Our schools could learn from Buddhists
Standardized testing in New Jersey is increasingly a part of measuring student learning. The elements of testing breed stress and suffering in many students. This suffering compounds the problems kids are experiencing in their homes and through peer pressure.
The Buddhist magazine Shambhala Sun states: “There are many people who have enormous suffering and don’t know how to handle it. For many people, it starts at a young age. So, why don’t schools teach our young people the way to manage suffering? If a student is unhappy, he can’t concentrate and he can’t learn. The more we learn about the art of suffering well, the less suffering there will be in the world. Mindfulness is the best way to be with the suffering without being overwhelmed by it.”
Mindfulness teaches people to cope with their suffering in the here and now. Kids are people too. Can the practice of mindfulness help students to perform better in the here and now of testing and in the process of learning?