His Holiness the Dalai Lama has spoken for many years about the importance of educating the heart. For educators and young people, this message has never been more important.
Today, young people carry both tremendous stress and incredible capacity for agency and action. Hence, there’s a need for caring adults who see and support young people and systems that hold their dignity at the center. Educators are essential in tending to the hearts and minds of young people, and yet, they too carry enormous stress and have limited support to realize the dreams that led them to the teaching profession.
The Compassion & Dignity for Educators project was developed in response to the needs and dreams of educators. It brings together Crown Institute researchers and practitioners, K-12 educators, and Compassion Institute contemplative experts. From these many sources of expertise, we are designing and studying programs and practices to support educators in cultivating compassion and dignity in schools.
A recent success of the Compassion & Dignity for Educators Project was the launch of an online certificate program that is part of CU Boulder School of Education’s master’s program in teacher leadership. Thanks to a generous donation from the Hemera Foundation, an inaugural cohort of K-12 educators also are engaged as learners in the certificate program, and their learning will inform program refinements and expansions.
In conversation with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, educators will share their experiences and seek guidance about how to bring compassion and dignity into their work and their lives.
