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Improving academic achievements Where do you go to see for yourself the long-term impact of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation in education—to see what happens when kids meditate for five years, or even fifteen years, as part of the daily class routine? You go where countless other parents, teachers, and students have gone: to a small private school in the heartland of America. Scientific studies on blood pressure, ADHD, and emotional stability, along with extensive research on the benefits of Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation program in education, provide data on how Transcendental Meditation can impact student life. But at Maharishi School (K-12) in Fairfield, Iowa, USA for more than 20 years, the students have provided living proof of these benefits through their academic achievements and their successes in state, national, and international competitions. In his book A Record of Excellence, Ashley Deans, Ph.D., Director of Maharishi School, recounts the achievements of his school, which is accredited by the State of Iowa and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States. He chronicles just what happens when everyone—students, teachers, and staff—meditates. And for a school with no entrance exams and an open enrollment, the successes of the students are remarkable—but also typical, Dr. Deans hastens to add, of other Consciousness-Based schools in the U.S. and around the world. Here are a few of the achievements:
With these achievements has come considerable recognition from educators, both in the state and nationwide. Patrick Bassett, President of the National Association of Independent Schools in Washington, D.C., describes Maharishi School as ‘a world-renowned independent school of the highest caliber academically,’ and Jill Olsen-Virlee, the Iowa Teacher of the Year, calls the School ‘truly an inspiration—the inner peace, the concern for one another, the respect and thirst for wisdom, and a holistic approach to children are awesome.’
Dr. Deans says his school works because it adds the missing element to education: what he calls ‘knowledge of the knower.' Dr. Deans explains: ‘Education today is fact based—the primary emphasis is on how much information we can cram into a child’s head in how short a time, with much less emphasis on how we deliver the knowledge. And when we do consider knowledge delivery, we look only to the student–teacher ratio, the number of computers, the up-to-date textbooks, etc. ‘These are all important factors, of course, but zero emphasis is placed on the “knower”—the student who is doing the learning. If I have ten gallons of information I need to pour into a child’s head during a class period, and he or she is stressed or tired or depressed and only able to absorb one quart of information, then only one quart is going to get in—no matter how hard I try. The container of knowledge—the student’s mind—has reached its limit. So for education to be successful, we need to expand the container of knowledge.' Dr. Deans says when students start and end each school day with the Transcendental Meditation technique, then their ability to absorb knowledge expands, and they are alert and eager to learn.
‘Transcendental Meditation is chilling out in the best way possible. It is easy, simple, and the results are endless. My nerves relax, my body calms down, and my stress dissolves. This is not to say I’m not faced with pressures every single day—I am a senior in high school, and sometimes it can seem like the end of the world with parents, school, college plans, friends, homework, sports. Transcendental Meditation doesn’t make problems disappear—it just makes me stronger and gives me the ability to solve them.’ Wes is a junior who has been meditating for seven years: ‘I’m in a class of kids who all practice Transcendental Meditation, and they’re always raising their hands and participating in class—we just like to learn. I’ve talked to a lot of friends in other schools, and when I tell them I actually like school they look at me like I’m crazy. ‘My parents tell me how they don’t remember anything they learned in high school. I hope that with Transcendental Meditation my generation can look back at their student years and really feel like they actually got something out of it.’ Wes then adds: 'I’ve seen how quickly Transcendental Meditation can affect someone else’s life. Recently a friend from another high school learned the technique. The next day I saw him he was bright, happy, and calm, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It is inspiring to see how a few simple minutes can have such a powerful, positive effect in someone’s life.’ Dr. Deans says that education has to do more than prepare a child for a job—it also has to develop his or her full potential. 'Education cannot just be employment based: it has to be consciousness based, enlightenment based,’ he says. ‘The problems we confront in society today are human problems, caused in large part by the underutilization of our most precious resource, which is our human resource. Hundreds of scientific studies on the Transcendental Meditation program and more than 30 years of classroom experience should be enough to convince anyone that Consciousness-Based Education can make education complete and can help transform our problem-ridden society into one that is healthy, harmonious, and productive.' Copyright 2007 David Lynch Foundation.
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