Compassionate Critical Thinking (eBook)

Ira Rabois recently retired from the Lehman Alternative Community School, a public secondary school in Ithaca, NY, where he taught English, Philosophy, History, Drama, Karate, and Psychology for 27 years. He earned a B.A. from the University of Michigan, a M.A.T. from SUNY-Binghamton, served in the Peace Corps, studied Zen and Japanese martial arts for 40 years with Hidy Ochiai, and took classes in meditation and Buddhist psychology at Namgyal Institute for Tibetan Studies, The Omega Institute with David Loy and Robert Thurman, healing meditation with the Consciousness Research and Training Project, and Proprioceptive Writing with Linda Trichter Metcalf and Tobin Simon.

Foreword PrefaceMindfulness, Creativity and Natural ThinkingHeart, Empathy and MindfulnessSocratic Questioning and Compassionate ThinkingIntegrating Mindfulness into Your ClassroomMindfulness as Practice for Teachers IntroductionHow the Book is OrganizedNotes on the Inclusion of Student Voices in the BookChapter 1: Begin with MindfulnessWhat is Mindfulness? How Do You Practice It?Why Practice? Different Uses and Forms of PracticeMindful Speech The Hero’s Journey Using Imagination and Visualization to TeachChapter 2: How Does the Brain Shape Experience? The Geography of the BrainThe Emotional Areas of the Brain and How To Pay Attention Emotional Pathways and What We Pay Attention ToChapter 3: Emotion and the Quality of Your Mental State A Philosophical and Buddhist Inquiry into Suffering What Is Anger?Should I or Shouldn’t I? Anger and Kindness.Joy and Fear.Understanding and Letting Go of AnxietyGreed and Human History Chapter 4: Emotions of Opening and ApproachWhat is Empathy and Compassion? What is Love?What Attracts One Person To Another?Chapter 5: Compassionate Critical Thinking is a Process Of Mindful QuestioningQuestioning and Beginning the Process of Critical ThinkingHow Does Inner Silence Assist Thinking? The Role of Self-Reflection in Compassionate Critical Thinking ConclusionAcknowledgmentsAppendix: Further ResourcesAbout the AuthorIndex