suffering. The value of various contemplative practices is slowly being confirmed by conventional science with the consequence that such practices are increasingly seen as work’. I hope that along with this trend there will be a rediscovery that work ‘worthwhile “Good takes time because good things are complex and demanding of us and our attention and devotion” (Seidel and Jardine, 2014, p. 84). In proposing to bring contemplative practice into our schools, we return to the roots of this word, from Greek time, leisure, rest, ease, skhole, “spare idleness...originally, a holding back, a keeping clear” (online etymological dictionary, 2016). I am reminded of Mary Rose O’Reilly, (1998) who opens her inspiring book, Radical by quoting another inspirational educator, Parker Presence: Teaching as Contemplative Practice J. Palmer, -- teach is to create a space” (p. 1). It is my hope that by sharing my own journey “To as an educator and meditator, and offering a few suggestions in answer to the question of how to create a contemplative classroom space, fellow teachers who read this project will be inspired to engage with their students in a wide range of creative ways, living ever more deeply into their own questions. References Abbs, P. (1974). Autobiography and the training of teachers. Higher Education 104-112. Quarterly, 29(1), Abram, D. (1996). The spell of the sensuous: Perception and language in a more-than-human New York, NY: Pantheon Books. world. Alberta Education. (2013). Retrieved from Ministerial Order on Student Learning.
suffering. The value of various contemplative practices is slowly being confirmed by conventional science with the consequence that such practices are increasingly seen as ‘worthwhile work’. I hope that along with this trend there will be a rediscovery that “Good work takes time because good things are complex and demanding of us and our attention and devotion” (Seidel and Jardine, 2014, p. 84). In proposing to bring contemplative practice into our schools, we return to the roots of this word, from Greek skhole, “spare time, leisure, rest, ease, idleness...originally, a holding back, a keeping clear” (online etymological dictionary, 2016). I am reminded of Mary Rose O’Reilly, (1998) who opens her inspiring book, Radical Presence: Teaching as Contemplative Practice by quoting another inspirational educator, Parker J. Palmer, -- “To teach is to create a space” (p. 1). It is my hope that by sharing my own journey as an educator and meditator, and offering a few suggestions in answer to the question of how to create a contemplative classroom space, fellow teachers who read this project will be inspired to engage with their students in a wide range of creative ways, living ever more deeply into their own questions. References Abbs, P. (1974). Autobiography and the training of teachers. Higher Education Quarterly, 29(1), 104-112. Abram, D. (1996). The spell of the sensuous: Perception and language in a more-than-human world. New York, NY: Pantheon Books. Alberta Education. (2013). Ministerial Order on Student Learning. Retrieved from
CreatingSpaceforContemplationInfusingMindfulnessandAwarenessActivitiesinEnglishLanguageArtsClassesByKarenJacobsen.docx