West Meets East: Mindfulness, Part 2

3/3/2015

George P. Moore

Today I am excited to follow up on my November blog about mindfulness and meditation. While looking for books for my children last fall, I happened to see the book Mindfulness by Harvard professor Ellen J. Langer; the bookstore was celebrating the 25th anniversary of the book’s publication. Since social-emotional wellbeing is integral to Dawson’s Strategic Plan, and since mindfulness is of particular interest to me, I decided to read it. I found especially interesting Langer’s Western interpretation of mindfulness as a complement to the Eastern practices more often associated with mindfulness: things like meditation, the quieting of the mind, and the relinquishing of thoughts. Though these tools are useful forms of supporting one’s overall sense of mindfulness, those less familiar with their numerous benefits sometimes dismiss them.

Langer’s take on mindfulness is refreshing and has, I think, broad-ranging application to our personal lives and to our collective work in defining the future at Dawson. To properly understand her interpretation of mindfulness, we first need to understand the concept of mindlessness, which Langer spends considerable time exploring.

For Langer, mindlessness is manifested through automatic behavior, repetition, and a belief in limited resources, and it can lead to a narrow self-image, a perceived loss of control that limits choices, and learned helplessness. Think about that for a moment. This description of mindlessness certainly describes aspects of our lives as individuals and organizations, in that it is all too easy to be creatures of habit and routine. In this western context, then, what does it mean to be mindful as individuals and how might that be reflected in the work of a school like Dawson?

Lager identifies five characteristics of mindfulness that provide insight into how to lead more satisfying personal and professional lives:

Question existing categories/create new categories
Welcome new information
Change contexts
Focus on process over outcome
Value intuitiveness over rationality

It is amazing how naturally each of these mirrors the teaching and learning process that most educators understand to be best practice; yet it also is possible to see how one might become limited by their opposites and become comfortable in a relatively mindless (perhaps somewhat satisfying, but likely limiting) lifestyle. Though it may be difficult for many of us to do consistently, if we strive to question the status quo, invite new information, consider changing our contexts, focus on the process, and value intuitiveness, we move toward integrating mindfulness consciously in our everyday lives, hopefully instilling a lifelong practice.

When one thinks about the future of Dawson and our Strategic Plan, these concepts of mindfulness are at its heart. If you review the plan carefully, you will see that the school is indeed creating new categories through innovation and creative scheduling; welcoming new information through extensive research on best practices in education; changing contexts by embracing the K-8 structure, and creating space for social-emotional learning; valuing process by recognizing student responsibility for learning, creating alternative assessments, and continuing our experiential education programs; and using our intuition when we seize opportunities and hire exceptional staff. Dawson is clearly incorporating the principles of mindfulness to move the school forward and to provide the best possible educational opportunities for our students.

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