Why Mindfulness in Education?

http://projectmindfulness.net/

At Project Mindfulness we understand the value and importance a good education has for any child to develop a satisfying and successful career. We believe knowledge is power and that having a good education these days is imperative to leading a fulfilling life.  However, we believe that is only ½ the picture and that our children need to be better prepared to lead authentically successful lives that address the whole child.  Paying equal attention to the emotional lives of our children is fundamental to our children’s ability to truly find and lead authentically successful lives.  Based on the latest in neuroscience we recognize Mindfulness can support that goal.
Today, our educators are faced with growing demands of parents and testing and a culture racing to the top, while our children are being swept up in the rush to be at the top of their game as fast as they can.  Kids are experiencing more pressure to succeed at a younger age and have little time or opportunity to just be.  At Project Mindfulness we are committed to teaching children how to learn to slow down, relax and gain control of their inner lives through simple mindfulness skills taught in the classroom.
Classrooms are the perfect opportunities for our children to practice being in relationship to others.  Our classrooms are filled with kids who experience all kinds of emotions, conflicts, thoughts and ideas.  It is here that our children first come into contact with their community and people other than family members.  In the classroom community chidren learn to navigate their feelings, thoughts and emotions amidst a group of contemporaries.  Managing one’s feelings in this setting is no easy task, yet children are required to show up everyday and pay attention and behave.
Paying attention is a skill. A trainable skill.
Behavior is defined as “the way in which a person acts in response to a particular situation or stimulus.” Behavior is a learned action based on a belief system held by any individual at any moment in time.
Regular Mindfulness training builds the neural pathways in the brain to train attention skills and helps children develop self awareness in an effort to manage and understand their behaviors and empowering them to be more in control of their emotional lives.

Project Mindfulness believes that educating the mind is only half the job of any school.  We believe we must pay as much attention to addressing the emotional lives of our children if we truly wish to lead them to authentically successful lives.

“Dewey makes a strong case for the importance of education not only as a place to gain content knowledge, but also as a place to learn how to live. In his eyes, the purpose of education should not revolve around the acquisition of a pre-determined set of skills, but rather the realization of one’s full potential and the ability to use those skills for the greater good.”
For more information about What is Mindfulness in Education, click here.