Education in Human Values Program

"Human values are not to be gone through a text, nor can be supplied by any company. It’s not the one to be gifted by friends nor can be obtained from a market. It is a natural position that comes out of the heart. The human values are present naturally along with one’s blood."

"Education is not mere knowledge but it is action. The true education and human value means that human value that is practiced in daily life. We just spell out; utter the names of human values – Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi, Prema, Ahimsa, it’s not that. There should be perfect harmony between thought, word and deed. Therefore, there should be unity among these three: the heard, the heart, and the hand: that is the true human value."

It has been said that Education is not for a living but for life. Education is the process of sculpturing human personality It is believed that man has to become a Swarat i.e. the master of himself and a Samrat i.e. the king of his environment. Unfortunately, today this is not happening, we see utter chaos and disintegration in the world. The root problem is that there is an utter disunity in Man's Thought, Word and Deed. To restore the grandeur of Man, education has to play an important role. “Education is the Reserve Bank” upon which the nation draws her cheque whenever it requires smart, upright citizens. But, unfortunately, education today aims at making man a king of his environment but a slave of his senses, unable to master himself. Thus, man today can become a “Samrat" but not a “Swarat” for today's educational system caters only to the development of the mind and the body and totally ignores the Spirit.

Thus, we need to refocus on the goals of education where the man is seen as an integrated whole.

Misapprehensions

However, many apprehensions have been expressed by teachers that this is not possible, it is an utopian idea. It is a task beyond our reach, considering the tremendous adverse circumstances and environment at a fast pace of life and the alleged lack of time. It is pertinent to note that this apprehension is a misplaced and borne out of misinformation or lack of information regarding the human values programme.

What is required by us now is merely refocusing our attention to the proper goals of education. All that is required by us as teachers is to change our outlook, correct our vision and a new dimension will unfold before us.

This programme aims at understanding the human personality as a whole. Two maxims are important to note: "Each individual is a spark of the Divine" and "God Exists". This course will help us to nurture tile basic energy of Love from which flows the values of Truth, Right Conduct, Peace and Non Violence. These values are relevant to personality development and to success in daily life. It is even relevant to temporary times, as it was in the times bygone.

It is pertinent to understand, the basic energy of love, which is the undercurrent of all human values. When this energy of love is translated into thought, we have Truth. Love as action leads to Righteousness. Love as a feeling gives rise to Peace. Love as understanding is Non-Violence. Non-Violence is the expression of all the combined excellences of all the values of Truth, Righteousness and Peace. In fact, it establishes the unity of all existence. Human personality thus is the manifestation of this unity in thought, word and deed.

True education

Every educationist, from time immemorial, has emphasized that the true education must lead to character building of a student. In fact it is stated that the “End of Education Is Character”. The word "character" has been attempted to be defined in various ways by various experts, philosophers, educationists etc. but it is Sri Sathya Sai Baba who defines character in relation to Education, as “Unity in Thought Word and Deed”. There can be no doubt therefore, that the end of the process of education must be the – “Integration of Man”. This fact unfortunately has been ignored by Educational Planners in the last century or even more. The result is obvious in as much as the world today is on the brink of a total disintegration.

"Education is for life and not for a mere living". This is how Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Chancellor, Sri Sathya Sai University sums up the essence of education. Sure enough, man does not live by bread alone. Life is too great and vast to be reduced to a few crumbs and coins. Man seeks fulfilment of some basic human aspirations. He seeks joy, peace and happiness. He seeks recognition. He likes to achieve and excel. If one were to explore this further, one would reach the primordial conclusion: 'Man seeks and aspires for excellence'. Deep inside every human being lies embedded this quest for excellence. It may take different forms and expressions at different times but appears as the common denominator in every sphere of human activity. While each one pursues excellence in his own way, seldom does one pause to think and define as to what excellence is.

"Excellence means doing the uttle things well, doing a thousand things one percent better than doing one thing a thousand percent better."

Framework of excellence

Having suggested a broad outline of excellence we now proceed to the next task of defining the framework for achieving and pursuing excellence. In the context of school education integral excellence has three components:

• Academic excellence
• Environmental excellence
• Human excellence

If the school provides systematic and well config ured inputs for all these levels, it would lead to whole-some development of students' personality. The personality will be imbued with excellence.

Integration of Values in the Text Curriculum

Which suggests that in all our classroom subjects’ Languages, Mathematics, Sciences, Social Studies and others there are values implicit in various topics. The teacher is encouraged to attempt to bring out the value aspects in these subjects that have a direct bearing upon our day to day life. With this, every class in the school has the potential of becoming an EHV class.

Integration of Values in Co-curricular Work

The scope of this includes all activities outside the classroom such as the games, debates, dramas, and several other co-curricular activities that exist in any school. The underlying idea is that all these activities should be given a value-orientation, so that the values teaching go on in all these activities.

Direct Pedagogical Inputs

EHV recommends the use of five extremely simple but most effective and powerful techniques in the classroom. They are: Silent Sitting or Tuning in, Prayers/Quotations, Group/Community Singing, Story Telling and Group Activities like Motivation Games, Role Plays and Attitude Development Tests.

These five techniques can be integrated into a regular class or can also be used as independent lessons for exclusive classes (once or twice a week) for Education in Human Values.

The efficacy of these techniques has been tried and tested in thousands of schools all over the world and it has been found that they bring about a sea-change in the quality of education and character of the children. But the sine-qua-non for this take-off is the commitment and dedication of the teacher.

The teacher is the beacon who has to guide and lead. If he fails to illumine, many will be ship-wrecked on the rocks. A teacher has to be vigilant and wise for the fresh and free hearts of children should be handled with great care and in a reverent worshipful mood. It is rightly said "As the teacher, so the pupils”. When the tap is turned on, water will flow only if the overhead tank is full. The quality of tap-water is the same as that of the water in the tank. When the heart of the teacher is full of goodness, selflessness and love, the pupils will express these virtues in every act of theirs.

Teachers are the second mothers. Once a teacher told his student “as long as 1 live, your mother is not dead.” Parents entrust their beloved children to the teachers in schools, believing that they are capable and willing to guide them and instill into them skills and habits that can later help them to stand up against the hardship and temptations of the world. Teachers are therefore burdened with a heavy task. When a child needs help, it rushes to its parents, when the parents need help, they rush to the teacher. Therefore, the teacher has to be more than a parent to tile child. The teachers concern for the child’s physical, mental and moral health and her vigilant attention and care have to be more constant and knowledgeable than that of the parents.

A teacher is compared to God in the olden days. Teachers have to be life-long students, engaged not in mere study, but immersed in practice too. Only a lamp that burns can light other lamps. Thus the teacher who is entrusted with the task of carrying illumination into the tender hearts has to become aware of the light within so that he can inspire the pupils under his care. In fact, so great is the status of a teacher, that it is said that when God created the earth, moulded all its creatures, lie set aside a specific mould and gave it added features with great care lie moulded unlike any other, God made his finest handicraft, when he created the teacher, a teacher of love and grandeur.

The parents are the custodians of children, hence it is important to first consider the role of the parents. Each child is a piece of white marble for the teachers and the parents to mould into an image of God, a bud to be helped to blossom in all its divine glory, so that it becomes a worthy offering to God. In order, to instill the habit of prayer and the values of humility and loving service to others in the minds of the children, the parents have a very important role to play. Parents must have faith in the basic truths of life. They must be seen worshipping at the family altar, sitting in silence, forgiving the lapses of others, sympathizing with pain and grief. They should not be seen by the children to be worried, helpless and discontented, distressed and having no faith in God.

If parents tend to be over indulgent and giving too much freedom, they must bear the major share of the blame for ruining the character of children. In fact, parents must provide examples of honesty, sense control and discipline. We have often seen gardens where snake gourds are grown on raised pandals. When the gourd starts growing, the gardener hangs a small stone at its end, so that the pull may make it grow straight, when it grows larger, a heavier stone is used. So too, according to the age level of the child, the discipline enforced must become harder and harder in order that the child may grow straight forward, steady and strong. Knowledge can be imparted by the teacher but the discipline, the rigorous control of senses and the behaviour of the child must be administered by the parents. Then only can the children become sacred souls, holy and sanctified individuals. Even while the minds of children are tender and their hearts are unsoiled, children must be trained to purify and sweeten their thoughts, words and deeds. Children learn a lot through example. Thus, the homes in which the children grow, as indeed all homes, have to be clear and with vibrations free from hatred, envy, greed, spite and hypocrisy. Parents should promote respectful behaviour in the homes. They should be careful how they themselves behave in the presence of children for young people learn a lot from emulation. Thus parents whose behaviour and conduct is contrary to what is spoken or taught to their children create, a storm of doubt, a dichotomy is raised in the child's minds.

Lesson: 
Let your conscience be your guide (display on the blackboard or sign)

Value:
Truth

Subvalue:
Integrity - you can be trusted.

Aim:

Each child will learn that integrity (trust) is a vital part of building character and a good reputation.

Method:

1. Silent sitting
   

   Focus: 2 minutes using one of the senses.
   Harmonization: 3 minutes of silence.

2. Quotation:
   
   "It matters not what you are thought to be but what you are".
   
   
3. Story:
   
   - Berries
   
   

   A little boy once sold some berries to a housewife. They were 50¢ for 1/2 kilogram. She said, "Why don't you come in the house and watch me weigh your berries? I might cheat you."

   The little boy smiled. "I'm not afraid," he said, "For you would get the worst of it."

   The women looked puzzled and asked what he meant by that. He replied, "I would only lose my berries, but you would make yourself a thief."

   
   - Discussion:
   
   

   How would the housewife cheat the little boy?
   How else do people cheat on purchases?
   Is shoplifting "cheating"?
   Would cheating play upon your conscience?
   What would cheating do to your reputation. Moral: A cheat makes himself a thief.

4. Song/Poem
   
   - Poem: Integrity
   
   

   It means I listen to the conscience in me,
   It means I will speak the truth I see.
   It means you can trust in my honesty,
   It means you can always count on me.

   
   
   - Song: I will do what is right
   
   

5. Activity
   
   

   - Writing a short story. Each child is asked to write a short story about Joan or Johnny going to the store for their mother. They spend part of the money on themselves.
   - Have each child read their story and discuss the consequences.
   - Supplementary discussion