Paper Proposal

I want to write a paper that further explores a postcard about mindfulness in education. This grows out of my goal to better understand the usefulness of mindfulness practice as it relates to education and the feasibility of applying it in a way that is, “active in the world, without having to step out of it in order to feel emptiness and peace” (Postcard). In the postcard, I talked about my initially negative reaction to the writings of Pema Chodron, whose teachings I thought were inspiring, but not directly relevant in an educational context, and further, fairly problematic. I want to revisit this thought after reading classmates’ responses to the postcard and after spending more time in class on this topic. One response said, “Her fourth tenant about thinking about solutions as if they are a dream strikes me as opposed to the Chamberlain definition of empowerment where they say to allow learners to be angry” (Dana), while another added, “It seems as if she thinks that ignorance is bliss, that the less tangled we are in our social interactions, the better. While this can be effective in small moments, on the long run, it creates this perpetual cycle of ignorance. How can we have critical conversations, which at times can of course be uncomfortable, if we stray away from negative vibes?” (pbernal). A third added, “I couldn't help but feel like her perspectives were coming from a place of a lot of privilege” (smalina). I want to address these and other concerns and further contextualize the topic by bringing in selections from readings and guest speakers. This exploration ties directly to one of the class’s learning goals, which is “to clarify your own values about the significance of holistic approaches to educating with empowerment in mind” (EL Syllabus). If there is space, I also want to tie mindfulness to other themes of the class, including trauma-sensitivity and community schools.