I don’t strike most people as warm and fuzzy. So when I talk about infusing gratitude and mindfulness into learning communities, many folks give me quizzical looks. I don’t look the type. I don’t sound the type. And yet I value such programs and support efforts to bring such practices into schools. As such, I have worked to create the Black Belt in Gratitude Program™ ( The BBG Program™).
The BBG Program
A year or so ago I sat in traffic listening to a book when the author mentioned that they were working on a “black belt in gratitude.” This phrase intrigued me. So as I negotiated the inhumanity of the 405, I wondered what it would take to turn the black belt in gratitude (BBG) into a practice for students to learn and teach mindfulness and gratitude in elementary schools.
Some, perhaps many, martial arts dojos weave gratitude or mindfulness into their teaching and some life coaches discuss black belts in gratitude. So, why can’t schools enact a program to combine the belt system in martial arts with gratitude and mindfulness programs? I think doing so would provide an engaging way to infuse much needed skills to assuage the myriad issues students face in school and beyond.
This article outlines a developmental program that embraces a progression of skills related to becoming a blackbelt in gratitude for students.
GRATITUDE IN EDUCATION
Learning flourishes in supportive and safe communities. Students who have supportive and safe classroom experiences learn more and perform better in school. One way to create a supportive learning environment that enables students to better engage in their learning is to foster gratitude within the social dynamic of learning..
This program creates a student centered approach to gratitude. Using a belt system model borrowed from martial arts, the BBG Program™ reflects a skill based approach for students to develop, practice, and teach gratitude in school. As students develop the skills at each level they will progress towards mastery. Each level will correspond to a specific color belt. At the beginner level students will explore and develop a range of ways to display their appreciation.
MINDFULNESS IN EDUCATION
Distinct but related to gratitude is mindfulness. The practice of being present, intentional, and still for moments throughout allows students (and teachers) the opportunity to check in with themselves and reboot their system so to speak. Mindfulness helps students address anxiety and stress (both on the rise in schools across America), improve social skills and emotional regulation. Mindful students may also be more inclined toward gratitude.
Students in the advanced levels of the BBG Program™ will practice mindfulness and support the efforts of their peers by teaching them and supporting their efforts to adopt the practice of mindfulness into their days.
THE BELT SYSTEM
While different types and schools of martial arts ay use slightly different belt system, for the purposes of this project, we will use the basic Dan Ranking System as developed for judo in the 1880s by Kano.The belt levels are:
Beginner Levels:
White
Yellow
Intermediate:
Orange
Green
Blue
Advanced:
Purple
Brown
Black
NOTE: in some systems a red belt exists before a black belt and in other systems it sits above black belt to indicate grandmaster status. For our purposes we will not use a red belt.
Within different levels a system exists to indicate progression within those levels. The progression from one level to the next (belt to belt) involves each student demonstrating competency in a range of skills as well as leadership within their community. This is not unlike the assessment system used in some schools to describe a student’s skill development. For example some schools use: Emerging, Developing, Proficient, and Mastery as their descriptors.
The academic descriptors, much like the belt, are designed to indicate where a specific individual stands in their journey towards mastery of a specific or a discrete set of skills. Belts like this assessment system do not mean a person has more worth than another person but that he or she is further along in their journey. Also, earning belts or grades is not a competition against one’s peers. The progression from level to the next reflects a transformation of self or the journey of an individual as they develop a range of skills.
To earn a new belt or move to the next level, students will sit with their teachers and present their knowledge and understanding while they describe their practice and experiences at their current level. If a student demonstrates mastery of the assigned skills, they will earn the next belt and begin their practice to master another level of skills.
CONCLUSION
Critics will argue that this type of program interferes with the real business of school. Some will even assert that mindfulness and gratitude reflect whatever extreme culture war agenda they have put forth as their latest bogeyman. To both criticisms I say, “hogwash.”
Academic development happens upon a foundation of social dynamics. Good grades and high test scores mean nothing if they happen at the expense of a student’s or community’s well being. The current mental health issues of students have resulted from an overemphasis on academic performance and a lack of supportive networks in our learning communities. To help students and support their efforts to negotiate the shifting sands of today and tomorrow we must shift our focus as educators to strengthen their sense of self by creating more supportive foundations on which every student can build their future.