At overcrowded and underfunded public schools across the country high suspension rates are exacerbating existing achievement gaps. Often, chaos in the classroom is to blame, keeping students from concentrating on their classes. On this edition we’ll hear excerpts from Russell Long’s film “Room to Breathe” which takes us to a middle school in San Francisco, California, that began teaching mindfulness in the hopes of giving students the skills they need to focus on learning.

Featuring: Ling Busch, guidance counselor at Marina Middle School; Megan
Cowan, mindfulness teacher, students and teachers at Marina Middle School
in San Francisco.

For More Information:

Mindful Schools

Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn on Mindfulness

Reproducing Social Inequality through School Security

“Mindfulness” meditation being used in hospitals and schools

In the Classroom, a New Focus on Quieting the Mind

The Garrison Institute

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

Books:

Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches
Anything

The Mindful Child

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