Primary Education debates

“paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p.4). Mindfulness has been used as a recreational and educational tool in schools in recent years. “children and young people, undergo experiences of information overload as their attention is ceaselessly solicited from multiple sources.” (O’Donnell, 2015, p.190) Mindfulness has been a way of teaching children how to focus their minds and become more focused learners who are able to be both critical and objective. Mindfulness has also been a tool for creativity and holistic learning. “In education, we do not spend enough time in the present. We do not reflect enough or put children (or ourselves) in situations where awe and wonder are normal responses. True involvement, deep engagement in a subject or an activity, often takes us out of ourselves into a zone where time does not matter so much and distractions or current worries lessen. As teachers, we need to seek ou...

Hello fellow bloggers, today I will be looking into the use of mandalas to reduce the feeling of anxiety. I am interested in this topic as I have seen it in practice and have been surprised by the impressive results.  The Oxford dictionary defines a 'Mandala' as a circular figure representing the universe in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism. Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, explored the psychological effects of mandalas. He discovered the mandala ‘in his efforts to relieve suffering – both his own and that of patients in psychotherapy’ (Cornell, 2006, p 140). 'In such cases, it is easy to see how the severe pattern imposed by a circular image of this kind compensates the disorder of the psychic state- namely through the construction of a central point to which everything is related. This is evidently an attempt at self-healing on the part of Nature, which does not spring from conscious reflection but from an instinctive impulse.' (Jung, 1991) The mandala...