MADISON, Wisc. – Beginning this fall, a unique, cutting-edge 18-week study involving all fourth and fifth grade students, their parents and teaching staff at Lowell Elementary School in Madison will be taught the 3S Smart Learning System.
Wisconsin is the first state to premiere this new paradigm for effecting positive behavioral changes in the increasingly disruptive public school classroom. Sanctioned by the Madison Metropolitan School District, the 3S Smart Learning System pilot study is the first comprehensive program to teach emotional management skills. It is easy to learn, requires no prior skills, requires no costly materials or equipment and is a simple, sustainable program.
In integrating the learning system for use in public schools, Elisabeth Phillips, a 30-year veteran educator in the Madison public school system, collaborated with Jinendra Kothari, a 35-year global activist who developed and designed the 3S Smart Learning System.
The unique program offers a combination of simple practices – broadly comparable to yoga, meditation and breathing techniques – that produce almost instant calming and focusing. The ongoing practice of these simple techniques can effect positive change in the entire learning environment for students, parents and teachers. It is a holistic learning experience that does not require cognitive skills or previous knowledge. There is no religious agenda and persons at every level can experience success. Its aim is to self-empower students, parents, families and teachers in a whole school learning community by bringing ancient knowledge into the modern realm of scientific evidence-based research. 3S teaches methods that develop self-calming tools for sustaining inner and outer peace, respect and stress reduction as a daily non-violent practice, becoming as natural as daily brushing of one’s teeth.
The pilot program at Lowell Elementary will be part of research on stress reduction in the brain using salivary Cortisol pioneered by the project evaluation collaborator, Dr. Richard J. Davidson, world renowned neuroscientist and director of Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging & Behavior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Funding is currently needed to complete this study. Those interested in providing financial support for the pilot 3S Smart Learning System study through funding and or grants may e-mail Elisabeth Phillips at ephillips@madison.k12.wi.us.
Jinendra and Phillips have been invited to speak on October 28 at the 2005 Wisconsin Education Association Council’s state teacher convention in Milwaukee. Teachers will be given an overview of 3S Smart Learning System and experience the effects of several 3S tools for themselves. The free 3S program during the WEA convention is offered to teachers and/or school staff interested in bringing 3S Smart Learning System into their district. Contact the WEA at www.weac.org for information on time, location and directions.
Integrative Health and Healing degrees at Anoka-Ramsey Community College
COON RAPIDS, Minn. – Anoka-Ramsey Community College has announced a new health-care career program option: Integrative Health and Healing. Students may choose a two-year degree program or a one-and-a-half-year program leading to a certificate.
"Holistic healing, mind/body connections, movement and body manipulation therapies, and energy healing are part of the core courses for Integrative Health and Healing," says Pat Johns, president of Anoka-Ramsey Community College. "This program offers an additional heath care option for our students and responds to a growing need in our marketplace."
Curriculum for the Integrative Health and Healing program was developed with the help of industry experts and holistic practitioners, many of whom will actually serve as faculty for the program. Students will obtain an overview of holistic healing and experience a wide variety of mind/body practices.
The 64-credit, two-year associate in science degree program is intended for students who plan to transfer into a four-year bachelor degree program. A transfer agreement is in place with Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis, where students have such degree emphases as public or private health care administration, or gerontology studies. Another transfer agreement is available through the American Academy of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in Roseville, Minn. In addition, students may choose to transfer to the College of Saint Catherine in Minneapolis to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business with a health care management emphasis or bachelor’s degree in occupational science.
The 32-credit certificate program is intended for health care practitioners looking to expand their skill sets. The certificate program can be completed by full-time students in three semesters.
For more information or complete course listing, contact Program Director Sheila Judd at (763) 422-3302 or sheila.judd@anokaramsey.edu. Anoka-Ramsey Community College, with campuses in Cambridge and Coon Rapids, has been a leading provider of higher education and training in East Central Minnesota since 1978 and the north suburban area of Minneapolis/St. Paul since 1965.
