March 18, 2010. A quick note from the horse’s mouth: I’m back in Canada after only 6 weeks in Bhutan. I’m still processing how it occurred that I was keen to teach in Bhutan, and then de-keened so entirely(!). It was quite an adventure full of new and good experiences (along with the quite visceral compulsion to leave). In the end I had to listen to my heart; teaching overseas is not for everyone. However, I was greatly enriched by the travel adventure. Over the next few weeks I hope to bring the blog to some sort of conclusion; fact or fiction—I’m not yet sure(!).
Toronto, Canada
Grant will be a teacher to middle secondary school students in Chumey, Bumthang District, Bhutan beginning in March, 2010. His resume reads like a dog’s breakfast (albeit, a tasty one) of skills and experience. He has been a professional actor, a furniture designer/maker and has held various administrative positions in corporate environments in Toronto. Grant has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama - Acting (1983) from the University of Alberta (Canada) and a Bachelor of Education (2008) from Nipissing University (Canada). He is committed to exploring the spiritual dimensions of his life and has had an active meditation practice for over 20 years.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Gross National Happiness

Bhutan, as you might know, is a country that strives to practice and measure Gross National Happiness, with education being one of nine identified spheres that contributes to the collective goal of achieving happiness. Eight Canadian teachers are traveling to Bhutan (through the facility of The Bhutan Canada Foundation) to work with local educators to help facilitate the transition to a newly reformed, child-centred curriculum that stresses interactive teaching pedagogies.

I imagine that children in Bhutan have many venues in which to learn meditation, but I’m keen to teach meditation to students (as I understand it from 20 years of practice) at an age-appropriate level, and help them to apply the skills of attention and focus to their studies. I'm curious to discover if children in Bhutan are less afflicted with problems associated with "attention deficits" than are some of the children in the classrooms where I did my practice teaching in Toronto. I was encouraged to uncover a reference to teaching meditation in schools as a fundamental organ for increasing gross national happiness.† I suspect the fear of stirring up a religious hornet’s nest or—more likely—a non-appreciation of meditation practice has prevented western educators from perceiving the benefits of inner practice, whereas in Bhutan meditation would seem a natural fit. I'll let you know how / when / if this experiment proceeds!

†“Role of Meditation in Achieving Gross National Happiness” by Khenpo Phuntsok Tashi, a conference paper included in the Fourth International Conference on Gross National Happiness held in Thimphu, Bhutan presented by The Centre for Bhutan Studies in November, 2008. http://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/admin/pubFiles/19.GNH4.pdf

See also: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Gross National Happiness held in Bhutan, November 24-26, 2008 http://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/main/gnh4.php

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