"Our flagship program is Quiet Time, a meditation-based stress reduction and wellness program that enhances the healthy development of students, teachers, and administrators in schools."For background, read California Judge OKs Teaching Hinduism in Public School
-- CWAE website
In contrast, Colorado School Bans Jesus Talk During Free Time
Also read about the outrage against any Christian presence in public schools across America, including the war on Christmas, and read how the schools support atheists, even though polls show that most Americans support prayer in school.
-- From "San Francisco Schools Transformed by the Power of Meditation" posted at NBC News 12/31/14
. . . school administrators tell NBC News that the violence outside of the school, which is situated in one of San Francisco's poorest neighborhoods, was spilling into the school and affecting the students' demeanor.
"The kids see guns on a daily basis," the school's athletic director, Barry O'Driscoll said, adding, "there would be fights here three-to-five times a week."
"I thought this is hippy stuff that didn't work in the '70s, so how's it gonna work now," O'Driscoll said. But he changed his tune, when over a four-year period, suspensions decreased by 79 percent and attendance and academic performance noticeably increased.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Meditation Program in California Schools Reduces Violence And Improves Performance" posted at Inquisitr 12/31/14
The program was dubbed “Quiet Time” and was introduced to four California schools including a Visitacion Valley School which has been exposed to violence both inside and outside of the school. That all started to change when the San Francisco Public School District introduced the “Quiet Time” meditation program to the Visitacion Valley middle school as well as three other local middle schools. Students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades participated in the program, which has the schools going silent two times each day for 15 minutes of meditation.
These results are no surprise to those who advocate for meditation. In addition to reducing stress levels, several studies has shown that regular meditation brings a number of cognitive and health benefits for both children and adults, including reducing blood pressure and preventing heart disease. Meditation has also been successful in managing pain and a variety of health conditions including asthma, depression, sleep disorders, and anxiety, and is an excellent tool for child birth as well. The popular form of meditation sometimes called mindfulness meditation has also been shown to improve concentration and critical thinking skills and researchers from both Yale and Harvard have shown that meditation can actually improve grey matter in the brain.
With meditation being such an easy, not to mention free, way to improve the lives and educational experiences of students, it is likely that the amazing success of the “Quiet Time” program could spread to other schools in California and, hopefully, around the country.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Meditation transforms roughest San Francisco schools" by David L. Kirp, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley (posted at San Francisco Chronicle) 1/12/14
What's happening at Visitacion Valley Middle School, which in 2007 became the first public school nationwide to adopt the program, shows why the superintendent is so enthusiastic. . . .
At first glance, Quiet Time - a stress reduction strategy used in several San Francisco middle and high schools, as well as in scattered schools around the Bay Area - looks like something out of the om-chanting 1960s. Twice daily, a gong sounds in the classroom and rowdy adolescents, who normally can't sit still for 10 seconds, shut their eyes and try to clear their minds. I've spent lots of time in urban schools and have never seen anything like it.
This practice - meditation rebranded - deserves serious attention from parents and policymakers. An impressive array of studies shows that integrating meditation into a school's daily routine can markedly improve the lives of students. If San Francisco schools Superintendent Richard Carranza has his way, Quiet Time could well spread citywide.
While Quiet Time is no panacea, it's a game-changer for many students who otherwise might have become dropouts. That's reason enough to make meditation a school staple, and not just in San Francisco.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
