Module Description

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In this phase of childhood, the child’s world expands and she develops subtlety of feeling. The healthy feeling life of the child is supported by providing a context of beauty for all things, from simple movements to complex ideas. By appealing to their natural imaginative capacities, children can be encouraged to use these active feelings to connect with learning as a process. During this period of childhood, the child becomes ready for academic learning, as long as it appeals to the social, physical and, particularly, to the feeling realms. In this module we explore the development of thinking, feeling, and willing with a focus on feeling and pictorial mental image. This phase of childhood is subdivided into 7–8, 9–11 and 12–14 (puberty). 

 

In physical development we examine variations in physique and motor skills. In cognitive development we continue to explore Piaget’s concrete operational thought, and perspectives on information processing and language. In psychological development, we consider emotions and emotional development. Psychosocial development includes social cognition, understanding others, understanding self, developing positive self-esteem, and the peer group. An important aspect of middle childhood is the society of children where friendship and social problem solving – the rejected, neglected or controversial child – become prominent.

 

We will study the structure of emotions and their neurobiological nature in the development of wellbeing; the neuroscience of meditation and its application to education; research on mindfulness and the pre-frontal cortex, limbic system and brainstem; and the science of happiness and well-being.

 

In this module we continue to build the picture of human development anchored in the Buddhist view we established in module 1. The following are the Buddhist touch points or threads that we continue to weave with developmental science and Steinerian psychology:

 

• Self: Unhealthy self, healthy self and luminous self

• Impermanence: subtle momentary impermanence and gross continuity impermanence

• The 5 aggregates, 12 links of dependent origination

• The three I’s and the additional 2 I’s as described by Tsoknyi Rinpoche

• Kleshas