In a few weeks time, we’ll have our first Street Wisdom event specifically for young people led by Gail Donnan, a mindfulness practitioner who is well experienced in helping young people adopt mindfulness into their lives. Of course, Street Wisdom is more than just mindfulness – it provides an accessible, free tool for solving problems and finding new ideas. The approach can be used anywhere, at any time and you’re never far from the one requirement: a street.
A recent report from The Youth Index highlights that 48% of young people said they experience problems at school, which impacted their concentration and, of these, 46% didn’t talk to anyone about their problems.
So when talking through a problem with someone isn’t an option – or perhaps not the preferred option – and when facing big decisions about their future, Street Wisdom could be a very powerful tool for a young person to have at their disposal.
The change of environment also positively impacts concentration and engagement, people often find it easier to focus on a task or at work after a Street Wisdom session. In fact, this study found that after a lesson outdoors, teachers were able to teach for almost twice as long without having to redirect students’ attention
We’ve heard some fantastic results of young people taking part in Street Wisdom in the past. At a recent event led by Kathryn Parkes, one particularly innovative 9-year-old recently used Street Wisdom to think up some ways in which to help homeless people (including rooftop hotels and rooftop concerts!)
We’d be really interested in hearing your thoughts and input on how Street Wisdom could help young people, please do leave comments below or get in touch here.
