Mindful Awareness and Compassion: Educational Necessities in the 21st Century

Dr. Jennings will present a broad philosophical rationale for why a contemplative approach to education is critical to preparing young people to adapt to the challenges of this century. We evolved to function well in relatively stable environments. However, our rapidly changing modern world is escalating social and psychological turmoil prompting the need for new ways to deftly adapt to this change. For the first time in history a remarkable transdisciplinary effort has arisen to explore our mind/body systems with insights gathered from contemplative traditions that developed practices for social and self-transformation.  Contemplative science aims to discover whether secularized contemplative practices can alleviate distress and cultivate positive human qualities. Jennings will present her groundbreaking research that shows that such practices introduced to teachers have significant distal impacts on their classroom interactions and student learning with the potential to transform education.