A Moment of Silence

By: Chana Garelik and Melissa A. Kay

Walk into the halls of a preschool and we hope that you will hear gleeful noise. Silence is replaced by sounds of children at play. Sounds of children engaged with blocks, and toys, and stories, and exploration of the world around them. Sounds of children sharing excitement, frustrations, discoveries, and ideas.

A child’s day begins with noise…

the natural noise of the birds chirping. The more unnatural one of a parent’s alarm clock, and then the various beeps and rushes of a stove turned on or a toilet flushing…and the noises go on. When does the child have the time to listen to their inner noise? To their inner voice?

An updated article by Caroline Gregoire shares some of the ways that even brief moments without external noise, moments of silence, benefits the brain and the body. Additionally, to nurture the spirit of each child, Mother Teresa once said, “We need silence to be able to touch souls.” So, the benefits of silence make it seem like a good idea to ensure children are given a moment to begin their day with, and carry that focus with them throughout the day. But more than that, do we have the luxury of NOT providing that beneficial moment of silence for our children today?

A moment of silence…

allows for parents to share values for children to reflect on. It supports opportunity for parents to encourage children to think about positive ways to embark on their day and how they can care about others, how to use all they learn to benefit their classroom community, and ultimately, the community at large. That is education to foster kindness and caring. That is prevention, but prevention of what?

Turn on the news and there’s another school shooting. To hear it is heartbreaking, yet the more these shootings happen, the less shocked we become. Unless, of course, it happens at the school your child attends. When violence hits close to home, emotions find their way back to the boiling point. Parents struggle as they react with both primal anger and the uncomfortable acceptance that their child is never really safe, not even at school.

So, prevention of what?  Of the meanness, the dishonesty, the bullying, and the violence that tragically results from a lack of compassion -self-compassion and compassion for others.

Prevention…

It all starts with the recognition that we need to be accountable to something beyond ourselves. That we can start our day to focus with a moment of silence and allow all the moments to follow to be more reflective, more connected, and more caring. Certainly, more educational.

Esther Davis, a teacher and coordinator of the moment of silence at the PS 191 school located in Brooklyn, NY, said, “With all their electronic distractions kids are over-stimulated. This gives them a chance to slow down and think.”

It sounds idyllic or perhaps unrealistic. But looking through rose-colored glasses may be the first glimpse we need as young people to have a better chance of being secure in school. Can we teach our kids to stop and reflect about their actions? Can we teach them acceptance and inclusion and to embrace, rather than to ostracize? Not everyone will be friends. We all won’t “just get along.” But we can co-exist cordially, and respect other’s rights – and children need to be taught this notion as soon as they begin interacting with their peers. They need to be given the space to see beyond themselves.

This is an integral part of the approach to ending school violence. Will it do the job completely? Who can say? Can it help the younger generations become closer, more compassionate, and more attuned to classmates who need help? Seems like it. And that could be the start to one less “moment of silence” in another school -maybe the one where you just dropped off your child.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor and one whose birthday has been designated as Education Day USA, is a strong voice for implementing a moment of silence to start the day. “Knowing that school time is devoted to education, the child realizes that the moment of silence must be dedicated to the most important things in this life: his outlook on life, and his belief in the Creator and Ruler of the world: as per the instructions which his parents will give him.”

The power of a moment of silence…

is already recognized in a majority of states. So, take a moment and speak to someone at your child’s school, a local community leader, or even congress person and see how you can make sure that each day begins with the right ‘moment of silence.’