To help other schools develop an SSEHV program, the Institute of Sathya Sai Education aims to adopt at least one school in every country of the world. An adopted school is a place where teachers are trained in Education in Human Values and students receive instruction directly. Many established schools are incorporating the SSEHV philosophy and methodology into their curriculum. The following recommendations clarify what it means to adopt a school so that work may proceed towards this goal as quickly as possible.
Initial Contact
The school adoption process should start with one or two schools where the Sathya Sai organization has already some connection. One possibility is of a school where a Sai devotee is a teacher or where either teachers or the administration are familiar and open to the programme. It is the job of the Sathya Sai Education Officer in each country to contact the administrators of these schools. Explanation on the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values Programme should be made stressing the benefits that children will gain. The initial aim is to have one SSEHV class per week in the school using the direct method. The most experienced and inspirational SSEHV teachers should take these classes.
Implementing a Class
This class is meant to be a demonstration class for other teachers in the school to observe, therefore the entire school staff should be informed in advance of the SSEHV schedule. Ideally, training should be given to all the teachers within the school so that they can eventually start to teach these classes themselves.
Teacher Training
When teachers in the school are trained and start to gain experience teaching SSEHV, we can then expand the classes so all the children in the school are taught one EHV class per week. Once the teachers are confident enough, they can take over all these classes themselves, under the guidance of the SSEHV teachers and trainer.
Values Integration in the School
As the school begins to see the benefits of the programme, we should encourage the teachers to integrate values in all their curricular subjects. This may require further training. Special workshops on Integration of Values into Curricular and Extra-curricular subjects can be arranged. The workshop presenters should be experienced teachers who have already tried out these methods in their own classrooms. The Institute has published many books on the philosophy and methods of teaching and integration of values into the classroom. Any of the Institute books that may be useful, should be given to the teachers in the school. If English is not the mother tongue they may be translated if necessary.
Parent Involvement
For this programme to be really successful, teachers must have the cooperation of the parents, therefore they need to be informed and encouraged to participate. Special workshops should be arranged for parents so that they will help in the implementation of the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values Programme. The Institute has published a special book on parenting - Sathya Sai Parenting.
General Considerations
It is suggested that one school is adopted at a time so that it can be followed up properly. It must be ensured that each school that is adopted will perform well using the SSEHV Programmme. In time this school should become a model school for other institutions to observe and emulate. Once Sathya Sai EHV is established in one school, other schools can be invited to come and learn from their example.
This project of adoption of schools should be considered as a top priority and each country is encouraged to put their effort and human resources into it. The teachers and trainers from the organisation should not only be very experienced, but also should emulate the values in their daily lives. Their hearts should be full of love so that the children will be transformed and others may be motivated to follow their example.
