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Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

nytimes.com

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Re: Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

#21

Post by dTal »

mapcars wrote: post #9
fiala__ wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Children have no problems with happiness or well-being. Have you ever met a child IRL?

In my experience kids, until a certain age, run around, scream, shout, full of excitement, happiness, and life. But once they start looking at adults - all they see only dark, gloomy, lifeless serious faces and so they start becoming the same. If adults want to do something about it - we should teach happiness ourselves first. Kids will follow automagically.

Are you suggesting we shouldn't teach mindfulness to children? That it's not a useful skill? That the time would be wasted?

>“It’s not just to make them feel better in the short-term,” Dr. Deighton said, “but to better equip them for later in life.”

Re: Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

#22

Post by icebraining »

mapcars wrote: post #14
aurbano wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You were a very lucky child then :) Edit: Apologies for the sarcastic response, couldn't help it. Children can and do feel unhappy, some more than others. This feels like an amazing step in the right direction because many people (myself included) don't learn early on that feeling sad or overwhelmed is normal and ok. We strive to "feel good" and stress about it, without tools to cope. Most adults either ignore this o…

>many people (myself included) don't learn early on that feeling sad or overwhelmed is normal and ok Until someone told you what is normal and what is not you have no problems doing something. So it's not about being sad is ok, it's about not judging at all.

Yes, in an utopia, this class may be useless.

Re: Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

#23

Post by stiangrindvoll »

I think this makes perfect sense. Good one from the Buddhists this one. It's all about making the children stronger, tougher and more aware of them self and people around them. How they affect the world and how the world affects them. If the world is mean, harsh or tough, they are already capable to handle them self.

One can also as an adult start practicing this. Can be quite exhilarating.

Here is a good book on the subject https://www.amazon.co.uk/Miracle-Mindfulness-Gift-classic-re...

Re: Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

#24

Post by andyjohnson0 »

mapcars wrote: post #2

>“Children will start to be introduced gradually to issues around mental health, well-being and happiness right from the start of primary school,” he added. Why wouldn't adults just solve their mental problems instead of introducing them to children? Children have no problems with happiness or well-being. It's us who should learn from them. big facepalm

> Children have no problems with happiness or well-being.

This seems rather naive to me. Unhappiness is far from absent from the lives of many children and young people, and social media is making it worse. See yesterday's yougov survey results that indicate that "18% of young people in UK do not think life is worth living" [1].

This new curriculum subject is about helping children to understand and navigate their own feelings and deal with stresses so that they are less likely to turn into messed-up teenagers and adults. As a parent of school-age children I think this is an entirely good thing.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/05/youth-unhapp...

Re: Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

#25

Post by fiala__ »

mapcars wrote: post #9
fiala__ wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Children have no problems with happiness or well-being. Have you ever met a child IRL?

In my experience kids, until a certain age, run around, scream, shout, full of excitement, happiness, and life. But once they start looking at adults - all they see only dark, gloomy, lifeless serious faces and so they start becoming the same. If adults want to do something about it - we should teach happiness ourselves first. Kids will follow automagically.

If you've never seen a depressed child then I beg you to pay attention. Children have incredibly complex, fascinating and perceptive minds, they aren't just happy food processing automata until they reach puberty.

It's exactly this kind of reductionism which leads parents to ignore their children's psychological needs, which leads to schools having to take action.

Re: Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

#26

Post by aurbano »

mapcars wrote: post #14
aurbano wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You were a very lucky child then :) Edit: Apologies for the sarcastic response, couldn't help it. Children can and do feel unhappy, some more than others. This feels like an amazing step in the right direction because many people (myself included) don't learn early on that feeling sad or overwhelmed is normal and ok. We strive to "feel good" and stress about it, without tools to cope. Most adults either ignore this o…

>many people (myself included) don't learn early on that feeling sad or overwhelmed is normal and ok Until someone told you what is normal and what is not you have no problems doing something. So it's not about being sad is ok, it's about not judging at all.

I think this topic is too complicated to discuss over text like this.

I agree with you, I’m sure we think similarly, and it seems like talking to children about mindfulness could be amazing.

I fear that many schools/teachers won’t do a good job at it, judging exclusively from my own experience back in school... but that’s a different issue.

Re: Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

#27

Post by FrankyHollywood »

I'm always puzzled with the fact that people search for surrogate solutions instead of pursuing the real issue.

If you don't feel well there is so much you can do. Make serious effort in making friends, join a sports club or something else you like, solve long running conflicts with other people, don't over- or under achieve on a level which doesn't fit you (school/work), be proud with the things you accomplish instead of never being satisfied, etc...

Perhaps it just seems easier to buy another self-help book, and take a mindfulness class.

Re: Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

#28

Post by afarrell »

mapcars wrote: post #2

>“Children will start to be introduced gradually to issues around mental health, well-being and happiness right from the start of primary school,” he added. Why wouldn't adults just solve their mental problems instead of introducing them to children? Children have no problems with happiness or well-being. It's us who should learn from them. big facepalm

> Children have no problems with happiness or well-being

I'm happy for your past self, but your experience is not universal. Many people as children and teenagers have problems with these things. Its hard to take action to work on these without having a mental framework to organise your thoughts and communicate about them.

Re: Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

#29

Post by fiala__ »

ionised wrote: post #19
mapcars wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Besides, depression and anxiety is surprisingly common among children. Whom do you think they learned this from? Trees or cats?

You are asserting that depression is a learned behaviour?

They're probably also the kind of person who tells depressed people to "cheer up, life's not all that bad after all!"

Re: Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

#30

Post by Reimersholme »

mapcars wrote: post #14
aurbano wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You were a very lucky child then :) Edit: Apologies for the sarcastic response, couldn't help it. Children can and do feel unhappy, some more than others. This feels like an amazing step in the right direction because many people (myself included) don't learn early on that feeling sad or overwhelmed is normal and ok. We strive to "feel good" and stress about it, without tools to cope. Most adults either ignore this o…

>many people (myself included) don't learn early on that feeling sad or overwhelmed is normal and ok Until someone told you what is normal and what is not you have no problems doing something. So it's not about being sad is ok, it's about not judging at all.

So, being able to mindfully just observe your feelings without passing judgement...?
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