At school with mindfulness

Author: A. Vigilante

Five centuries before Christ Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, developed a system of meditation (vipassana) based on the analysis of oneself, one's body and mental contents. In the seventies the American doctor Jon Kabat-Zinn drew from it a scientific protocol for the treatment of stress. Thus was born mindfulness, a practice that revolutionized the world of psychotherapy. This book suggests that the introduction of mindfulness in schools, associated with the Western practice of philosophical dialogue, represents an opportunity for a paradigm shift in education. Mindfulness can be an effective tool to address increasingly widespread problems in our schools, such as violence and bullying, inattention, difficulty concentrating, teachers' burnout. For Vigilante, however, it only realizes its full potential if it is included in a more complex educational project. The Humanistic Awareness Based Education (EBAC) proposed by the author is a training program which, through inner research and dialogue with others, intends to deepen awareness as knowing about oneself (existential dimension), knowing about the other ( ethical dimension), awareness of common problems (political dimension). The book is complemented by a practical guide, with exercises designed specifically for students and teachers.