School Director Offers Solution to Quell Student Violence... Teach Youth To Meditate  

The tragic events at Columbine High School have vivified that something fundamental is lacking in our country's educational system. Unless we can eliminate the under- lying stress in individual and collective consciousness that fuels acts of violence, whether they be in Colorado or Kosovo, similar tragedies will repeat themselves again and again.  

This is the conclusion of Dr. Ashley Deans, Director of Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment in Fairfield, Iowa, where students practice the Transcendental Meditation technique twice daily and consistently score in the top percentiles on national achievement tests.  

Peace Begins in the Minds of Men  

"The violence that is endemic in American schools today springs from the buildup of stress in individual and collective consciousness," says Dr. Deans. "The United Nations recognizes this in its charter saying 'Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.'"  

Technologies of Creating Peace  

Clearly, student violence begins in the minds of students. What is needed is an effective technology to create peace and higher levels of moral reasoning in students. Extensive research during the past 30 years has demonstrated that the single most effective method of reducing stress and creating harmony in the individual and society is the group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, including Yogic Flying.  

"These simple, natural mental techniques create coherence in individual and collective consciousness so that violent acts don't arise. Everyone knows that violence begets violence. The practice of the TM program, and especially Yogic Flying, shows that calm begets calm," Dr. Deans says.  

Violent Crime Plummets in Fairfield  

According to Dr. Deans, since the School campus opened in 1974, research published in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly (1994) shows that violent crime in Fairfield has decreased from the national average to a level one-seventh that of other U.S. cities of comparable size.  

"One has to visit our School to appreciate the quality of harmony and peacefulness that pervades the whole atmosphere. Our children don't even have locks on their lockers," says Dr. Deans. "We know that the very low level of vandalism and other problems at the School and in Fairfield is due to the practice of these technologies of consciousness.  

"Not only do these technologies create a peaceful, coherent environment, but they develop the integrated functioning of the whole brain physiology, as demonstrated by EEG studies and student achievements," Dr. Deans says.  

For the past four years, all classes in grades 9-12 at Maharishi School have scored in the 99th percentile on the Iowa Tests of Education Development, a standardized achievement test which is used by thousands of schools nationwide.  

Solution to Student Violence and Falling Test Scores: Develop Full Human Potential  

"Our student test scores defy the national trend of falling scores. We have the solution not only to the growing problem of student violence, but the long-term problems of declining test scores and malaise in the student population," says Dr. Deans. "It behooves educators to offer students a way to develop the full potential of human consciousness."

South African Schools Report Reduced Violence After Introducing TM Technique  

The Transcendental Meditation technique has been introduced in schools and colleges in many countries, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, Russia, Kenya, Peru, India, Taiwan, Cambodia, Thailand, Australia and the United States.  

In South Africa, over 3,000 students and teachers have learned the TM technique in the past two years. One headmaster at a school in Alexandra, Johannesburg, said that after introducing the Transcendental Meditation technique there was a significant reduction in student violence and an overall improvement at his school. "Attendance of lessons has improved dramatically. Overall class productivity is very much improved and the atmosphere is much better," he said.  

Dr. Deans says, "It is vitally important that every school in America teach their students the Transcendental Meditation technique and Yogic Flying so that we can create the kind of schools that everyone yearns for--schools that are safe, harmonious and develop the full potential of every student."  

PRESS RELEASE FROM:

The Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment Office of Public Affairs

Fairfield, Iowa 52557  

Contact: Rod Falk, Ph. 515-472-1157  

For Immediate Release: April 30, 1999.