EDUCATION WING
“Children should grow up as good human beings – Truthful, have good habits, a heart filled with Peace, Love and Non-violence in their Thought, Words and Deeds: Head, Heart and Hand. "
-Sri Sathya Sai Baba
In these unprecedented times, the Education Wing has managed to swiftly adapt to the challenges of the Coronavirus. We are incredibly fortunate that we have not lost any opportunity, thanks to online learning, WhatsApp and emailing run by our dedicated Gurus.
As we forge forwards through the uncertainty, The Education Wing strives to sustain in its delivery of Sai excellence through education, whilst taking the utmost care of its most precious asset, our children, and ensure they are grounded in their faith for our
Lord Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
ABOUT THE EDUCATION WING
Established by Sri Sathya Sai Baba as ‘Bal Vikas’ in 1969 in India, the Sai Spiritual Education program has grown exponentially around the world where SSE programs are conducted for students aged 4 to 17. ‘Bal Vikas’ means blossoming of a child, from a bud to a fragrant and beautiful flower. A name change to ‘Sai Spiritual Education’ [SSE] was done during the Sixth World Conference of Sri Sathya Sai organizations held in 1995, to emphasise the universality of the program.
The SSE program aims to raise today’s children into citizens and leaders of tomorrow founded in values, through the concept of ‘Educare’. Sri Sathya Sai Baba has fostered a unique approach to education called Educare, drawing out divine qualities of Truth, Right-Conduct, Peace, Love and Non-Violence which are latent within an individual. Educare aligns the head, heart and hands – 3HV. True education must, in Sai Baba’s words: “broaden the heart and expand one’s love.” True education is “that which fosters the sense of oneness, draws out one’s inherent divine qualities and promotes the blossoming of human personality.”
SSSEHV – SRI SATHYA SAI EDUCATION IN HUMAN VALUES
The Sri Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (SSSEHV) programme was founded in India by Sri Sathya Sai Baba and now operates successfully in more than 160 countries. It is supported by national education department policies in several countries. It is a secular programme concerned with putting back character development and values into education and developing all domains of the student's personality. The fundamental principle of SSSEHV is that all teaching is based on love and that the teacher's example in living the values is the most critical component of values education.
There are several teaching approaches to draw out the values inherent within children: silent sitting, storytelling, use of positive affirmations, music, and group activities. These are not new but we have lost sight of their usefulness. SSSEHV does not have to be an “add-on” to an already fully-packed school programme – it can be integrated effectively into existing subject curricula.
International research evidence suggests that regular use of SSSEHV strategies can lead to improvements in students’ concentration, behaviour, character in general, and even academic results.
EDUCATION WING ACTIVITIES
The Education Wing offers Sai Spiritual Education (SSSE) classes on a weekly basis to children between the ages of 4 to 17 in the Sai Center’s within the regions of the South Africa. Trained teachers undertake classes using a syllabus that has been developed to incorporate the core teachings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba whilst maintaining the need to reflect the culture of the country it is being implemented in. Children are taught in appropriate groups constituting the Sai Blossom Group ages (4-5)
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
“The aims are to foster character development and spiritual transformation”; and
To inculcate habits of self-discipline so that students learn to be masters of the mind and not slaves and have absolute control over sense organs.
To engender in children a desire to be of service to all humanity and in this way to be of service to God by helping them learn about the life and teachings of Swami.
To Cultivate Humility, Practice Ceiling on Desires and render Self-less Service.
To train them to be able to discriminate between right and wrong, between truth and non-truth; that is, to follow always the inner promptings of the Divine.
To help children to be fully aware of the Unity underlying all faiths and all mankind.
To guide all children to have Purity and Harmony in Thought, Word and Deed.
To help children realize their conscience and follow that as the path for attaining Divinity
To give priority to the development of character, self-confidence and self-sufficiency.
To foster the understanding and practice of the five inherent human values of Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-Violence.
TEACHING METHODOLOGIES:
The SSSEHV Programme identifies three approaches to the teaching of these human values.
These are:
The Indirect Approach;
The Indirect Co-Curricular Approach; and
The Direct Approach
The Indirect Approach is based on the premise that every school subject has inherent values and that if this is taken into consideration when lessons are being planned, it is possible to inculcate values during the course of one’s normal teaching. The Indirect Co-Curricular Approach emphasises the instilling of values in the extra-curricular activities in which children participate. Such activities are outings, fieldtrips, sports, drama, dance, etc.
The Direct Approach seeks to instill values in a direct systematic way. It employs five teaching techniques which have been used for generations by great teachers but some of which we may have forgotten to make use of in recent times.
The techniques are:
Silent Thinking
Inspirational Quotations
Group Singing
Story Telling
Group Activities
In a SSSE class, the teacher has to use the combination of the Five Transformational Techniques as prescribed by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to draw out the inherent goodness and divine qualities that are within every child.
These are;
Silent Sitting/Meditation
Prayer/Quotation
Story Telling
Group Devotional Singing
Group Activities
SSSE PROGRAM AGE GROUPS
Group 1: Ages 6, 7, 8 (Age of Doing and Making)
Group 2: Ages 9, 10, 11 (Age of Making and Planning)
Group 3: Ages 12, 13, 14 (Age of Planning and Achieving)
Group 4: Ages 15, 16, 17 (Age of Blossoming into Sai Youth)
GROUP 4 – TEEN YOUTH PROGRAM
At the Sri Sathya Sai World Education Conference held in July 2008, Swami approved the expansion of SSE classes to accommodate the age group 15 -18 years consisting of teenagers who are too old for Group III SSSE and too young for the Sai Youth group. These teens were previously included under the youth wing and some Center’s had a teen youth programme. Now the Education Wing is responsible for this group and as such it is required to define the objectives and goals for this group. The teens of this age group would have gone through the SSE program of 9 years. So, they already have the foundation laid in Educare, the basic tenet of the Sri Sathya Sai Education. At this stage, in these next three years, the focus would be to help them build upon the foundation, by applying it in their daily life.
THE OBJECTIVES OF THE GROUP 4 PROGRAM
To strengthen their understanding of and their loving relationship with Swami
To help them develop self-confidence and self-esteem.
To instill awareness of gratitude towards their parents, society, nation, creation, and the creator.
To help them in nurturing respect and love for the different races, creeds, and perspectives.
To help them to acquire and utilize life skills at home, at school/University, at work and in the community.
To help them develop and improve upon their Leadership skills.
To prepare them to the fullest extent to take up leadership roles within the Sai Organization.
Above everything, the program will be fun filled and will give joy of learning through practice.
These three years will be a learning period for the students through interactive sessions, role plays, study circles, presentations, and helping in the various Wings of the Sai Organization –Education, Seva and Devotional Wings including the interaction with the YA and Ladies Forum.
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