Schools of Meditation


How do we educate children about mindfulness and wisdom? Several nearby schools have asked Seattle Shambhala to help answer this question. Students from Bush School, a private K-12 school in our neighborhood, can choose meditation as the topic of their 10-week immersion class. Valley School, a private elementary school, also has expressed interest.

Bush School Headmaster Percy Abram, an experienced meditator, visited one of the class sessions in the Shambhala shrine room. “He loved it,” said Center Director Tom Gaylord. “And the kids were totally into it.”

The next session, with nine Bush students, will be taught by Keith Hitchcock, Heidi Durham, and Tom Gaylord, with support from Shastri Ben Hines. Heather Crone and Gaylord taught the first sessions.

Energized by the experience, Gaylord recently invited a dozen interested sangha members for an informal dinner and discussion about meditation in education. The group included teachers from preschool, public school, university and other learning centers. We talked about our enthusiasm for bringing meditation to young people, and how we might step around obstacles that could arise. We agreed that our approach doean’t need to be a big new program, but is more likely to develop organically. Seattle Shambhala will continue looking for opportunities to engage young students.

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