16 06, 2015

The Mindful Path – Best Practices for Schools

2021-05-20T17:42:15-04:00June 16th, 2015|Tags: , , , |

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,

2 06, 2015

The Mindful Path – Mindful Schools

2021-05-20T17:42:15-04:00June 2nd, 2015|Tags: , |

Hello from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson! In this last month of the quarter, we’ll finish up a quick exploration of the topic Mindfulness in Education. An amazing source for wonderful resources on mindfulness in schools is https://www.mindfulschools.org/. If you want to find out more about how to bring mindfulness into your own life or to share it with children in our schools, this is a must-see web site. The “Take a Course” tab features information about courses on Mindfulness Fundamentals and Curriculum Training. If you’re interested in taking these courses, financial assistance is available. The “About Mindfulness” tab defines mindfulness, and also includes research, stories from classrooms, and mindfulness exercises. The “Resources” tab includes a blog, a sample lesson, newsletter archives, and other helpful items. There are also a couple of videos posted at this tab that emphasize the importance of mindfulness for students in the classroom. I hope you have a chance to view the Mindful Schools site and enjoy the great variety of resources provided. I know that I was inspired and want to explore participating in the two courses offered. If the site also resonates with you, please share your comments in the space below. Here’s to a great, mindful June! I look forward to sharing more information with you in my next post.

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