Introducing MindfulEd
It was suggested that I put together an introductory Twitter guide by several of the educators I met during a smartEducation workshop I recently completed with the folks from Mindfulness Everyday in Toronto.
Uniquely designed for educators, SMART (Stress Management & Resiliency Techniques) involves experiential activities in mindfulness including: meditation, emotional awareness and movement. Weekly meetings also include presentations and group discussions.This is a program that is offered in many places across North America. To find a location near you, check The University of British Columbia Website.
The MindfulED community has a great deal to offer the Twitterverse of educators I have worked with and their students who need an antidote to combat the toxins of today's test-centered curriculum's.
The benefits of Mindfulness, however, goes beyond stress coping mechanisms and offers opportunities for teaching and practicing, empathy, compassion, generosity and kindness.
From Neuroscience, we are learning that these are NOT what have been traditionally referred to solely as 'soft' skills, but, in fact, are equally important to the "hard" skills of learning, problem solving and cognition.
My hope with the guide is to introduce the MindfulED groups that I have just begun discovering, and connecting with, to the passionate, committed and innovative educators that I have worked with and admired on Twitter. I am also hoping that you in the Twitterverse will go out looking for them (see partial list below) and invite them into your chats, schools, classrooms and communities.
MindfulED Resources:
Toronto-based Mindfulness Everyday, a registered charitable organization, offers MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) workshops, in non-clinical settings as well as specifically designed programs for youth, parents and educators. Twitter: @mindfulnessqd
At Heart-Mind, we believe that the education experience is enriched by cultivating self-awareness, compassion,mental clarity, and
emotional intelligence. Therefore, through mindfulness education training, we work to empower educators, students, parents, and counselors with tools that support these qualities, in and out of the classroom. Twitter: @heartmindedu
Mindful Schools: Online courses for educators to learn mindfulness and share it with youth. Join our graduates from 100 countries who have reached over 300,000 youth. Twitter: @Mindful_Schools
A Mindful Society’s goal is to support a large and growing movement around mindfulness and compassion within society – a movement that we are fuelling by interacting directly with those applying contemplative practices in their respective sectors. Twitter: @aMindfulSociety
Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme) is a national nonprofit that offers in-depth mindfulness programming for young adults and the parents and professionals who support them. Our programming guides young adults in developing self-awareness, compassion, and ethical decision making, and empowers them to apply these skills in improving their lives and communities. Twitter: @InwardBoundMind