Frequently Asked Questions
We are pleased to provide answers to some commonly asked questions on Consciousness-Based Education and Transcendental Meditation. (You will also find answers to many more questions on the websites links below and on the other pages of this site.)
For a series of questions and answers specifically related to the practice of Transcendental Meditation, please see: www.stressfreeschools.org/faq.html
For information about learning Transcendental Meditation in the UK,
please see: www.t-m.org.uk
> Are Consciousness-Based Education and Transcendental Meditation suitable for all pupils?
> Is Transcendental Meditation easy to implement in an existing school?
> How does Transcendental Meditation help with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
> What is the difference between Consciousness-Based Education and Transcendental Meditation?
> What is the time commitment for Transcendental Meditation each day?
> What is the evidence that Consciousness-Based Education and Transcendental Meditation work?
> Will Transcendental Meditation have an effect on pupils’ behaviour and/or attainment?
> Could you describe the results in schools where Consciousness-Based Education (CBE) and Transcendental Meditation have been introduced?
> Will Transcendental Meditation conflict with the National Curriculum?
> What is the cost of introducing Consciousness-Based Education in a school?
Q: Are Consciousness-Based Education (CBE) and Transcendental Meditation suitable for all pupils?
The key component of CBE is the simple, natural, mental technique of Transcendental Meditation. When introduced in a school, this simple technique is taught to pupils from the age of 10 upwards, when they are naturally able to follow the simple learning instructions. During the practice of TM, the mind spontaneously and naturally settles down to increasingly silent, more orderly levels of awareness, and experiences the simplest, most expanded state of awareness, the full potential of the mind – transcendental consciousness. For more than 50 years, Transcendental Meditation has been taught to adults and students all over the world, from all religions, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. The well-documented, wide-ranging benefits of Transcendental Meditation are evident in all aspects of life: mind, body, behaviour, and environment.
www.MaharishiSchool.com
www.StressFreeSchools.org
www.MaharishiSchoolIowa.org
www.mum.edu
Q: Is Transcendental Meditation easy to implement in an existing school?
Yes. Implementation of Transcendental Meditation in schools is an easy and systematic process once the school administration has agreed to introduce the programme and the teaching schedule is timetabled. The programme does not require a significant change to the school curriculum or distract head teachers from their responsibilities. It is designed to proceed in a systematic way from the initial introductory presentations to the head teacher, staff and parents, to personal instruction in Transcendental Meditation for each participant and subsequent follow-up sessions. In this way, maximum benefits to the pupils, teachers, and the school are anticipated.
Q: How does Transcendental Meditation help with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
ADHD has become an issue of increasing concern in schools. Figures seem to suggest that around 5% of school children in the UK – about 366,000 show symptoms of ADHD, which affects concentration and causes disruptive behaviour.
Research recently published suggests that Transcendental Meditation may be a valuable adjunct in the treatment for ADHD. Children taught TM showed improvements in attention, working memory, organisation, and behaviour regulation.
For further information: - www.adhd-tm.org
Q: What is the difference between Consciousness-Based Education and Transcendental Meditation?
Consciousness-Based Education is the name given to an educational approach which integrates the study of standard academic subjects with the experience and understanding of development of consciousness. The simple, natural, effortless mental technique of Transcendental Meditation is the core component of CBE and can be added to the usual curriculum in any school in order to unfold the full potential of the brain for every pupil.
Q: What is the time commitment for Transcendental Meditation each day?
Between 10 and 15 minutes twice a day in a group – once in the morning before lessons begin and again in the afternoon at the end of the school day. This is all that is required for the wide range of benefits to be experienced by the pupils, teachers and school as a whole.
Q: What is the evidence that Consciousness-Based Education (CBE) and Transcendental Meditation work?
The unique effectiveness of the practice of Transcendental Meditation has been scientifically documents over the past 40 years. More than 600 scientific research studies, conducted at over 250 universities and research institutes in 33 countries, verify the profound benefits of Consciousness-Based Education for all aspects of individual life and society.
Research studies show development of the mind and optimisation of the brain; improvement in physical health, more balanced behaviour and increased academic achievement. The effectiveness of CBE has been seen in the direct experience of thousands of students who have attended Consciousness-Based Education schools around the world, in terms of their heightened personal happiness,, well being, and academic achievement.
For full details of scientific research on Transcendental Meditation, please see:
www.stressfreeschools.org
Q: Will Transcendental Meditation have an effect on pupils’ behaviour and/or attainment?
Yes. Transcendental Meditation provides the experience of “restful alertness” while optimising brain functioning. The nervous system is strengthened and balanced as stress is naturally dissolved. This results in more and more balanced behaviour and increasingly higher levels of attainment.
www.StressFreeSchools.org • www.MaharishiSchool.com • www.MaharishiSchoolIowa.org
Q: Could you describe the results in schools where Consciousness-Based Education and Transcendental Meditation have been introduced?
Wherever the programme has been introduced, the results have spoken for themselves, including schools in inner city, high-stress environments. Consciousness-Based schools in different countries have demonstrated an exceptional level of academic excellence.
At Maharishi School in Skelmersdale, Lancs, in 2007 100% of the pupils gained GCSE passes at grade c or above, compared with a national average of 63%. Approximately 66% of the passes were at the highest grades of A or A*; this is over three times the national figure of 19.5%. The school has an open admissions policy and does not select pupils by ability or background.
September 2008 Ofsted Report
The Maharishi School very successfully meets its aims. It provides an outstanding
quality of education for all of its pupils that is well tailored to their individual needs.
As a result of the outstanding curriculum and the good and often outstanding
teaching pupils make outstanding progress from their individual starting points. The
provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding,
as is their behaviour.
Dr George Rutherford, Principal of Washington’s Ideal Academy Public Charter School in the US was principal of the Fletcher-Johnson Education Centre in one of the city’s most violent areas for 20 years. He introduced the Transcendental Meditation technique to hundreds of students and teachers at the Centre. Dr Rutherford says, “We had amazing results. I used to have to be in the streets all the time to stop the fighting, but after we started the TM programme, I didn’t have top go out there. You walk into the school and you feel it’s tension-free: a stress-free school right in the heart of the inner city, where we had [plenty of violence.”
www.StressFreeSchools.org • www.MaharishiSchool.com • www.MaharishiSchoolIowa.org
Q: Will Transcendental Meditation conflict with the National Curriculum?
Experience in the UK has shown that the National Curriculum requirements are not only met but exceeded. Transcendental Meditation enhances the intelligence, creativity, and happiness of pupils, providing them with a greater ability to excel within the framework of the National Curriculum.
Q: What is the cost of introducing Consciousness-Based Education in a school?
When Transcendental Meditation, the key component of Consciousness-Based Education is introduced into a school, the cost per pupil and teacher is £320, half the usual cost for learning Transcendental Meditation. The Maharishi Invincibility Schools Fund has been established, and is raising funds to help sponsor the teaching of Transcendental Meditation in schools.
The entire contents of this web site are copyrighted to Maharishi Foundation®. The following are trade marks and registered trade marks of Maharishi Foundation, registered educational charity number 270157: Consciousness-Based Education, Transcendental Meditation, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi, TM-Sidhi Programme, Yogic Flying, Maharishi Invincibility School, Maharishi School, Tower of Invincibility.
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