The verdict?  There’s a quiet spiritual revolution going on in our schools.

“The world is a lot smaller now because everyone is interconnected,” said a west coast teacher who’s logged a decade in the classroom.  “Go into any public school in the region, and up to 50% of the students will be from other countries.  It’s a hugely diverse mix, and everyone is interconnected through technology.”

This connection, the teachers all agreed, makes every student more aware. It also seems to be making them more compassionate – a key spiritual virtue.

“A lot of kids are compassionate because they’re born that way,” one teacher said. “Some are taught to be, either by parents or their school.”  For the one-third of students who don’t exhibit this quality, according to the educator, they probably just haven’t been exposed to it.

“Compassion is contagious. We need to teach by example – for instance, brainstorming about things they can do to help the local community,” said another teacher. From there, it’s a short step to thinking of ways to help students in other communities, and around the globe.

“Young people naturally want to connect,” a teacher said.  “A typical conversation is, ‘How old are you? Do you want to have fun? Let’s go play.’ They don’t care about where someone is from, or their race, or their ethnic background.”

Perhaps the biggest misconception about kids’ spirituality, said one teacher, is the mistaken idea that they’re too young to understand.  “Believe me,” she said, “They know what’s going on.  They have such a wealth of knowledge, and a definite point of view.  They want to make a difference, and they all have something to contribute.  We need to listen to them – we’d be a much kinder, compassionate country if we did.”

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