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The Gainesville Sun, Saturday, February
6, 1993
Some say it works By James Hellegaard Dr. Jack Jenkins believes it's time to bring Transcendental Meditation to the school system. Director of the P.K. Yonge Lab School and president of the Gainesville Association of Professionals Practicing the Transcendental Meditation Program, Jenkins said TM offers a simple, effective solution to the critical problems facing education. "Stress is debilitating in some cases, killing our students," Jenkins said. "Falling test scores, substance abuse and school violence directly result from rising levels of stress in the schools. Jenkins said that hundreds of scientific research studies have shown that TM is a highly effective technique for significantly reducing stress and anxiety, and for increasing IQ, creativity and academic performance. He said the technique is ideal ly suited for students. "Transcendental Meditation is easy to learn, enjoyable to practice. and only takes a few minutes each day," Jenkins said. "Students love it." To help promote the idea, Jenkins and the group of area professionals who practice TM invited Harry Bright, a lecturer from Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa, to come to Gainesville on Sunday to present recent scientific research on the benefits of TM and discuss the use of the technique in education. At a time when studies show children are more stressed than ever before, Bright believes TM may offer some answers. With no intention to push a plan before the local school hoard, he instead wants to get the word out on the technique, which, while it has proven to reduce stress, still seems to scare some people. Just look up "transcendental" in the dictionary, and the words jump out at you: supernatural, abstract, metaphysical. "The words 'Transcendental Meditation' can seem a little foreign to those of us living in the United States today," Bright explained. "And as a result, statements are made not based on knowledge of what Transcendental Meditation is, but based on ignorance of what Transcendental Meditation is.' He said TM is a simple, easily learned mental technique, practiced for 15 to 20 minutes each day. He stressed that it is not a religion, philosophy or a lifestyle. Bright says practicing TM produces a unique and profound state of restful alertness, which eliminates built-up stress, unfolds the latent creative intelligence of the mind, and provides the basis for dynamic, satisfying activity. Nearly 2 million people in the U.S. have learned the technique in the last 35 years. Bright said the symptoms that plague many schools today, including crime and drug abuse, are a result of students who are unhappy with their lives. By practicing TM, Bright said, students feel "far more awake inside" and have far less stress. "A student who is alert and clear and is enjoying what is going on in school, well that's usually the last person who's looking to engage in criminal activities or even turn to drugs," Bright said. "Drugs are usually a thing that frustrated students turn to, students who are bored and dissatisfied." Glenn Turner, an associate professor in the College of Dentistry at the University of Florida. has been practicing TM for 10 years and believes the technique could be helpful in reducing the violence in schools by giving students a way to release stress. He said the increasing violence in schools may make people more aware of the need to try innovative methods such as TM to reduce it. "When I was in school, it was a big deal if you had a pocket knife," Turner, 48, said of school violence. "The problem is, people are getting hurt." Janet Zeigler has been teaching piano for 35 years. She said children today are under more stress than ever before, wanting to be accepted and liked, trying to please their parents and teachers. Before she began practicing TM a few months ago, she witnessed the effect meditating was having on one of her students, an l1-year-old girl. She said the girl was experiencing acute headaches that caused her to miss many days of school, and having great trouble concentrating. After three or four months of meditating, she said, the girl was relaxed, peaceful, focused and rid of the headaches. "I think, what if every child had the opportunity to be rid of the stresses of everyday life?" Zeigler said. "What a positive impact on the educational system that would be." Reprinted with permission of The Gainesville Sun, Gainesville, FL |
