A Buddhist In The Classroom

A Buddhist perspective on classroom training.

TCSE-Smith, blurb (final 9 August 2013) There are 400 million Buddhists in the world. Buddhists in Australia make up 3% of the population. So why have Buddhists had so little to say about educating youth? And, can Buddhism survive in Australia without educating youth? Sue Smith in Buddhist Voices in School answers why Buddhists are reluctant to ‘go public’ on education, and how Buddhism has much to offer the critical area of enhancing the wellbeing of young people. Here she distinguishes spiritual education from religion. Using case studies of Buddhist classes in primary schools Smith shows how a community adapted Buddha-Dharma to fit with contemporary education. The book describes how Social and Emotional Learning, inquiry and experiential approaches to education fit well with the intentions of Buddhism. In these classes students learned to meditate and explored ethics through a lively selection of Jataka tales. Voices from a Buddhist community, state school teachers, parents and also students inform the narrative of this book. It is the students themselves that reveal over time how they have developed calm, focus, kindness, resilience and better ability to make choices through their participation. The author concludes that the principles and techniques used in this program make potent contributions to current pedagogy. This book will be of great value to educators, academics and all those who have interest in Buddhism and who care about how children are educated.

Donna Quesada had been teaching for about a dozen years when the first signs of burnout hit her. Rather than give in to her frustration, she reached for Buddha’s teachings, the Zen wisdom that formed the basis of her own longtime spiritual practice. She survived the semester and gradually rediscovered the joy in her job that had been progressively declining. In this wise and inspirational book, she shares the lessons she learned—lessons that revealed, time and again, that no matter the situation, it’s always about getting your head in the right place first. Resolution begins in our own minds. Some days, some semesters, and even some years will be more challenging and more wearisome than others, she warns. But in The Inspired Teacher, Quesada offers a lasting source of encouragement and Zen. Although the book draws from Eastern teachings, the wisdom is for everyone, regardless of personal background, creed, or faith. With elements of The Last Lecture as well as Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul, this is the perfect gift for teachers—but also for anyone needing inspiration.

This volume explores the ways that leading scholars of Buddhism are updating, revising, and correcting widely accepted understandings of, and instruction on Buddhist traditions. Each essay presents new insight on Buddhist thought in such a way that it can be easily applied to university and monastic courses.

What would a classroom look like if understanding and respecting differences in race, culture, beliefs, and opinions were at its heart? If you were inspired to become a teacher because you wanted to develop young minds, but now find yourself limited by "teach to the test" pressures and state standards, Mary Cowhey's book Black Ants and Buddhists: Thinking Critically and Teaching Differently in the Primary Grades will reignite the passion and remind you that educators provide more than test prep. Starting her career as a community activist, Cowhey shares her roots and how they influenced her Peace Class, where she asks her students to think critically, learn through activism and discussion, and view the entire curriculum through the framework of understanding the world, and what they can do to make it a better place. Woven through the book is Mary's unflinching and humorous account of her own roots as well as lessons from her heroes: Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, Jr, and others. Her students learn to make connections between their lives, the books they read, the community leaders they meet, and the larger world. Black Ants and Buddhists offers no easy answers, but it does include starting points for conversations about diversity and controversy in your classroom, as well as in the larger community. Students and teachers investigate problems and issues together, in a multicultural, antiracist classroom.

Donna Quesada had been teaching for about a dozen years when the first signs of burnout hit her. Rather than give into her frustration, she reached for Buddha’s teachings—the Zen wisdom that formed the basis of her own longtime spiritual practice. She survived the semester and gradually rediscovered the joy of teaching that had been progressively declining. In this wonderful book, she shares the lessons she learned—lessons that reveal time and again: No matter the situation, it’s always about getting your head in the right place first. Resolution begins in our own minds. Some days, some semesters, and even some years will be more challenging and more wearisome than others, she warns. But in Buddha in the Classroom, Quesada offers a lasting source of encouragement and inspiration. Although the book draws from Eastern teachings, the wisdom is for everyone, regardless of personal background, creed, or faith. With elements of The Last Lecture as well as Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul, this is the perfect gift for teachers—but also for anyone needing inspiration.

This book explores what mindfulness could mean for teachers and educational researchers. Moving beyond popular platitudes about mindfulness, the author provides a conceptual map for understanding the different ways in which mindfulness can be recommended to teachers. Covering the key features of Buddhist, psychological and socially engaged forms of mindfulness, this book critically examines the different ways mindfulness is defined, what problems it is meant to address, and the ways that claims about mindfulness are made. It argues that each approach to mindfulness implies an ideal of what a ‘good teacher’ should be. It will be of interest and value to teacher educators, educational researchers and scholars of mindfulness within education.