Matthieu Ricard habits of happiness
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/191
Mind training matters.

Stuart B Hill's values for social ecology have been useful
http://www.shintaido-australia.org/shill/index.html#nextsteps

And a challenge.
I found Clifford Stoll difficult to watch and felt impatient, but went
back the next day to listen again.
Imagine Stoll as a student. A student who wants to be a scientist. We
want to encourage participation in science.
What does this mean in terms of encouraging inquisitive journeys.
http://www.ted.com/speakers/view/id/213
He is brilliant, quirky and passionate about learning and looks like a
challenge for a teaching and learning context.
And yet he is contributing, and cares deeply about the importance of
other people caring about that kind of contribution.
What does this mean? Imagine Stoll as a student. Do we have skills for
being inclusive of diversity in the ways we structure learning.
What is efficient/rich, what is useful/interesting, how can parents
and students choose what feels valuable.
How can teachers get support for trying things which have no precedent.
How can students get support for trying things which have no precedent.
What kinds of systems help our society to face its fears in ways which
make us more connected and whole.
When things break do we have methods for healing individually and collectively.

Teachers and schools are under a lot of pressure because we have
socially so much disparity and unprocessed mess.
It is not fair to pack all of this challenge into schools for
industrial processing.
It is equally not useful to exclude who we are from our education system.
So there needs to be some flow and shared responsibility.
We need the ability to develop skills in constructively negotiating
for a diverse and aspirationally motivated Australia.
The Beyond Beliefs Islam and non Islam Australia conversations were powerful.
I see these kinds of cross connections and conversations being a
larger part of our social processing.
They help us to do the work required to deal constructively with diversity?
There are other ways too? Fun and festivals. Music and language.

We probably cannot do some of these things using the industrial
processing techniques which have become familiar in education.
Class sizes and timetables, standard tests come with some underlying
assumptions about value, goals and common directions which might need
review. Perhaps we need to review resourcing for schools and to do
this as a social responsibility(as per Clifford Stoll) as much as a
funding question for a sector of governance.

We could do with constructive Media participation which finds ways to
make commercial value through supporting inclusive and constructive
negotiation of contention.

Perhaps each individual in society could be seen as a contributor who
is on a learning journey facing fears and finding ways to collaborate
constructively. Doing the mind training. The mix of opportunities,
negotiations and also fences which relate to that person's
contributions
need to be about making safety through the kinds of participation
which is required and through encouraging them to take new steps.
Fences used need to relate to the point on the path of the person on
that journey, whether that is because they are very young or because
there is a problem which needs to be handled in a controlled space.

These are just my thoughts.
Passing the baton back to the gang there are many folks on list who
are more experienced
in the specifics of these issues in a school context.
What does your ideal outcome look like?
Which pieces of puzzle need to be in place to make first steps in
those directions?