Don't Bite the Hook: Teaching Mindfulness Training to Kids

I've written before about Pema Chodren's fine essays on Shenpen describing methods to cut through aggression simply by not reacting immediately. In today's NYTimes, the lead article being emailed is "In the Classroom, a new Focus on Quieting the Mind" (June 12, 2007, Patricia Leigh Brown). In this article, students engage in 20 seconds of quiet time alternating with compassion training by being asked to contemplate how they will behave on the playground.

Introducing contemplative practices to youngsters is a fast growing pedagogy that is being introduced by parents and teachers who have experientially seen the remarkable benefits in even devoting a few moments every day to mindfulness practice.

There are a number of resources for information and curricular development of contemplative education practices:

The Center For Contemplative Mind in Society
Brown University Contemplative Studies Initiative
Mindfulness in Education Network