education – Peace Learning Center

30 09, 2022

Recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month 2022

Brandi Metzger2022-09-30T12:54:47-04:00September 30th, 2022|Tags: awareness, community, education, indianapolis, Mindfulness, Social and Emotional Learning, social justice|

Peace Learning Center joins the nation in celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15). We believe this country is made greater by the culture, history, and contributions of Hispanic Americans. In this blog we have included 1.) a brief explanation of terms, 2.) local groups whose work center the Hispanic community, and 3.) local events where we can join others in celebrating this special time! 1. Terms Hispanic refers to people of Spanish-speaking origin. “Hispanic” is an ethnicity. The term was adopted in the 1970s by the U.S. government to try to classify people from Latin America under a common identity (NPR). Under federal policy, Hispanic is not a race. However, many multiracial Americans consider their Hispanic background as part of their race (Pew). Latino (grammatically masculine) or Latina (grammatically feminine) refers to people residing in the U.S. who are of Latin-American descent (NPR). Some use Latinx or Latine as gender-neutral terms. “Brazilians are Latino because the country is located in Latin America. But Brazilians aren’t considered Hispanic because the country’s primary language is Portuguese. Meanwhile, Latinx identity brings together people in South and Central America, who may share a history of Spanish colonization, but that category isn’t defined by having Spanish-speaking ancestry,” (Vox). 2. Local Groups La Plaza OUR MISSION: La Plaza strengthens Central Indiana by advocating and preparing Latino students for educational success and by connecting Latino families to health and social services. OUR

16 06, 2015

The Mindful Path – Best Practices for Schools

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:15-04:00June 16th, 2015|Tags: children, education, Mindfulness, schools|

Hello from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson! In the final post this quarter on mindfulness and education, let’s talk about some best practices. In February this year, independent consultant Patrick Cook-Deegan provided two posts about this on the blog for Carney, Sandoe & Associates, an educational recruiting firm that works with schools and teachers. In the first post, Cook-Deegan provides an overview of mindfulness in education and lists different strategies for bringing it into schools: https://ow.ly/OiSc8. The pros and cons identified for each of the strategies highlight the importance of first performing an effective needs analysis and making sure that there’s sufficient buy-in from all stakeholders to support a successful approach. Building on the first post, the second one https://ow.ly/OiSer provides tips for implementation and comments about the future of mindfulness at independent schools. Although all the information is useful, the concept of legitimacy really resonated with me. It can be easy to dismiss implementing a mindfulness program as a “flavor of the month” that wastes time and other resources. Cook-Deegan suggested partnering with a local academic institution to use metrics to identify program effectiveness and impact. Solid research from reputable sources such as this one from Harvard https://ow.ly/OiShP has helped to demonstrate the importance of mindfulness initiatives. So the big takeaway is to anticipate challenges and carefully engage in the troubleshooting required to effectively address each of them. The benefits of well-crafted mindfulness programs that meet the needs of children,

5 05, 2015

The Mindful Path – National Teacher Day

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:18-04:00May 5th, 2015|Tags: education, Mindfulness, teachers|

Hello from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson! Today, May 5, is National Teacher Day, a part of National Teacher Appreciation Week. This is a great event to note as part of my focus in the blog this quarter is on mindfulness in education. I write this post in honor of my stepfather, Fred Huston, who taught middle-school math and science. He passed away about 15 years ago and did not teach in a particularly mindful time or place. However, he taught me something about mindful awareness that I’ll never forget. Many times, he told me to pay attention and “read” other people to find out what they were thinking and feeling. Although he didn’t know it, my stepfather did me a great service by encouraging me to think about mindfulness at a young age. I have carried this wisdom into my adult life, where by taking the time to practice social awareness (a core competency of Social and Emotional Learning), I frequently benefit. I wanted to draw your attention to mindfulness educator Susan Kaiser Greenland’s site here: https://www.susankaisergreenland.com. At this site, you’ll find a wealth of helpful information including video clips. Ms. Greenland is the founder of the Inner Kids Program, which teaches mindfulness to children through awareness of the inner and outer experience. She is also author of the book, “The Mindful Child.” Here’s a link where you can find out more about the book: https://ow.ly/MyECF. If you are a

7 04, 2015

The Mindful Path – Mindfulness for Young Children

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:21-04:00April 7th, 2015|Tags: education, Mindfulness|

Hello from guest blogger Lisa Robinson! In this second quarter of 2015, my posts will be about Mindfulness in Education. Let’s start with examples of what some children experienced in preschool and in kindergarten. In Madison, WI, a group of children between 4 and 6 years old were in a study where they learned to be more mindful by bringing their attention to the present moment. At the end of the study, researchers found that the children who participated demonstrated less selfishness and more mental flexibility. At the end of the article, there’s a great sidebar that features tips for families that want to practice mindfulness together. See the full article from eurekalert.org here at this link: https://ow.ly/LgJ0d Also wonderful is this unscripted video from mindful.org that shows what kindergartners say about how they learned to use mindfulness to work more effectively with strong negative emotions: https://youtu.be/RVA2N6tX2cg Here is a link to the full post where the video appears: https://ow.ly/LgMjF To see what children can learn about themselves and using mindfulness at a very young age is inspirational. By learning these critical skills, children can be much better prepared to be successful as they age and take on the challenges of adult life. I hope that you see the possibilities of how mindfulness could benefit children in your life. Please feel free to share your comments or questions below.

27 05, 2014

The Mindful Path: Mixing Mindfulness in Business and Education

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:52-04:00May 27th, 2014|Tags: business, education, learning, Mindfulness|

Hello again from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson! Although I've worked most of my professional life in business, my experience in education inspires me to find ways to offer the best tools for learning and success to students/teachers/administrators and to business professionals. So, this week’s Mindful Path post presents “The Mindfulness in Schools Project.” To see the details, click on the link below to see a great TEDx video: https://youtu.be/6mlk6xD_xAQ I hope you enjoyed participating in the exercise presented in the video. I found it to be an easy and tangible way to experience mindfulness. Now that you’ve seen the educational part of this post, you might be wondering where the business part is. The “.b” mindfulness curriculum described in the video was created by using the book “Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World,” which forms the basis for the lessons. Here’s a link to the book: https://ow.ly/xg7cA This book is not focusing on mindfulness in education. However, the learning that comes from it has been made applicable for education. How Can You Take Advantage of this Mindfulness Learning? I’ll be working my way through the 8-week program in the book and posting about it here starting in July. If you would like to join me, please either borrow the book from a library or purchase a copy. I welcome everyone who would like to participate in actively learning how to use mindfulness. I look