By Lujan Asturias (‘23)
Earlier this year, in the Intro to Psychology class, there was a guest speaker who introduced the program known as Heartful School. This program’s main focus was empathy, and presenters demonstrated meditation and allowed students to write Christmas letters to the homeless which would then be enveloped in a blanket to be given to them.
Ms. Priya Shriram said of the organization “Our mission is to take heartfulness tools and techniques to the whole of school communities, to the classroom, to the staff, and parents included; and our mission is to make sure that every heart, every student heart, and every educator’s heart is touched with these tools and techniques so that we can be better educators, better students, better administrators in our schools”.
This program can be beneficial for students in promoting healthy psychological habits and also connects to psychology courses. Meditation plays a big part in the mini-lesson that was given. The students were asked to close their eyes and clear their minds simply. The college student that assisted walked the students through the meditation. This can be a simple way for anyone, students or staff, to take a breather throughout the day. When it comes to lessons like this, promoting psychology courses can be a good thing for students. According to an article from the APA, “High school psychology can help students achieve scientific literacy and acquire the skills they need to assess information—and misinformation—about the pandemic, climate change, or other topics affecting their lives”. It allows students to see the world they live in from a different perspective and also brightens their view on human behavior and mindsets.
Psychology courses have many benefits, and groups like Heartful School have a major role when it comes to learning about psychology.