Does meditation belong in schools |
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Timely from the Top: An occasional column by Alice Ray Religious freedom is a basic human right. Yet religious differences have led to innumerable conflicts and immeasurable suffering throughout the world. The United States is founded on the notion that the best way to preserve religious freedom is to prevent sectarian religion from seeping into public institutions. So why are more and more schools integrating what are often thought of as Buddhist principles and practices into their curriculum? How do they reconcile that decision with banning any Christian prayer? What does Ripple Effects have to do with it? First, the methods in question are often called meditation, or “mindfulness practice.” They come in a variety of flavors. Indeed, not only Buddhism, but every major religion, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and many indigenous religions, have a strain within their tradition that emphasizes meditative or contemplative practices. In each case, these are practices connected not with doctrine, but with self-understanding. Some have been correlated with better health and life outcomes in adults. By itself, that’s still not a good enough reason for them to be in schools. What they share is that they are “attention” focusing methods. If they work, that is a reason to be in schools. And some do work. Several attention-focusing methods have been shown to be effective in promoting emotional regulation and impulse control in children. We at Ripple Effects include in our program research tested, developmentally appropriate, computer-based training in some attention-focusing methods. They are completely de-coupled from a religious context of any kind. Students who have used these techniques have fewer discipline problems and better grades than students in control groups. Recognizing that communities may differ in what they consider appropriate, we give local administrators the power to delete any topic at the click of the mouse. Secondly, the principles in question, might broadly be described as “an ethics of compassion” They are coming into schools in the context of character education. Most people would agree that compassion is a good thing; but many feel that developing it is the work of churches, not schools. Again they are partly right. If there were a compassion competition, religions might line up to be in it. Our program includes values-based training in things like honesty, fairness, empathy, respect, assertiveness, self-control, responsibility, and non-discrimination. These can each be mapped to various religious traditions. They can be labeled components of compassion. They can as easily be labeled expressions of social justice. But we include them because they represent the deep values of democracy. They are criticically important, skill-based traits for citizens in a society that is both free and diverse. We think it is a deeply American thing to instill in children a “heart of justice.” We need no religious reference to do it. What do you think?
More Timely from the Top: 12/12/07 Drug data on parents and children.
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