Mindful education

The present generation of kids is undergoing a lot of stress and emotional turbulence. As parents, all of us are concerned about the same. However, the mere concern will not solve the issues. We will have to take some active steps. 

The first step in any problem-solving is to understand the problem. To understand the problem, We carried out a survey of 178 students and asked certain questions. We asked them whether they have any doubts about the value of education. Many of the students replied that they feel that the system is not fair and they are not sure about getting the jobs. They also feel that the present education system is quite bookish and it does not help in life. 

Another question was whether they face difficulties in concentrating in the classroom and many students replied that they are not able to concentrate due to anxiety about the future. In fact, many of the students want to know about the issue of emotions and how to handle them. Most of the kids conveyed their willingness to learn about mindfulness. 

In a similar survey, sometime back, I asked a few questions from some of the parents and they replied that they feel a sense of meaninglessness in life. It is quite surprising that the parents who are not able to make sense of their life are very sure about the education stream and the career options and schools of their kids. Are they not imposing their blindness and ambitions on their kids. Most of them feel that their meaninglessness and purposelessness are because of the fact that they could not get an education from a particular school or college or could not be successful in a particular competitive exam. They feel that their kids will be happy if they achieve these feats. What they fail to understand is the following things:

1. All of us are unique and different from each other. Our aptitudes are also different. That's why what is good for us may not at all suit the kids.
2. We draw presumptions about what we could not get. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Possibilities exist in every place. However, they stay dormant until and unless we explore them.
3. We often make mental stories about the goodness of certain careers and institutions and live with these mental images. In reality, they may be quite different from our mental images. Slowly we get fixated on these mental images and become mindless in our pursuits.

When we set the goals for the kids based on such faulty thinking, kids are going to suffer. They suffer from the following issues because of this:

1. Their attention gets fixated on a very limited part of their existence. They get tensed, anxious, and depressed as and when they do not get the desired result. They ignore the rest of the blessings they have such as a wonderful body wherein each and every cell is working with perfect coordination and a powerful brain that has great capacity.
2. With these fixations, we give over the premium to our targets. We feel that these achievements will bless us with all the fun in life. With this faulty understanding, we try to forego the fun of the present moment. For most of the students, it does not work and becomes so burdensome after a point in time that they lose interest.
3. Kids miss the fun of learning because education seems only the way and means to achieve future security and fun. The intrinsic value of education is not inculcated in the minds of the kids. 
4. When kids grow old and enter into jobs, they become utterly frustrated. They made huge dreams about the fun they will have after getting into a particular career and that fun is nowhere. The offices are full of politics and discrimination. They become disoriented and frustrated.

I strongly feel that the solution to all these issues is mindfulness. We have to be mindful and teach our kids the same. Mindfulness simply means the mind is full of awareness. Awareness of the totality of the reality we encounter and not a limited part thereof. This awareness brings gratitude towards what we have, compassion for others who are not having this gratitude, and restlessly chasing their ambitions and dreams. It brings an inner joy that reduces any need to cling to external pleasures and makes us independent. This inner satisfaction brings great stability that makes our energy free to explore. Free to explore any subject. In fact to explore the whole life. That is the real fun. In this state of mind, we live our daily life in a state of flow. We study each subject with interest. We are able to establish that connection with each subject. Learning becomes a joy in the present moment rather than a tasteless effort to get imaginary fun in the future which never comes.

The following post elaborates on this concept:

https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/07/why-worry-let-us-explore-be-happy.html