Past Event
Special Screening: Room to Breathe
4th Dec 2012
Presenter: Arts in Action
Website: http://artsinaction.com.au/
Event Duration: 120 minutes
Room to Breathe by director Russell Long is the first mainstream documentary about bringing mindfulness into education. It is an authentic representation of what it’s like to teach mindfulness in a truly challenging environment. By providing a raw and realistic look at the process, it shows how even the most difficult classrooms can be turned around with patience, teaching skill, and partnership with school staff. Based on the experiences depicted in the film, as well as results at other schools and independent academic studies, the mindfulness technique appears to have broad potential to significantly improve kids’ social interactions with peers and adults, to reduce bullying and violence, and to improve academic performance and graduation rates.
Panel discussion:
A post screening panel discussion led by experts in the field of mindfulness and education will present options for integrating mindfulness techniques into the classroom and discuss issues raised in the film. The audience will have the opportunity to participate in a mindful meditation and experience the benefits first hand!
About the Film:
Topping the district in disciplinary suspensions, and with overcrowded classrooms creating a nearly impossible learning environment, overwhelmed administrators are left with stark choices: repeating the cycle of trying to force tuned-out children to listen, or to experiment with timeless inner practices that may provide them with the social, emotional, and attentional skills that they need to succeed.
The film presents a hopeful story of transformation, following a young mindfulness teacher, Megan Cowan, as she spends several months attempting to teach the technique to her classroom. Confronted by defiance and contempt, Cowan at first runs into substantial difficulties. But under her guidance, the students begin to learn the technique and eventually use it to take greater control over their lives, decrease stress, and better focus in class and at home.
The first question is whether it’s already too late. Confronted by defiance, contempt for authority figures, poor discipline, and more interest in “social” than learning, can a young mindfulness teacher from Berkeley succeed in opening their minds and hearts?
"Room to Breathe is a beautifully crafted documentary and a must-see for anyone who cares about educating kids to be caring and responsible citizens in the 21st Century. More importantly, the practice of mindfulness in schools is truly the next frontier in education reform. We will never close the relentless achievement gap without this kind of intervention. It’s contemporary, relevant, evidence based, and it is working!” Lisa R. Villarreal Program Officer, Education, The San Francisco Foundation
For further information and to watch the trailer HERE
Join the facebook event HERE