Calm Dark Time - You Don't Know You Need It, But You Do

School is both a marathon and a sprint.  There are things that are happening in every class every moment of the day.  You are always preparing for a coming test or project, and there aren't enough days to spend time taking a moment to breathe.

Unless, that is, you teach a class where it is possible.  When I was the yearbook advisor, the work of completing the book wrapped up in mid-March.  After that, we had work to do for marketing and sales and some planning to do for the following year, but we certainly had a less hectic pace during the fourth quarter of the year, so once a week, we had something called "Calm Dark Time."  There is one set of lights on in the back of the room for those who might have something they want to read or work on, but they are also allowed to nap, play quietly on their computer, draw pictures, etc.  Basically, if it is calm, they can do it.

This actually started by accident.  There was a day I had a migraine headache and had turned half the lights in the room off during the previous class period.  When the staff came in, they said, "This is great.  Can we leave it this way?"  I was happy to keep the light stimulation on my still-hurting head low, so I agreed.  It was amazing how the low light in the room lowered everyone's volume and everyone's sense of pressure.  On the way out, I overheard students saying, "That was great.  I wish we could do that sometimes."  And so we did.

When I gave up the yearbook last year, I thought I might not ever again experience the glory of Calm Dark Time.  There aren't enough days in the year to take off a day in physics or middle school science.  But in giving up the yearbook, I took on another elective course - Middle School Study Skills.  It meets for a block on Tuesdays and a 44-minute class period every other Friday.  One week, our lesson was on the importance of rest for your brain, so I explained Calm Dark Time to them, and we did it.  I wasn't sure how this would go with 7th and 8th-grade students, but it was amazing.  There were moments when I almost forgot they were in the room.  Once again, they recognized its benefit.  On the way out the door, one of them said, "Wow, I really do feel better now" and one boy thanked me as he left.  I decided then that we would do it during each of the Friday periods, when they might need to unwind a bit from the events of the week and take a moment to just breathe.  I have also included it a little bit in my community-building period (35 minutes on Wednesdays) if I felt that they would benefit from some down time.  

A little rest time is supported by cognitive science, psychology, and biology.  It is also Biblical.  God modeled a day of rest.  Is it because He needed it?  No, of course not.  It is because he knew we needed it.  He wanted us to trust Him by putting our time of productivity on pause and allowing him to provide.  We live in a world that is very focused on information input and product output, but it has robbed us of time to reflect, integrate, and rest.  You may not be in a position to have a quiet class period of Calm Dark Time.  As I already said, I don't do this in my academically focused classes.  But, you might be able to pause for one minute and say, "Hey everybody, close your eyes.  Take a deep breath in.  Hold it.  Let it out.  Okay, let's get back to work."  That small moment could be exactly what the hippocampus in your students' brains needs.

Study Skills - MS