More than 400 educational leaders from 26 states and 15 countries convened at Teachers College on Oct. 26 for “Awakened Education: Engaging the Spiritual Core,” a national conference celebrating the importance of spirituality in whole-child, K-12 education. The fifth decennial conference hosted by TC’s Lisa Miller, Professor of Psychology and Education and Founding Director of TC’s Spirituality Mind Body Institute, and funded by Rockefeller Philanthropic Advisors, brought together guest speakers, awards presentations and workshops engaging educators, practitioners and academics as part of a “national hub for awakened schools.”
“You’ve joined us from all around the world, bringing a pluralistic and diverse expression of spirituality in youth development,” shared Miller in her welcoming remarks. “Spirituality in K-12 education is alive and well. In the past 10 years, we’ve come to know ourselves, first as a burgeoning movement and now as a magnificently diverse field. We hope you’ll serve as torch-bearers, creating a hub for the ever-growing strength of spirituality in whole-child education.”
Miller (left) held open dialogues with keynote speakers and guests. (Photo: Bruce Gilbert)
The conference encapsulates Miller’s work with TC’s Spirituality Mind Body Institute (SMBI) and The Collaborative for Spirituality in Education (CSE), both dedicated to nurturing educators’ and students’ innate spiritual capacity and creating a more spiritually-aware society. Following the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s 2024 recognition of spirituality as one of the four vital pillars of health (in addition to physical, mental and social), this year’s conference underscored the benefits of incorporating spirituality into K-12 education.
Miller and her team have spent a decade studying the neural correlates of spiritual awareness. Their research shows that individuals who regularly engage in spiritual practices have a thicker cerebral cortex in areas linked to spirituality, such as the parietal, precuneus and occipital regions. In contrast, those with chronic depression showed cortical thinning in the same areas. Miller also founded the Awakened Schools Institute (ASI) to help educators implement these findings.
“There are three key priorities that every educator has before them: to make healthy, whole, resilient human beings, to create a civil society with democratic values and to protect our environment through sustainability in education,” she adds. “These imperatives lie at the center of our work at SMBI and CSE.”
Watch highlights from the Awakened Education Conference here.
The Frank Peabody Award
(Photo: Bruce Gilbert)
(Photo: Bruce Gilbert)
Given to a member of the private sector for exceptional civic leadership and broad-reaching impact on K-12 and higher education, the Frank Peabody Award was presented to Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management, for his philanthropy and visionary leadership. Rowan serves as chair of the UJA Federation of New York, and as Vice Chair of Darca Schools, Israel’s leading educational network serving over 30,000 students per year and supporting 51 schools in underserved communities.
Watch Rowan discuss Darca Schools and receive the Frank Peabody Award here.
“Darca Schools has been a 38-year heartfelt project. It is quite literally the best thing I do,” shared Rowan upon accepting the award. “The goal is not just to get children through school; it is to lead by example, to change the system.”
“Frank Peabody has articulated a very clear mission that for businesses to thrive, we need to form spiritual, democratic citizens in K-12 education,” said Miller. “The leadership exemplified by Rowan is a once-in-a-generation inspiration and continues to stir awakening in all of us. Rowan has entered the most underserved communities, welcoming students from numerous countries and preparing them to inherit a representative democracy. He has effectively raised the base level of national education.”
The Steven C. Rockefeller Award
(Photo: Bruce Gilbert)
International law firm K&L Gates received the Steven C. Rockefeller Award for their service to educational organizations. Established by Steven C. Rockefeller and TC’s Spirituality Mind Body Institute (SMBI), the award honors exceptional civic leaders whose outstanding contributions help to sustain democracy in the United States through education. Victoria Hamscho, Attorney in Public Relations, accepted the award on behalf of the entire legal team, including attorneys Karishma Page, Amy Carnevale and Andrew Tabler. “K&L Gates has been assisting Miller and CSE in establishing promising relationships with selected offices of Senators, members of Congress, and federal agencies,” shared Rockefeller in his remarks. “All of us associated with CSE deeply appreciate the research and strategic meetings that K&L Gates has conducted on behalf of CSE. Spirituality in education conjoined with revitalized civic education is one fundamental way to promote healing and renewal in America.”
More on the Steven C. Rockefeller Award and discussion with K&L Gates here.
Miller echoed Rockefeller’s sentiments, sharing, “The Stephen C. Rockefeller Award is given to outstanding civic leaders whose vision and service support the spiritual underpinnings of democratic values in the United States through education. Rockefeller emphasizes that schools must be a place of whole-child development that nurture the spiritual heart of every child.”
The Reid Family: “Jack’s Story and The Need for Spirituality”
(Photo: Bruce Gilbert)
William Reid and his wife, Elizabeth Reid (Ph.D. ’10 Clinical Psychology), shared their heartfelt experiences regarding the dangers of bullying and the mental health crisis affecting K-12 schools following the tragic loss of their son, Jack Reid, in 2023. In honor of his memory, the Reids established the Jack Reid Foundation in the same year, dedicated to raising awareness about the serious impact of bullying in educational environments. “Our end goal is to make sure that every child is protected. Children who do not feel safe in schools cannot learn,” they shared.
“The data is very clear that spiritual life is the most protective factor against completed suicide — it’s two to three times greater than any other protective factor we have and up to 80 percent effective against completed suicide. Students live in a community, so we must address spirituality not only in individuals but in the school culture,” added Miller.
Insights from Major General, Chaplain Tom Solhjem (U.S. Army)
(Photo: Bruce Gilbert)
Major General Solhjem, founding partner of Global Spiritual Awakening & Renewal (GSAR) LLC, spoke about the need for spiritual responsibility in schools.
“Teachers are entrusted with our nation’s most precious resource: the future of our country,” Solhjem emphasized. “As Dr. Miller shares, there’s a cultural crisis. We’ve thrown out spirituality and religion from our institutions and it’s led to increasingly damaging diseases of the spirit — depression, anxiety, substance use and more. I cannot emphasize the importance of spiritual readiness to our nation’s future.”
Spotlight: Featured Workshops
The conference included over 60 interactive workshops celebrating the pluralistic and diverse expressions of spirituality in K-12 education. Each workshop engaged spirituality within a host of pedagogical approaches and topics, including nature, arts, character education, meditation, universal and pluralistic expressions, mental health and educational leadership.
The Power of Mattering for Protecting Student Mental Health
(Photo: Bruce Gilbert)
Award-winning author and journalist Jennifer Breheny Wallace shared her experiences and timely research, emphasizing the crucial need for students to feel seen, heard and valued in schools. “Today we are facing a “mattering” deficit. Research shows that as many as one in three adolescents in the U.S. do not believe they matter to others in their community,” noted Wallace. “Our schools have the power to be countercultural institutions; to be “mattering” havens.”
“John Dewey once said, “You must have a spiritual bond between students in the classroom.” When problems arise, we need a spiritual response to transgressions, a spiritual response to bullying, and a spiritual response to hurt in order to create renewal,” noted Miller.
Remarks from Kai Bynum
Culminating the event, Kai Bynum, Head of School at Lakeside School in Seattle, spoke about the importance of spiritual health in schools and encouraged attendees to “define their version of spirituality,” sharing, “It takes courage to hold on to the values that all of you [educators] are encompassing as school leaders. To do that knowing that kids have a sense of hope, joy, and care — that is the goal.”
With a public and private education background, Bynum has published articles on late adolescent spirituality, spirituality and education, and spirituality and emotional intelligence. He consults with independent schools on organizational dynamics, spirituality, education and leadership issues.
“Teachers College has been the source and the foundation, through which came first an innovative field of spirituality and whole child education in a diverse, inclusive, pluralistic and constitutional way,” concluded Miller. “This work is only the beginning of the spiritual awakening in education.”
Learn more about spirituality and mental health:
— Jacqueline Teschon
Published Tuesday, Dec 10, 2024