The Huffington Post – Elizabeth Frias, PhD
“Recently one of my students gave a presentation in class on a program available for schools. This program, like many others, aims to provide school staff with tools for building a positive school culture. As I was listening to her presentation and looking over the informational handout she gave us, I realized that this program appears to align with my ideas of what I would call a “mindful school.” My student noted in her presentation that unless the entire school staff practices and applies this approach to working with each other and the students, the program will not succeed and a lot of money will be wasted as a result. It was about this time in her presentation where I nodded my head in agreement. There are a plethora of programs out there that claim to offer schools an efficient and effective strategy for addressing students’ social and emotional demands and discipline needs. Unfortunately, providing the school staff with trainings and handbooks only goes so far. After my student’s presentation, I realized for real change to occur – to get not only positive behaviors from the students, but also from the school staff – the change has to come from within one’s self. This is where mindfulness can help.”(more)