Meditation Isn’t Just About Self-Help. Here’s What Educators Need to Know
August 13, 2018
By: Raquel Rios
Source: Education Week
Mindfulness, yoga, and meditation have gotten popular in K-12 schools across the country. However, not enough attention has been paid to how these practices can prepare students to critique and challenge inequities in our country. To many social-justice-minded advocates, mindfulness seems like nothing more than a distraction to get people to adjust to oppressive conditions.
Do we really have time to sit around in contemplation when there’s so much going wrong in education and society more broadly? Isn’t it a waste of time to sit in meditation, search for inner peace, and relinquish nonjudgment if we are supposed to be change agents for social justice and equality? Those questions get at the heart of the growing rift between mindfulness aficionados and social-justice proponents.