Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (UK) Newsletter January 2006

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January 2006 A monthly e-zine of the British Institute of Sathya Sai

Education www.ssehv.org.uk Dear Readers Welcome to the January 2006 issue of

our monthly e-zine. This month, we provide a particular emphasis on human

values lesson plans: First Human Values Holiday School in Muscat, Oman

Classroom Experiences of Teaching SSEHV Lesson Plans online Training Update

Lesson plan for nursery level: TRUTH If you have any feedback about this

newsletter, or would like to share your experiences of SSEHV, please write to

us. Kind Regards,The Newsletter TeamUn information First Human

Values Holiday School in Muscat, Oman Vijay Ramanaidoo, who emigrated to Oman

from the UK not long ago, is continuing to foster human values in his new local

environment. Vijay was one of the pioneers of SSEHV holiday schools which first

took place in

London several years ago. Vijay writes: "After successful summer camps in the

UK, we have tried it out in Oman! The first winter camp on human values was

held in Muscat, Oman from 21st to 25th Jan 2006." We reprint below an article

about the holiday school which appeared in the Times of Oman Online. MUSCAT —

Holidays are always welcomed by both children and adults alike but having fun

and spending time in an effective way during these leisure hours will keep the

children occupied and boredom at bay. Holiday camps based on human values have

been held in many places around the world especially in the UK in recent years.

These camps are a great way of teaching human values to children combining

education with entertainment in a big way.

After a series of successful presentations by the Serve And Inspire (SAI) Group

to the teachers, school owners and Ministry of Education officials, the

programme on human values will be directly taken to the children through this

value-based, fun-filled winter camp to be held in cooperation with the Ministry

of Education exclusively for the students of Ahmed bin Majid Private School from

January 21 to 25. Children between the ages of eight and 11 studying in the

Ahmed bin Majid Private School will be allowed to register for this camp to be

run exclusively by committed volunteers trained in the Education in Human

Values programme in the Institutes of Sathya Sai Education in Human Values

(SSEHV) in Thailand, the UK and India. What makes the camp unique is that it is

absolutely free of charge for all the children. The idea is to encourage

children to have fun while experiencing human values teaching. The programme

will begin at 8am and goes up to 1.30pm every day and

will include lesson plans revolving around human values, creative activities,

value sports, performing arts and presentations to drive home the human values

of truth, love, peace, right conduct and non violence in an interesting and

memorable way. All the children will be given a certificate of participation.

The valedictory function will be held on Wednesday, January 25, between 7.30pm

and 9pm, on the school premise. There will be a variety programme of skits,

pantomime, and choral songs by the children who have participated in the

five-day winter camp The SAI Group had in the past conducted many workshops and

seminars for school teachers, parents and administrators on value education,

citizenship education in various schools in Muscat, Salalah and Dubai. The

highly successful Times of Oman open essay-writing and poster-making

competition for all school children under the theme ‘Spreading the Light

Through Human Values’ organised by the SAI Group in

cooperation with the Ministry of Education is into its fourth year now and is an

annual event looked forward by the student community in Oman. Top Classroom

Experiences of Teaching SSEHV by Subita Mahtani The

lesson plan used by Subita and fellow volunteers is provided in this newsletter

below (see:Lesson plan for nursery level: TRUTH). On 17th January, Subita

Mahtani, Rita Pohoomal and Jyoti Bharwani gave some SSEHV demonstration classes

to the Nursery Groups (age four) in one of their local schools. Subita writes:

"We started with three of the five classes with a lesson on Truth. We were

given 30 minutes with each class and were able to go through each teaching

component leaving them with the activity introduced for them to complete with

their own teacher. The experience was elevating and has left us all eager to go

back and complete Lesson 1 with the other two classes. During each class a

teacher was with us, supervising our lesson and the children. They took notes

and were very enthusiastic about our return. The teachers commented that the

lesson was well planned and very clear. They themselves enjoyed the lesson and

remarked that the children did as well. The classes are divided into groups of

16-20 students and are referred to as Penguins, Giraffes and Zebras, they were

enthusiastic and excited at the prospect of different teachers. They answered

our questions with intelligent, imaginative and adorable replies. We did a

guided visualisation, an imaginary walk to the park, which they followed

attentively and suggested at the end that we should have stopped for ice

cream.....so we will definitely work that into the silent sitting next lesson.

The story was received well and they were able to answer the questions which

lead into them sharing with us their understanding of the repercussions of not

telling the truth. The song was what we found to be most challenging as they

cannot read. We began by telling them the lines one at a time and asked them to

repeat them. They did a wonderful job and by the end they were singing the words

to the song. One student even recognised the tune from its original song. As we

handed out the activity we went over all the posters we had put up and did a

recap of the class. They were all able to repeat the quote loud and clear and

could remember why the value of Truth was represented by the apple. They

understood that Truth was one of the five Human Values and that we would be

learning about Love next week. Teaching at the school was an experience to

remember. We are looking forward to our

next time there and hope to be invited back to teach the older children." Top

Lessons Plans Online A reminder to all our readers and any teachers looking to

use human values lesson plans in the classroom, in addition to the Teaching

Workbooks provided by the British Institute of Sathya Sai Education, we also

provide 23 downloadable lesson plans on our website. The lesson plans are

available at

the following link, and cover the following values: To visit the download page

Accuracy Consideration Courage Social Justice Honesty

Discernment Power of the Mind Gratitude Peace of Mind Sympathy

Dependability Forgiveness Self-Esteem Good Manners Joy of Life Kindness

Being Oneself Unity in Diversity Generosity Appreciation Perseverance

Responsibility Co-operation Top Lesson Plan For Nursery Level: TRUTH

Below is a sample lesson plan which may be used to stimulate understanding of

the value of truth at nursery level. Value: Truth Lesson 1Telling the

truthNursery class Objective: To stimulate awareness of the importance of

telling the truth Key words: truth, lies, damage, believe, happy, human values

______________________

Quotation/theme for the week: Always tell the truth Silent Sitting: Step 1:

Sit in a comfortable position (on a chair or crossed legged on the

floor)Step 2: Relax your body, stretch out all the tension, feel your whole body

relax and be at ease. Think happy thoughts.Step 3: Take in a deep breath,

letting out all the tiredness and worry, breathing in all the goodness and

love. Keep breathing deeply. Now more gently listen to the stillnessof your

breathes. Step 4: Imagine you are in the park on a lovely summer day……The sun

is shining and you feel happy……There is a young boy playing football, he is

having lots of fun.He kicks his ball and it lands just near you in the bush.You

like that ball, it's really nice .He comes over looking for his ball.Will you

keep the ball, or will you tell the truth……..You point to the bush….He is so

happy……….You are happy because you told the truth. Step 5: Now bring your

attention back to the classroom. Open your eyes, turn and smile at the person

next to you.

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Story: Tammy's Tummy Ache "Mummy, I can't go to school today, I've got a tummy

ache," said Tammy looking sad, her hand holding her tummy. "Tammy you had a

tummy ache last Monday as well and for such a short time. As soon as I said you

could stay off school, it was gone and you wanted to go out and play. Don't you

think it will soon go if you go to school?But Mummy, it's worse than last

Monday. It is all round

here." Tammy rubbed her tummy. "And I won't be able to stand up and read. Why do

we have to go to school anyway? Danny doesn't go on Mondays because he always

has tummy ache, so his Mum doesn't send him.So! You do reading on a Monday

then?" replied her Mother, smiling down at her."Yes, but if my tummy hurts, I

can't read," wailed Tammy. "Has Danny really got a tummy ache?" asked her

Mother."No," confessed Tammy, going a bit red in the face. "Have you got a

tummy ache?" asked her Mother gently. "Not really, Mum. But I don't want to go

to school." Tammy looked at her miserably. "Why?" asked her Mother. " I don't

like reading," Tammy admitted, looking down at her feet. " Oh! I see, so that's

the truth…. Tammy you must always speak the truth. Never tell lies. It is not

right," her Mother explained. "Yes Mummy, if you tell lies, people will find

out and they won't believe you, even when you tell the truth afterwards,"

replied Tammy, a bit brighter. Questions 1 Did Tammy really have a tummy ache?

How do you know?2 Why didn't she want to go to school on Monday?3 Did you ever

tell a lie? Why did you do it?4 How did you feel?5 Why

is it wrong to tell lies?6 Can you tell us of a time when you spoke the truth

even though it was difficult?7 How do you feel when you tell the truth?

______________________

SongFrom Track 7, CD1, Title: Human Values We are learning Human ValuesOne by

oneWe are learning to be truthfulTo ev'ryoneWe will speak truth to each

other,Mother, Father, Sister, BrotherWe will never tell a lieTo anyone Singing

i yi yippee, yippee, yiSinging i yi yippee, yippee, yiSinging i yi yippee, i yi

yippeeI yi yippee, yippee, yi. Group Activity: Give each child pictures to

colour in.While colouring, ask the children to think about keeping themselves

happy by always telling the truth. Top Training Update: 2006 The following

courses

are confirmed for the early part of 2006. Please email the named contact next to

each, if you would like further information, or to participate. Foundation

Training - Stratford, East London: 11th, 18th, 25th February, 4th, 11th, 18th,

25th March. Contact: Pamela Nash . Easter Intensive Foundation Course -

Broadstairs, Kent: 1st - 6th April. Contact: Pamela Nash . Parenting Course -

Leicester, 5th & 19th March, 2nd & 23rd April, 7th & 21st May. Contact: Michele

White . Top Un InformationThis newsletter is sent once a month to

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, Top 2006 British Institute of Sathya Sai

Education (BISSE). BISSE is a non-profit organisation committed to promoting

human values in education. Registered address: The Glen, Cuckoo Hill, Pinner,

Middlesex HA5 2BE United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 8429 2677 Email:

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