A few years ago when my daughter was in Kindergarten, she began at a new school. This was an elementary school with a middle school attached to it, and a whole new world from her small neighborhood pre-school. I quickly found out that part of joining this school was having to accept the fact that there would be all-school lockdowns, threats of violence against the school made by students, and ALICE drills at every grade level. ALICE drills are like fire drills or tornado drills, except are intended to prepare students in the event of an active shooter attack. I found it impossible to accept that there was nothing else the school could do to respond to this potential threat, which seems to be a product of our culture of violence and a mental health crisis. I started doing some research, and found that the practice of meditation can actually lower the rates of violence in a geographic region. Further research into the benefits of meditation in children and in schools has convinced me that Meditation (or other mindfulness practices) would be a powerful way to reduce the potential for violence in our schools, increase the mental health of our kids, and create a strong foundation of life skills that will equip our children to handle life’s stresses. I decided to convince the school to integrate meditation into the curriculum at every grade level. I made my case, and the school administration dismissed it with barely a response. I felt the need for a simple, well-designed brochure that I could just hand to the school to make the case for me. Thus began this project, which evolved into designing a public service campaign to make the general public more aware of the benefits of meditation and gain support for integrating meditation in to every classroom. The billboard designs, poster, and brochure are shown here. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
