The Universal Education Foundation

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The Universal Education Foundation
Reflections on Education and Well Being
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Education for well being meansFocusing not
only on what children learn but
on how they learn

• and

requires attention to every aspect of the
educational environment such as
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• The content and style of teaching and learning
• The prevalent attitudes and feelings involved
• The quality of the relationships involved
• The physical environment and manner in which the
  body-minds of teachers and students are engaged
  in the learning process
• The intention and spirit of the educational
  endeavor.

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What are some of the key elements of education
for mental, emotional, social, physical and
spiritual dimensions of well being?
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Education for mental well being

• entails cultivating curiosity, knowledge and
  skills, creativity, the capacity to learn and the
  love of learning, the ability to be inner
  directed, to discern and to evaluate situations
  and to make reflective, effective decisions that
  nurture ones own and others well being.

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• Learning what?
• Providing each child with the basic content and
  skills such as literacy, health literacy,
  arithmetic and ICT to function in today's world
  as well as the individually relevant breadth and
  specificity of knowledge that will contribute
  maximally to his/her self actualization.
• Learning how?
• Cultivating multiple intelligences (Gardner) by
  rich, pleasurable, experiences that optimally
  foster the childs different ways of learning and
  knowing.

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Education for Social and Emotional Well Being

• There is growing research showing that
• social and emotional learning programs
  significantly improve students' academic
  performance
• (Timothy p. Shriver and Roger P. Weissberg aug
  16 n.Y. Times)
• emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills
  are important factors in professional success in
  adult life. (www.eiconsortium.org/research/what_i
  s_emotional_intelligence.htm)

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According to CASEL

• Social and emotional learning is the process of
  acquiring the skills to
• recognize and manage emotions,
• develop caring and concern for others,
• make responsible decisions,
• establish positive relationships, and
• handle challenging situations effectively.

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Learning for social and emotional well being
also involves cultivating the child's

• self acceptance, self esteem, competence, self
  directedness and self expression.
• awareness and caring about oneself and others.
• respect and curiosity in relation to differences
  between people and a capacity for understanding
  interdependence.
• the capacity for joy, wonder, playfulness,
  spontaneity, empathy and compassion
• tools for managing and transforming painful and
  unpleasant emotions and conflict.

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Education for physical well being

• entails cultivating healthy body minds and
  healthy life styles in students by offering
  knowledge, activities and experiences that
  contribute to physical well being, to health
  literacy and to the awareness of the relationship
  between physical well-being and the mental,
  emotional, social and spiritual dimensions

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This means

• Providing safe, stimulating, well maintained
  learning environments
• Engaging the childs mind bodies in learning in
  ways that develop physical health and a full
  range of kinesthetic and mind body skills and
  pleasure in healthy physical activity
• Offering mind body techniques for dealing with
  stress and trauma, for strengthening the immune
  system and for nurturing optimally healthy minds
  and bodies
• Encouraging a deeper understanding, care for and
  engagement with the natural environment and
  ecological issues

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Providing age and culturally appropriate
information, learning experiences and counseling
services relating to optimally healthy lifestyles
that address

• mind body potential, health and fitness
• nutrition
• tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs,
• personal/consumer health
• safety and injury prevention (including violence
  prevention)
• family life
• human sexuality
• disease prevention and control

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Education for spiritual well being

• The aim of development is the complete
  fulfillment of man, in all the richness of his
  personality, the complexity of his forms of
  expression and his various commitments as
  individual, member of a family and of a
  community, citizen and producer, inventor of
  techniques and creative dreamer.
• 1992 the UNESCO task force on learning to
  be

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Education for spiritual well being entails
cultivating

• a sense of meaning and purpose in discovering and
  expressing ones unique gifts in service of
  community.
• a sense of awe and wonder in nature and the
  universe and a deep understanding of
  interconnectedness to all that is. The experience
  of inter-being (Thich Nhat Hahn)
• the experience of joy, mindfulness and
  lovefullness in relation to self and others.
• an understanding of ongoing personal growth and
  healing in relation to ones unique life path.

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Components of a coordinated school health program
include

• Family and Community Involvement
• Comprehensive School Health Education
• Physical Education
• School Health Services
• Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services
• School Nutrition Services
• Healthy School Environment
• School-site Health Promotion for Staff
• (Making the Connection Health and Student
  Achievement Healthy children learn better!
  Powerpoint presentation by theSociety of State
  Directors of Health, Physical Education, and
  Recreation 2003)

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Some Subjective Key Elements of Well Being

• Coherence between the way ones life is and the
  way in which one would like it to be.
• A deep sense of being safe and supported by one's
  environment or ones spiritual belief system.
• A pervasive sense of self-esteem, joy, curiosity,
  wonder and gratitude, with the capacity to
  navigate and cope with a full spectrum of
  emotions.
• A satisfying sense of self-awareness,
  self-expression and self-actualization, and
  meaningful and rewarding engagement in
  relationships, learning, work, creativity,
  leisure and play.

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• A pervasive sense of physical health and
  vitality and rewarding engagement in physical
  activity
• A sense of belonging, interdependence and
  pleasure in contributing to ones communities and
  human and non-human environment
• A confidence in ones ability to manage
  challenging situations and ambiguity with
  competence, choice and flexibility.
• A prevalent sense of acceptance, optimism,
  resourcefulness, resilience and capacity for
  growth and healing in the face of lifes
  challenges.

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The Universal Education Foundation Education by
All for the Well Being of Children