“When you live in a world where violence is a daily reality, every day is a hard day. If we’re not able to find solutions, these children may be lost,” says Minnie Ferguson, Co-founder and Director of Education at Semillas Community Schools. This video by the David Lynch Foundation is about one of the solutions now available at the school: the Quiet Time program.
The first International Baccalaureate school in Los Angeles, Semillas Community Schools combines academic rigor in traditional subjects with the study of the cultural heritage of it’s Aztec students. According to Marcos Aguilar, Co-Founder and Principal, “Semillas is about having a safe place for our kids and about whether our next generation remembers who their grandparents were.” 
Semillas partnered with the David Lynch Foundation in 2011 to help foster an atmosphere of peace and learning in its school. “Transcendental Meditation has…created a sense of autonomy in how the children heal themselves,” says Mr. Aguilar.
The students agree. “When I meditate, I feel calm and like everything is going to be OK – and that there’s a solution,” says Elijah.
Along with creating peacefulness, meditation has helped the school to graduate more students. Marilu finds that her energy is renewed after meditation. She says, “It makes me want to learn even more…It’s like I can do this. I can go onto a four-year university and come help my community.”
“Meditation allows children to have hope to see that they can take advantage of a college-bound education,” says Ms. Ferguson, “They can hope to be one of the answers to making this a better world for everyone.”
For more information on the Quiet Time program, visit davidlynchfoundation.org/quiet-time
