- I saw the following news and I wonder when Thailand, a proclaimed Buddhist country, would be able to have news like this, too?
- Meanwhile, my heartfelt appreciation and commendation for everybody that got this program going in the states for the kids! May you all be happy, peaceful, and free from suffering!
Source: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=drive_to_discover&id=5187016
Written and produced by Jennifer Olney
Apr. 5 - KGO - A new pilot program at an Oakland elementary school is showing some dramatic results. Children are being trained in a technique called "mindfulness." It's part of the drive to discover how to help students do better in class and in life.
Richard Shankman is teaching these elementary school students how to find calm in a stressful world.
Richard Shankman: "Just take a minute to notice how you are feeling."
This is "mindfulness" - learning to pay attention to the moment, not judging or thinking, just focusing on being present.
Tashayia: "It makes me feel better than I used to."
Ayo, eight-years-old: "It makes me feel happy no matter how bad my day is."
Children are taught to use breathing to help them stay calm in stressful situations.
Laura, 10-years-old: "You have to take at least three breaths."
Both kids and teachers told us it really works.
Mary Taylor, 3rd grade teacher: "The children have been much calmer, much quieter and they seem to just be able to settle down."
Quincie, 10-years-old: "When we are taking a test and we are nervous we just breathe and we calm ourselves down and that lets us, that sends a message to our mind that we can make it."
The "mindfulness" training is a pilot program at Emerson Elementary in Oakland. Mr. Richard, as the children call him, visits each classroom for 15 minutes, twice a week.
Mr. Richard is a Buddhist meditation teacher and he uses some of the same techniques here.
The students practice listening to bells, trying to hear the exact moment when the sound stops.
Candace, eight-years-old: "What's important about the bells is I think is the sounds of them and the motions that you can hear and the vibrations."
Emerson is an inner-city public school where more than 75 percent of the students are identified as socio-economically disadvantaged.
Several teachers told us mindfulness training has arrived at the right place at the right time.
Ed Allen, 4th/5th grade teacher: "Kids need some mechanism to center themselves. The world is so imbalanced in all kinds of ways."
The mindfulness program is actually being paid for by a nearby private school called Park Day School. The technique worked so well at Park, they wanted to share it with the students at Emerson.
Laurie Grossman, Park Day School: "It's beyond my wildest dream to see kids really embracing it and feeling calm and feeling peace."
The hope is to help kids manage better with everything, from the stress of classroom, work, to tension on the playground.
Richard Shankman, mindfulness teacher: "We want them to learn to just start to be more aware of what's happening. 'Oh I'm angry,' and then start to have a little more choice on how they act or react."
Adrian, 11-years-old: "Like when you are mad you can just concentrate so you won't get in a fight."
The mindfulness training at Emerson has been going for about a month. No one claims it's a cure-all for every problem, but many teachers are so enthusiastic about the results, they now want training on how to lead mindfulness themselves.
Teacher: "There's a great peace that has fallen on this class."
If you want to learn more about Mindfulness training in Oakland schools, you can call Laurie Grossman at Park Day School at 510 653-0317, x105 or e-mail her at Laurie@parkdayschool.org .
Copyright 2007, ABC7/KGO-TV/DT.
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