Paper #3 rough draft Mindfullness

1st rough draft of 3rd paper
   Patricia Riley

 

Mindfulness.  What comes to mind when one says that word?  Merriam-Webster defines being "mindful" as "aware of something that may be important.” Wikipedia has several definitions of this theory, one of which is “Mindfulness as a psychological concept is the focusing of attention and awareness, based on the concept of mindfulness in Buddhist meditation."  One of the first qualities a teacher must instill in her students is the ability to focus their attention.  There are studies that show that the ability to focus and redirect or re-center oneself would greatly enhance the educational experience of students.  To introduce “mindfulness” as part of the school curriculum beginning with kindergarten would only prove to be one of the best investments for students and teachers alike to enrich the learning experience as well as teaching better coping skills to kids to use in their private lives.

 

“Kindness, caring, empathy, being able to de-center from your own point of view and listen deeply to others—these are values that should be cultivated in our classrooms,” says Mark Greenberg, director of the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State University.  This is a quote found in an article written by Barry Boyce called “A Real Education, A Mindful Society” on the Shambhala Sun website.  These values can be developed beginning in kindergarten.  Taught correctly this method has the capability of providing a solid foundation for students to learn to handle stress and conflicts in a more constructive manner as well as teaching them how to focus to be more effective students.  Students, as well as gaining the ability to more calmly and rationally interact with their peers and teachers, will be able to use what has been learned in school when they are surrounded by family and the natural stressors that come with being part of that unit. 

 

When children are taught mindfulness as part of the curriculum, they acquire the ability or knowledge of how to step back from an issue and to more thoughtfully look for a solution.  Boyce tells in his article, 'One of the practices they use is the turtle. “We tell a story about a little turtle who has lots of problems,” he [Greenberg] says. “The turtle sometimes gets very sad or very mad, but then the turtle goes into her shell, where it’s very quiet and she can take some deep breaths and calm down and think, ‘What’s going on with me? How am I feeling?’"  Greenberg continues to describe how the children are taught to recognize when they need a break and so when the child is prompted to "do the turtle" she will consciously be able to calm herself. 

  bell hooks writes that “Students do not become critical thinkers overnight.  First, they must embrace the joy and power of thinking itself.”  While the purpose of mindfulness is to still the mind, it also readies the student to begin or continue the “joy and power of thinking itself”.  In learning to meditate and becoming mindful than one would naturally open their consciousness to a freer flow of thought. 

 
John Gattos recommendations are well worth mentioning:  “help your own (children) to develop an inner life so that they’ll never be bored.”  “Challenge your kids with plenty of solitude so that they can learn to enjoy their own company”.  Meditation and becoming mindful are  an essential component in putting children in the zone where they can better appreciate having a bit of solitude in their hectic day.

 
One of the many benefits of learning and using mindfulness is the potential that the student will become more successful in school and out.  Mindfulness encourages self-control.  According to an article written by Jerry Large in the Seattle Times “Grit is one of the characteristics of successful people. Here’s a list of the others: self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity.”  I would offer the suggestion that all of these characteristics are further enhanced by the use of mindfulness in the pursuit of a successful education.  

 
Another advantage to teaching and using mindfulness is that there is less disruption when students have learned to be mindful of their environment.  Part of learning mindfulness is becoming more aware of the impact each person has on their surroundings whether it is their behavior in class or at home.   When a student is disruptive the teacher must take time away from the rest of the class to deal with his/her misbehavior.  The focus is taken off the class and put on that one student.   This takes up valuable teaching time for both teacher and student.  When children learn to handle their negative and sometimes destructive behaviors in a calmer manner they are less likely to act out and cause a distraction to the rest of the class which in turn would actually reduce the amount of wasted class time. 

 
The costs of implementing mindfulness are actually not prohibitive.  There are grants that are available from the US Department of Education and resources are becoming available to teach the teacher as well as the students.  Various private institutes and foundations are currently working with some schools in the eastern United States implementing yoga techniques in schools  and studying its effectiveness.  Also as Coach Webb demonstrated in the movie Chalk, the time commitment needed to incorporate mindfulness or yoga practices is no more than any other lesson plan.  She merely substitutes yoga for other activities in her Physical Education class.   A few minutes at the beginning of the school day would be ample time to learn and then practice on a daily basis the calming techniques needed for a successful day. 

 

To be an effective tool, mindfulness would necessarily be, at least introduced to the families of children.  The National Institute on Drug Abuse recently gave a grant to the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State University to follow the effectiveness of a seven week program given to parents to teach them better parenting skills.  The program focused on teaching parents to be more aware of their childrens actions and reactions and asked the parents to recall their own experiences when dealing with the daily struggles as well as the successes of their children.

 

There are many concepts that are useful and necessary to aid in the acquisition of a great education.  Mindfulness, critical thinking, grit, and others are all important ideas for students to apply to their lives.  A solid foundation in one the most useful and needed concepts is the ability to be aware, to be conscious, to be mindful, and to even be peaceful.   As the Dalai Lama says, “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.
Dalai Lama



 

 

 

 

                                                                  Works Cited

 

 

Boyce, Barry.  “A Real Education”(The Mindful Society).  Shambhala Sun.  May 2012.  Web Dec. 3, 2013

 

hooks, bell.   Teaching Critical Thinking Practical Wisdom.  Routledge.  Sept. 19, 2013 Print

 

Large, Jerry.  “Gift of Grit, curiosity help kids succeed”.  SeattleTimes.com Sep. 23, 2013 Web Nov. 25, 2013

 

Chalk. Dir. Mike Akel. Perf. Troy Schremmer, Janelle Schremmer, Shannon Haragan.  Somedaysoon Productions. 2007 DVD

 

Gatto, John. “Against School” wesjones.com. Harpers Magazine.  Sept. 2003

Web Nov. 12 2013

 

Wikipedia.  Mindfulness (psychology) Nov.19, 2013

 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  Mindful.  Dec. 12, 2013

 

Works Cited updated rough draft only

             
Works Cited

 

 

Boyce, Barry.  “A Real Education” (The Mindful Society).  Shambhala Sun.  May 2012.  Web.         3 Dec. 2013.

 

hooks, bell.   Teaching Critical Thinking Practical Wisdom.  Routledge.  19 Sept. 2013.   Print.

 

Large, Jerry.  “Gift of Grit, Curiosity Help Kids Succeed”.  SeattleTimes.com 23 Sept. 2013.   Web.   25 Nov. 2013.

 

Chalk. Dir. Mike Akel. Perf. Troy Schremmer, Janelle Schremmer, Shannon Haragan.  Somedaysoon Productions. 2007.  DVD.

 

Gatto, John. “Against School” wesjones.com. Harpers Magazine.  Sept. 2003.

Web.  12 Nov. 2013.

 

Wikipedia.  Mindfulness (psychology) Web.   19 Nov. 2013.

 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  Mindful.  Web.  12 Dec. 2013.

Mindfulness. Final Paper #3

                                                                                     Patricia Riley

 

Mindfulness.  What comes to mind when one says that word?  Merriam-Webster defines being "mindful" as "aware of something that may be important.” Wikipedia has several definitions of this theory, one of which is “Mindfulness as a psychological concept is the focusing of attention and awareness, based on the concept of mindfulness in Buddhist meditation."  One of the first qualities a teacher must instill in her students is the ability to focus their attention.  There are studies that show that the ability to focus and redirect or re-center oneself would greatly enhance the educational experience of students.  To introduce “mindfulness” as part of the school curriculum beginning with kindergarten would only prove to be one of the best investments for students and teachers alike to enrich the learning experience as well as teaching better coping skills to kids to use in their private lives.

 

“Kindness, caring, empathy, being able to de-center from your own point of view and listen deeply to others—these are values that should be cultivated in our classrooms,” says Mark Greenberg, director of the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State University.  This is a quote found in an article written by Barry Boyce called “A Real Education” on the Shambhala Sun website.  These values can be developed beginning in kindergarten.  Taught correctly this method has the capability of providing a solid foundation for students to learn to handle stress and conflicts in a more constructive manner as well as teaching them how to focus to be more effective students.  Students, as well as gaining the ability to more calmly and rationally interact with their peers and teachers, will be able to use what has been learned in school when they are surrounded by family and the natural stressors that come with being part of that unit. 

 

When children are taught mindfulness as part of the curriculum, they acquire the ability or knowledge of how to step back from an issue and to more thoughtfully look for a solution.  Boyce tells in his article, 'One of the practices they use is the turtle. “We tell a story about a little turtle who has lots of problems,” he [Greenberg] says. “The turtle sometimes gets very sad or very mad, but then the turtle goes into her shell, where it’s very quiet and she can take some deep breaths and calm down and think, ‘What’s going on with me? How am I feeling?’"  Greenberg continues to describe how the children are taught to recognize when they need a break and so when the child is prompted to "do the turtle" she will consciously be able to calm herself. 

 

bell hooks writes that “Students do not become critical thinkers overnight.  First, they must embrace the joy and power of thinking itself.”  While the purpose of mindfulness is to still the mind, it also readies the student to begin or continue the “joy and power of thinking itself”.  In learning to meditate and becoming mindful than one would naturally open their consciousness to a freer and possibly more objective flow of thought. 

 

John Gattos recommendations are well worth mentioning:  “help your own (children) to develop an inner life so that they’ll never be bored.”  “Challenge your kids with plenty of solitude so that they can learn to enjoy their own company.”  Meditation and becoming mindful are  an essential component in putting children in the zone where they can better appreciate having a bit of solitude in their hectic day.  What children are learning today is that they always have to be engaged in some activity in addition to school.  Parents dart back and forth between music lessons, sports practice and games and various other social engagements all in an attempt to keep the child active and busy.  It’s no wonder everyone is so stressed and frazzled.  A few minutes a day to clear the mind and regroup in a thoughtful manner may just be the prescription for maintaining some sanity in an otherwise crazy world.

 

One of the many benefits of learning and using mindfulness is the potential that the student will become more successful in school and out.  Mindfulness requires self-control.  According to an article written by Jerry Large in the Seattle Times “Grit is one of the characteristics of successful people. Here’s a list of the others: self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity.”  I would offer the suggestion that all of these characteristics are further enhanced by the use of mindfulness in the pursuit of a successful education.  

 

Another advantage to teaching and using mindfulness is that there is less disruption when students have learned to be mindful of their environment.  Part of learning mindfulness is becoming more aware of the impact each person has on their surroundings whether it is their behavior in class or at home.   When a student is disruptive the teacher must take time away from the rest of the class to deal with his/her misbehavior.  The focus is taken off the class and put on that one student.   This takes up valuable teaching time for both teacher and student.  When children learn to handle their negative and sometimes destructive behaviors in a calmer manner they are less likely to act out and cause a distraction to the rest of the class which in turn would actually reduce the amount of wasted class time. 

 

 

The costs of implementing mindfulness are actually not prohibitive.  There are grants that are available from the US Department of Education and resources are becoming available to teach the teacher as well as the students.  Various private institutes and foundations are currently working with some schools in the eastern United States implementing yoga techniques in schools and studying its effectiveness.  Also as Coach Webb demonstrated in the movie Chalk, the time commitment needed to incorporate mindfulness or yoga practices is no more than any other lesson plan.  She merely substitutes yoga for other activities in her Physical Education class.   A few minutes at the beginning of the school day would be ample time to learn and then practice on a daily basis the calming mindful techniques needed for a productive day. 

 

To be an effective tool, mindfulness would necessarily need to be introduced to the parents or guardians of children.  The National Institute on Drug Abuse recently gave a grant to the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State University to follow the effectiveness of a seven week program given to parents to teach them better parenting skills.  The program focused on teaching parents to be more aware of their children’s actions and reactions and asked the parents to recall their own experiences when dealing with the daily struggles as well as the successes of their children.  It asked the parents to be more mindful even when listening to the child tell of something that they disapprove of, to check their reactivity at the door, so to speak.

 

There are many concepts that are useful and necessary to aid in the acquisition of a great education.  Mindfulness, critical thinking, grit, and others are all important ideas for students to apply to their lives.  A solid foundation in one the most useful and needed concepts is the ability to be aware, to be conscious, to be mindful, and to even be peaceful.   As the Dalai Lama says, “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.
Dalai Lama



 

 

 

 

                                                                  Works Cited

 

 

Boyce, Barry.  “A Real Education” (The Mindful Society).  Shambhala Sun.  May 2012.  Web.  3 Dec. 2013.

 hooks, bell.   Teaching Critical Thinking Practical Wisdom.  Routledge.  19 Sept. 2013.   Print.

 Large, Jerry.  “Gift of Grit, Curiosity Help Kids Succeed."  SeattleTimes.com 23 Sept. 2013.   Web.   25 Nov. 2013.

 Chalk. Dir. Mike Akel. Perf. Troy Schremmer, Janelle Schremmer, Shannon Haragan.  Somedaysoon Productions. 2007.  DVD.

 
Gatto, John. “Against School” wesjones.com. Harpers Magazine.  Sept. 2003.
Web.  12 Nov. 2013.

 Wikipedia.  Mindfulness (psychology) Web.   19 Nov. 2013.

 Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  Mindful.  Web.  12 Dec. 2013.

Patricia Riley

Draft Paper #2

 

After watching Mr. Escalante in “Stand and Deliver” and Ms. Watson in “Mona Lisa Smile” I was

 

stuck not only by the similarities of the two teachers but also by their differences.  They both

 

had a tenacious streak that would not allow them to give up on their students even though the

 

students sometimes gave up on themselves.  In Stand and Deliver Mr. Escalante consistently

 

shows his absolute confidence in his student’s ability to learn higher math.  While they were

 

both good teachers I think that Mr. Escalante greatly surpassed Ms. Watson with his dogged

 

 persistence in getting his students to the point where they could somewhat confidently take

 

the Advanced Placement test for Calculus.  Ms. Watson goes to Wellesley College in Eastern

 

Massachusetts with the intention of not only sharing her love of art with the select group of

 

privileged female students but also of perhaps bringing some enlightenment  to the women in

 

regards to having more in their lives outside of marriage, children and a showcase home.

 

 

At the beginning of the movie, Mr. Escalante arrives at the school to find it in chaos.  He is told

 

he will not be teaching computers but will instead be teaching math.  Instead of turning around

 

and quitting he goes to his class and starts to teach.  When he meets the all Hispanic math class

 

it firms his resolve to make a difference with the students.  He sees himself in those kids and

 

wants to see them succeed in life and go beyond what society expected of them.    ADD

 

 EXAMPLE 

 

 

 

 

 

At the point in the movie where the class is working on a particularly difficult question, Anita

 

reveals that that day is her last as her dad needs her to work at the family restaurant full

 

time.  She is obviously very sad at the prospect of not completing her high school studies or

 

going on the college.  Mr. Escalante does not say anything at that time but we find him later at

 

 the restaurant with his wife having dinner.  Anita introduces her father to Mr. Escalante.  ADD

 

 EXAMPLE

 

 

When the class finally takes the Advanced Placement test for Calculus after months of studying

 

and even giving up their summer for additional tutoring they all pass with exceptional

 

 scores.  After being told that they have achieved their goal it is viciously taken from them when

 

 suspicion arises that there was cheating involved.  This proved to be yet another example of

 

Mr. Escalante’s firm belief in his student’s ability, and honesty for that matter.  He defends

 

 them even to the point of calling out one of the investigators. ADD EXAMPLE

 

 

 

 

Ms. Watson displays her own type of tenaciousness when dealing with the superior behavior of

 

her students the first time she meets them.  When she begins her slide show of well-known

 

works of art and hopes to amaze them with her knowledge, she is somewhat put out when the

 

students recite the facts about each piece of artwork.  She is in fact, a bit humiliated, but

 

instead of tucking her tail between her legs and fleeing in embarrassment she compiles a new

 

 set of slides.  These sets of slides, shown during the following class, are of little known and

 

slightly vulgar paintings.  The students don’t know anything about them but instead of gloating,

 

Ms. Watson proceeds to teach the women how to look at art from a different perspective,

 

perhaps from the angle of the painter and why he/she painted it instead of the surface

 

appreciation one feels when looking at works of art.  She continues in this way and it pays off

 

 for her when the students begin to engage in more meaningful dialogue.  ADD EXAMPLE

 

 

 Another example of how tenacious Ms. Watson could be is not necessarily an admirable trait.

 

When she questioned Betty Warren on her plans for after Wellesley and Betty said she had

 

thought of going to law school, Ms. Watson took matters into her own hands and got an

 

 application for Yale Law School and gave it to Betty on the sly.  After she found out that Betty

 

 was getting married to a young man who was attending college in Philadelphia she researched

 

law schools in that area and even brought the college catalogs and applications to her parents’

 

 home.  On that occasion she discovered that Betty and her fiancé had eloped the night before

 

and that she (Betty) did not want to be a lawyer.  She wanted to be a wife and mother and that

 

was all she wanted.  At first Ms. Watson seemed to want to push the subject but when she

 

knew she lost she congratulated Betty.  ADD EXAMPLE

 

six quotes

1.     “Kindness, caring, empathy, being able to de-center from your own point of view and listen deeply to others—these are values that should be cultivated in our classrooms,” says Mark Greenberg, director of the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State University.  (from the Barry Boyce article)

      Again, these traits would generate a kinder classroom.  I can't see how it would ever be a bad thing to have a class full of children who were able to re-center themselves at any given moment and to be able to positively contribute. 

2.   Jerry Large, Gift of Grit, says - "Grit is one of the characteristics of successful people.  Here is a list of the others:  self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity."  

      While Jerry Large was not on the top of my list in rankings I did agree with him about some things.

     Mindfulness does greatly contribute to self-control which I guess in turn would be part of acquiring some "grit".

3.  " Mindfulness practices can increase people’s awareness of their own emotions and their ability to regulate them."

     This statement from Barry Boyce supports my idea that the mindfulness method has the capability of providing a solid foundation for students to learn to handle their emotions and conflicts in a more constructive manner.

4.   "Another critical element that has made mindfulness appealing to educators is its effectiveness in increasing attention, “the ability to aim our cognitive capacities in one direction with as little distraction as possible.”(from Barry Boyce)

     On my worksheet I stated as  Reason #2 for why they(educators) should agree with me - there would be less class time for teachers to deal with distracting behaviors. 

5.     "He(Greenberg) and colleague Patricia Jennings have also done groundbreaking work with the Garrison Institute’s initiative on contemplation and education. The teacher training program that Boyce)Jennings directs as part of the initiative recently received a second major grant from the U.S. Department of Education to study the effects of mindfulness and related practices with classroom teachers. The first grant worked with teachers in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The second grant— approximately $5 million over four years, divided among Garrison, Fordham University, and Penn State—will take the program into New York City schools.(from Barry

     Addressing the costs of implementing this method - it seems that as positive awareness takes hold, there may be more funding available to get these programs going.

   

6. This is a long quote - actually an entire paragraph, from Barry Boyce.  It explains more about parental involvement in mindfulness and helping to insure success for the student as well as making for a more harmonious home life.

  "Another prevention center program focuses on improving parenting skills. Parents take a class once a week for seven weeks. They’re first asked to do short reflections on topics such as gratitude and caring. Then, the focus turns to mindfulness skills: becoming more aware of your emotions and your child’s emotions, learning how to listen deeply to your child, even when they are telling you things you’re not so happy about, trying to be low in reactivity and not so automatic in your reaction, learning to be more present in the moment. From there, the class moves into compassion skills such as remembering how difficult it was to be a teenager, to have compassion for their own parents and the struggles that they now see their parents had with them. The center recently received a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to investigate the effectiveness of this program by studying 600 families over a four-year period."

 

Six quotes that support my changes

To refresh the reader, my change(my argument) is that "mindfulness" should be incorporated in the school curriculum. 

1.   “Kindness, caring, empathy, being able to de-center from your own point of view and listen deeply to others—these are values that should be cultivated in our classrooms,” says Mark Greenberg, director of the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State University.  (from the Barry Boyce article)
      Again, these traits would generate a kinder classroom.  I can't see how it would ever be a bad thing to have a class full of children who were able to re-center themselves at any given moment and to be able to contribute positively. 

2.   Jerry Large, Gift of Grit, says - "Grit is one of the characteristics of successful people.  Here is a list of the others:  self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity."  
      While Jerry Large was not on the top of my list in rankings I did agree with him about some things.
     Mindfulness does greatly contribute to self-control which I guess in turn would be part of acquiring some "grit".

3.  " Mindfulness practices can increase people’s awareness of their own emotions and their ability to regulate them."
     This statement from Barry Boyce supports my idea that the mindfulness method has the capability of providing a solid foundation for students to learn to handle their emotions and conflicts in a more constructive manner.

4.   "Another critical element that has made mindfulness appealing to educators is its effectiveness in increasing attention, “the ability to aim our cognitive capacities in one direction with as little distraction as possible.”(from Barry Boyce)
     On my worksheet I stated as  Reason #2 for why they(educators) should agree with me - there would be less class time for teachers to deal with distracting behaviors. 

5.     "He(Greenberg) and colleague Patricia Jennings have also done groundbreaking work with the Garrison Institute’s initiative on contemplation and education. The teacher training program that Jennings directs as part of the initiative recently received a second major grant from the U.S. Department of Education to study the effects of mindfulness and related practices with classroom teachers. The first grant worked with teachers in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The second grant— approximately $5 million over four years, divided among Garrison, Fordham University, and Penn State—will take the program into New York City schools.(from Barry Boyce)
     Addressing the costs of implementing this method - it seems that as positive awareness takes hold, there may be more funding available to get these programs going.

6. This is a long quote - actually an entire paragraph, from Barry Boyce.  It explains more about parental involvement in mindfulness and helping to insure success for the student as well as making for a more harmonious home life.
  "Another prevention center program focuses on improving parenting skills. Parents take a class once a week for seven weeks. They’re first asked to do short reflections on topics such as gratitude and caring. Then, the focus turns to mindfulness skills: becoming more aware of your emotions and your child’s emotions, learning how to listen deeply to your child, even when they are telling you things you’re not so happy about, trying to be low in reactivity and not so automatic in your reaction, learning to be more present in the moment. From there, the class moves into compassion skills such as remembering how difficult it was to be a teenager, to have compassion for their own parents and the struggles that they now see their parents had with them. The center recently received a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to investigate the effectiveness of this program by studying 600 families over a four-year period."

   
   

Which Authors agree with me

Well, obviously from my last post I agree with Barry Boyce!! so I am sure he would agree with me had he not written that article first. 
Here are a few of the quotes from his article in Shamblaha Sun that back up some of my ideas about why "mindfulness" would be a great addition to any curriculum.

1.  " Another critical element that has made mindfulness appealing to educators is its effectiveness in increasing attention, “the ability to aim our cognitive capacities in one direction with as little distraction as possible.” Attention is one of the greatest challenges for children, and perhaps only more so in a world offering so much distraction so frequently."

     One of my points is that "mindfulness" will help increase attention and focus in students.

2.   "While children who are three or four cannot practice mindfulness per se, they still have inherent mindfulness, which they can discover and benefit from. Greenberg works with a curriculum in Head Start programs that has been shown to improve children’s readiness to become students in a classroom."
    
      I believe that this method should be introduced to school age children as soon as possible and with the cooperation of their parents as partners with the schools it can contribute to a more stable upbringing as well as a more successful school career.

3.  A quote from the belle hooks article struck me as significant.  "They(Richard Paul and Linda Elder) further define critical thinking as "self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored and self-corrective."  Thinking about thinking, or mindful thinking about ideas, is a necessary component of critical thinking."
    
     In my mind, mindfulness encourages all of the above traits needed for a successful student. 


    

    

Structuring and Supporting my argument

I have chosen to argue for the inclusion of "mindfulness" in the school curriculum. 
The audience that I will be trying to persuade are the educators in the schools.
They should care about this because the current system is broken and does not work for a majority of the school populations.  If taught correctly, this method has the capability of providing a solid foundation for students to learn to handle their emotions and conflicts in a more constructive manner.  It can also help with children who have attention problems in focusing them in a more meaningful way. 
The children/students will gain the ability to focus their minds towards learning, gaining the ability to handle conflicts better and the ability to more thoughtfully  relate to their peers as well as the school staff. 
Some of the reasons I will give to the staff on why they should agree with me are:
     that students learn better when they are able to calm their minds and focus on learning.
     there will be less class time taken away from teaching if the teacher does not have to deal with behavior issues as frequently.
     when kids are more able to handle their emotions in a more calm manner, they are less likely to engage in destructive behaviors.

Some of the reasons that teachers may disagree with me are:
   1. that teaching "mindfulness" takes away from valuable class time.
   2."mindfulness" may not be as effective if there is no support at home for the program. 
   3. that it may cost too much to implement.

The answers to those objections may be:
      True, however, once implemented even in the most early stages, mindfulness  is effective in focusing the student better towards the standard curriculum. 
     Well, yes, but if the  teacher is positive and effective the students could use what they learn at home as well to help them in their relationships with parents and siblings.
     Not in this case, because it actually costs very little to implement.  Really the only cost is a small time commitment on the teachers part in learning this method so that he/she can teach it to the students. There are grants that are becoming available and some have been used in Pennsylvania and New York.

Support for the answers to objections:  The following quotes are from Shambhala Sun - A Real Education (The Mindful Society/May2012)    Each of these quotes support in some way my ideas.
      "The scope of the work that Greenberg and his colleagues have been doing covers all age groups and all facets of the developmental environment of children in ways that break new ground in how mindfulness might be defined. While children who are three or four cannot practice mindfulness per se, they still have inherent mindfulness, which they can discover and benefit from. Greenberg works with a curriculum in Head Start programs that has been shown to improve children’s readiness to become students in a classroom."
     "One of the practices they use is the turtle. “We tell a story about a little turtle who has lots of problems,” he says. “The turtle sometimes gets very sad or very mad, but then the turtle goes into her shell, where it’s very quiet and she can take some deep breaths and calm down and think, ‘What’s going on with me? How am I feeling?’ Then, we teach them to do turtle, which is just crossing their hands across their chest and taking a deep breath. When children are upset, teachers and parents can prompt them to use turtle as a way of calming down and using their thinking skills.”
   
    " Greenberg founded a program in his center called the Program on Empathy Awareness and Compassion in Education (PEACE), which focuses on ways to promote pro-social behavior. He and colleague Patricia Jennings have also done groundbreaking work with the Garrison Institute’s initiative on contemplation and education. The teacher training program that Jennings directs as part of the initiative recently received a second major grant from the U.S. Department of Education to study the effects of mindfulness and related practices with classroom teachers. The first grant worked with teachers in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The second grant— approximately $5 million over four years, divided among Garrison, Fordham University, and Penn State—will take the program into New York City schools."

Why Mud Wrestling is Good - GREAT!!!

Assisted living dwellers, male and female, should watch mud wrestling because it is a fundraising opportunity and it helps with heart problems by increasing adrenaline and it is wonderful exercise.
 
    This is a great way to raise money to re-seed the turf on the community golf course.

    Watching people mud wrestle in skimpy suits helps to raise ones adrenaline and getting the blood flowing  is helpful in maintaining a healthy heart.

    Mud wrestling is terrific exercise.  The athleticism in the wrestlers shows their high level of expertise in that sport.

Ranking of Suggestions

My ranking in order of importance:

Barry Boyce "A Real Education"
bell hooks "Critical Thinking"
Keith Gilyard "Children, Arts and Du Bois"
Deb Aronson "Arizona Bans [Latino/a History Program]"
Jerry Large "Gift of Grit"

The way I ranked these articles is quite straight forward.
First, one needs to be open-minded and at peace with oneself and the world or at least be able to recognize when one is not either.  This makes for a more effective learning experience.  Okay,  now that the mind is focused it will be more able to begin to engage in a meaningful and "critical" way.  The student will be more able to see different perspectives, points of view, backgrounds, etc.  Next, if schools are offering the classes and programs that will only enhance and stretch the imaginations and natural gifts of students, the students will continue to learn in a positive way.  After that, schools should and could offer programs of study that are applicable to the local population.  I am sure that in the south in predominately African American communities there is a bigger emphasis on the contribution that African Americans have made in this country and I see no reason why anyone should be denied teaching that is more relevant to their culture as long as that opportunity is offered to everyone.  And finally, Jerry Large comes in last.  Of course, all children should be given the "gift of grit".  The article is slightly simple in the statement "If more parents hug and kiss and coo in those first years, we'd have a lot more happy and successful children."  If that were true I would have the most happy kids in the world.  In my opinion, not one of these ideas would work on their own but if two or more were combined, than watch out!  The skies the limit....

Boyce, Large, Gilyard, Aronson and hooks

From Shambhala Sun - A Real Education(The Mindful Society) Barry Boyce
     The change would be to actually focus on the mindfulness of children, teachers and the parents.  Educating all on the simple acts of caring, empathy, kindness and being able to de-center oneself from their own point of view and to listen to others. 
     The reason - Simply put, to improve the health and well being of children.  Help in preventing depression, aggression, school failure and promoting positive qualities like empathy, citizenship and strong friendships

From Jerry Large - Gift of grit, curiosity help kids succeed
     The change would be instilling 'grit' in children.  Grit is defined in the column as "being one of the characteristics of successful people."  Other characteristics are "self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity."
     The reason would be that people with grit are more successful.  Having grit is being able to overcome failure.  Apparently just hugging and kissing and cooing at your children in their early years is a good start. 

From Gilyard - Children, Arts and Du Bois
     The change would be to not reduce or eliminate the Humanities in schools. 
     The reason is that they (the humanities) "are vital to the process of shaping the critical and productive citizens that we need."  Basically, being involved in the humanities- poetry, dance, story writing, lyrics, oral interpretations and song, make for a more well rounded, educated individual.

From Aronson - Arizona Bans Mexican Americans Studies Program
    The change would be to reinstate the Mexican American Studies Program and get politicians out of the classroom.  The MAS was an incredibly successful education program in Arizona that was disbanded when local and state politicians felt it promoted "resentment of mainstream culture".
     The reason it was a successful program is in the numbers.  97% of students actually graduated high school, compared to 44% nationally and 70% of those students went on to college compared to 24% nationally.  The program worked exceedingly well for those Hispanic students.

From bell hooks - Teaching Critical Thinking Practical Wisdom
     The change would be to teach Critical Thinking.  Critical Thinking is not taught in schools.  Because memorization has become the norm in schools to get at least the basics of education taught, students are not given the opportunity to hone their critical thinking skills. 
     The reason it needs to be taught is that if people who do not develop the desire to know more than they will stop learning(that's my reason).  Critical thinking is necessary to promote active and lifelong learning.  As Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau emphasize "Critical thinking requires us to use our imagination, seeing things form perspectives other than our own and envisioning the likely consequences of our position."

In Freires, Banking Concept of Education" Freire says "Narration(with the teacher as narrator) leads the students to memorize the narrated content.  Worse yet, it turns them into "containers," into "receptacles" to be "filled" by the teacher." 
In the movie Chalk, Mr. Lowry is trying to teach his kids by having them memorize various history vocabulary terms.  I think at that point he was feeling that it was futile and just wanted to get the day over with.  Interestingly Mr. Lowry was the one teacher that kept trying to reach his students and ended up engaging more fully with his students later in the school year and being more successful in gaining his students respect.  He maybe recognized that he needed to learn how to talk to the kids on their own level.  He went so far as to learn their slang and won a slang spelling contest.


In Gattos writing, he says "Without Conant, we would probably not have the same style and degree of standardized testing that we enjoy today, nor would we be blessed with gargantuan high school that warehouse 2000 to 4000 students at a time, like the famous Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado".  We see this in the movie  Chalk, there is a scene where the assistant principal is running thru the maze of hallways trying to find a wayward student.  She has to communicate with someone on a radio to get directions to where the student is and probably where she was.  All the hallways are named in order to make negotiating them easier for the students and staff but that does not seem to be very effective as the assistant principal was lost in her own school.

In Lewis Black’s sketch “On Education in America”, he mentions teachers that are “totally unqualified” who show up at a school and say “I want to help”. It is not even difficult to compare this statement to real life which in itself is difficult to understand why when you realize it means that our children are being taught by people who have not met the minimum standards of being an educator. In the film “Chalk”, Mr. Stroope was exactly this type of teacher. He was visited by a faculty evaluator where they reviewed his shortcomings from their last meeting, which he had still not even attempted to work on. These shortcomings included having an education plan and being disorganized. What is a teacher if not an organized person with a structured plan to impart their own knowledge on the children they have been entrusted to educate? Why do we have people like this in our education system? The only answer I can see for both of these questions is that we as parents and as students do not push to make it different. Parents need to be engaged in the education of their children and students need to have enough stock in their own education to stand against such inadequacies.

 

 

Mike Rose speaks of engaging students in his article from the Washington Times, “The Answer Sheet: ‘Mike Rose’s Resolutions on Education’” when he states “To have more young people get an engaging and challenging education.” In the movie “Chalk” there are several examples of how to not achieve this result. Mr. Stroope actually pulls aside his top two students and says to one of them “Stop using big words in class, I’m not even sure if you understand the meaning of some of the words that you use.” This is his attempt to cover his own understanding of the words that he is using which leads to what he told the other student. To a girl who is obviously bored and possibly insulted by the ignorance of her teacher Mr. Stroope said, “Don’t giggle in class when I am talking, it makes me look stupid in front of the rest of the class.” He makes these statements in order to possibly get the rest of the class to like him more and therefore help him accumulate more votes for the teacher of the year awar