Educating the Heart and Mind

Friday was a provincial professional development day in our province and I had the pleasure of attending the Heart-Mind Conference put on by the Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education. The conference attracted a number of international, well-respected speakers all discussing the topic of cultivating resiliency.

The conversation about resiliency began with a discussion of risk. For most children exposing them to developmentally appropriate risk is a good thing. When children are exposed to risk and even failure, they learn skills and strategies to become problem solvers and critical thinkers.

However, there are stressors that children are exposed to that put them at risk for long-term negative outcomes. Being exposed to more than one of these factors increases the likelihood of long-term negative outcomes. Children considered to be at-risk may be more likely to drop out of school, suffer from mental illness, have poorer physical health outcomes, have higher rates of substance abuse, and be less financially stable as adults. But more importantly, many children exposed to risk factors have positive life outcomes. Research is now looking into why some children flourish where others fail. What emerged from the conference was a message of hope. New research is demonstrating how schools, communities, and families can intervene to prevent children and youth from having a negative life trajectory.

With apologies to the presenters, Dr. Kimberly Shonert-Reichl, Dr. Dzung Vo, Dr. Eli Puterman, Dr. Michael Unger, and Linda Lantieri, I will attempt to summarize their intricate and complex research and work. The take away for me was that children need the following to be resilient:

• Structure
• Consequences
• A parent/child connection
• Lots and lots of strong relationships
• A powerful identity
• A sense of control
• A sense of belonging
• Exercise
• Enough sleep
• Mindfulness

Often times as educators and parents we cannot control the stressors that our children face, whether it is the loss of a family member, divorce, unemployment, illness, or family mental health concerns. These risk factors can be significant and devastating to children. What gives us hope is this research into what we can do to mitigate and support our children through these events. Dr. Eli Puterman shared his research into the dramatic effects that exercise can have on the body. Stress on the body can be measured and Puterman demonstrated that by exercising we could actually reduce the physical signs of stress. Dr. Vo discussed his use of mindfulness with youth suffering from mental illness and the positive impact it had on reducing anxiety. In Medellin, Columbia, one of the most impoverished and dangerous places to live, Dr. Unger described the importance of having strong relationships to develop resiliency in children. Finally, Linda Lantieri spoke about the importance of teachers as relationship builders in supporting students to be resilient and her work in New York City after the devastation of September 11, 2001.

Our school system is a different place than it was twenty years ago and we are continuing to evolve as research informs our practice. Our new redesigned curriculum and the emphasis it places on personal and social competencies is one more way in which we are meeting the needs of our 21^st century learners.

There are rich resources available at the Dalai Lama Peace and Education website. Please visit http://dalailamacenter.org/