Earlier this year, I was asked to teach a graduate course on-line. Shortly after I agreed to teach Information Technology for Accountants, the pandemic hit.

When the time came to begin the course, I was eager to get back to work. I had taught classes online before, but, this time, I noticed something quite different about my students– they were all stressed. Weeks went by, but their stress levels were not getting any better. As a practiced meditator, I decided to try meditation techniques with my students to help rectify the situation.

One day, I asked them if they would like to start each class with a 10-15 meditation session. They quickly agreed. During these sessions, they closed their eyes, took deep breaths, and sat quietly. After meditating with them, my students were much more relaxed and ready to start the learning process. On a couple of occasions, when there was a lot of material to cover, I would attempt to skip the meditation. The students quickly reminded me that we missed a step in their learning that was important to them, and requested that we continue with the practice as part of their course. Meditation exercises have now become a part of our regular routine.

Although meditation proved to be helpful, I wanted to do something more to ease the minds of my students, so I offered opportunities for extra credit. The extra credit was a certification in QuickBooks, an accounting software used by you guessed it, accountants! I registered and created an instructor account with Intuit Education to make this possible for my students. They could then use this account to become certified if they chose to.

As an educator, it gave me great pleasure to not only teach my students information technology for accountants, but to also provide them with a sense of wellness. In addition, by choosing to partake in the extra credit opportunity, my students had the option to leave my class with a certification that would help them become more marketable in the workforce.

As the country continues to battle through COVID-19, we recognize that everyone is going through stressful times. As an educator, wife, mother and human being, I realize that we must be agile in tending to the needs of others. I hope this article inspires other educators to make changes to their teaching style; ensuring all students get the most from their educational experiences. These times are unique and difficult; we all must stand together to get through this!