like that, but about the taste and the texture of the chocolate. She got us to fully focus on the chocolate. I can't say that any one of us was meditating, but just in the piece of getting a bunch of children to allow the Hershey Kiss to melt all the way, without biting it, I know she taught us a good lesson in concentration and patience. In the piece of getting us to experience the chocolate fully, purposefully, and in the present moment, I also believe she taught us a good lesson in mindfulness.