By Paramhansa Yogananda
(Published in East-West Magazine, November-December 1925)
Look at the misproportioned figures on the left in the above picture — the first one with a peanut-sized head and a body as fat as a balloon, the second figure with one arm developed like that of a Sandow, but with the physique of a dwarf, and the third one with a top-heavy head fitted to a frail Lilliputian body. Would it not be a very amusing or pathetic spectacle (according to your mood) if you suddenly beheld a crowd of such people?
Behold the group on the right side of the picture. These people are normal so far as their outward physical form and appearance is [sic] concerned. But they are mentally unsound and deformed. As clothing hides scars, sores, and some deformities, so also the neat-looking garb of human flesh often covers serious mental maladies.
If you were confronted with a vast crowd of average people, well-dressed and physically healthy, and if you were gifted with the power to see their mental bodies, what a surprise and heartache you would have. Their mental bodies, with reason as the head, feeling and senses as the trunk, and Will as the feet, you would observe to be abnormal, diseased, and deformed. You would see some people with a tiny head of small sense, attached to a bulging trunk of sense-appetite. Some would possess a withered body of feeling and pep, with the arm of business faculty very much over-developed in proportion. Another perhaps has a large Socratic brain, but his trunk of sympathy and feeling is shrunken and dried up. Still another, normal in head and body, would be seen to possess a pair of impotent, paralytic feet of will and self-control. And so on.
Such multitudinous psychological deformities and pathological mental bodies, under-developed in some directions and over-developed in others, lie concealed within man, causing suffering to his soul and hampering his expression on the material plane.
It would not be out of place here to name a few of such psychological diseases so that, invisible and supreme cause of all havoc in human life though they are, they may yet be detected and brought into the distinct consciousness of the unconscious sufferers, who may learn their nature, silent growth, and symptoms, and thus guard against their secret onslaughts and all-destroying powers.
SPIRITUAL MELANCHOLIA
This disease is prevalent among those that are mentally and physically idle under the pretext of being too busy with spiritual things. These sufferers neglect the great and small duties of material life in the name of serving God, and thus invite the devil of mischief to dwell in them. They suffer from pessimism and lack of appreciation for all things good and beautiful in the material life. This is a contagious disease and all spiritual aspirants must guard themselves against it by keeping their blood of energy warm and immune with constant, healthful, worth-while activity.
SPIRITUAL INDIGESTION
This results from indiscriminately swallowing a lot of mental patented medicines in the form of pseudo-spiritual books and lessons by quack spiritual doctors. This disease kills not only the real hunger for Truth but also destroys the power to discriminate between good and bad teaching. He who eats all the time and eats anything that he can get, will not only over-eat but will eat poisonous food along with the good, thus inviting first spiritual indigestion and finally spiritual death. The long-continued over-study of all sorts of philosophical principles and treaties [sic] without ever trying to assimilate them and test them out in one’s own practical experience results in doubt, indifference, and disbelief in all spiritual laws
SOWING MENTAL “WILD OATS”
Those afflicted with this disease lead a purposeless life through having too much time or money on their hands and lacking a true aim or understanding of life. They are whim-led, doing anything that comes into their heads, filling life with cheap novels, exciting movies, or other unproductive pastimes. They do not realize their malady until some terrible shock or nervous break-down overtakes them..
MENTAL COLD OF DESPAIR
You don’t know when you are going to catch it, and suffer from its outbursts of despondency, intolerance, and impatience.
MENTAL CATARRH
This disease consists in harboring constant chronic worldly worries which are usually neglected and passively yielded to instead of being fought and routed.
PSYCHOLOGICAL INSANITY
It causes its victims to be one-sided in the pursuit of happiness. They begin to think that money is happiness, or fame is happiness, or health, or power. They sacrifice everything else-youth, reputation, peace of mind, etc., on the altar of their all-consuming ambition and learn too late that the balanced life alone, observing all the laws of nature and of God and combining activity with calmness, can bring happiness and fulfill man’s natural destiny. The sufferers of Psychological Insanity become “money-mad” or obsessed with some one ambition until their perspective on life is warped and distorted. One man, for instance, was very successful in his business and amassed a million dollars, but before he could use it, he died of a complete nervous breakdown and excessive worry. Others, to gain fame, sacrifice their self-respect and sincerity. Sufferers from this disease of one-sidedness miss their true goal and can never derive real satisfaction from the possession of their longed-for object, since man’s nature is many-sided and demands all-round development.
RELIGIOUS INSANITY
This ism-fanaticism among so-called spiritual people results from the clinging to some untested dogma or opinion of man without putting it to the test of experience, and causes paroxysms of anger and hatred against the laws of tested Truth and liberal rational thought. This religious madness leads to disobedience of God’s simple laws of mental efficiency, material prosperity, and physical health.
Physical diseases being tangible, painful, and repugnant arouse our active resistance and we seek to remedy them by exercise, diet, medicine, or some definite method of cure. But psychological diseases, though the root cause of all human woes, are not prevented or attended to promptly and are allowed to devastate and wreck people’s lives.
SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES SHOULD BE TAUGHT
Educators, physical culturists, preachers, reformers, doctors, and law-makers will hasten the progress of true civilization only when they themselves first learn and then teach others how to harmoniously develop all the factors of life and of man’s nature. This is the true education and all-round human culture that all the world is seeking.
Educational authorities deem it impossible to teach spiritual principles in public schools because they confuse them with the variety of conflicting forms of religious faith. But if they concentrate on the universal principles of peace, love, service, tolerance, and faith that govern the spiritual life, and devise methods of practically growing such seeds in the fertile soil of the child’s mind, then the imaginary difficulty is dissolved. It is the greatest mistake to ignore this problem just because it is seemingly difficult.
Many college graduates after leaving their universities are often found with a top-heavy, book-inflated head and are unable to walk straight in the path of life due to their legs of Will and Self-control being almost paralyzed through disuse. They tumble headlong into the pit of wrong marriage, sex misuse, inordinate dollar-craving, and business failure. They had not been taught any other use of their college-sharpened mental blades of smartness except to hurt themselves. Many young men seem to take pleasure in doing those things which react to their own disadvantage and suffering in the end. Last year [1924] in America young men ranging in years from 15 to 30 stole one billion dollars by the “hold-up” method. Who was responsible? We, all of us. They also are vicious who do not prevent the spread of vice and teach others to be virtuous through their example. Schools, colleges, and society have not scientifically tried to prevent crime by eliminating its true mental cause.
Why not take the proper educational steps to avoid this annual theft of one billion dollars and use some of those millions for creating “How-to-Live-Schools,” where the art of living and a balanced development of all human faculties would be taught? We hope to have such a “How-to-Live-School” for all-round development at our Mount Washington Educational Center in Los Angeles as soon as funds are available and proper interest has been aroused for the work. In the meantime, we plan to work along such lines as far as possible.
SCHOOLS AS GARDENS
I consider properly organized schools as gardens where infant souls are grown and nurtured. The gardeners should be well-selected and cooperated with by parents and the public. The teachers should never be neglected, for they are soul-molders. The care and spiritual nourishment of the early life of a human plant usually determines its later development.
I sincerely praise the modern school system of America and its constantly improving methods of intellectual and, to a certain extent, physical training. But I cannot fail to point out its main shortcoming. It lacks spiritual background, and very badly needs to be supplemented by moral and spiritual training. The boy who belongs intellectually to Class “A”, or is a great baseball or football player, often attracts notice and is encouraged by the professors and students; but very few observe or warn him rightly if he is leading a dark Class “D” moral or spiritual life.
But where is such a school which adopts definite measures for developing the whole nature of man, teaching him the true art of life and fitting him to go through the various minor and ultimately the final examination of life? Such schools are urgently needed to teach the following arts and sciences of all-round growth:
CURRICULUM OF THE SCHOOL FOR TRAINING BALANCED SOULS
1. Science of Body for Practical Efficiency
A. Technique of recharging the body-battery from the Cosmic Current by will.
B. Scientific relaxation of energy from the body parts for perfect rest.
C. Conservation of vital energy.
D. Bodily suppleness and agility.
E. Physical endurance (of cold, heat, strain,etc . )
F. Knowledge of what and how much to eat daily,and the value of partial fasting.
G. Regular habits of eating and sleeping.
H. Value of sitting erect and thus keeping the cerebro-spinal axis, diaphragm and lungs in proper position and action.
I. Moderation in some sport, such as swimming, tennis, baseball, etc.
J. Cleanliness—daily bath for keeping the body pores open.
K. Sex hygiene—relation of sex-control to good memory, long life, mental inspiration and matrimonial happiness.
2. Mental Engineering
A. Art of building bridges over the river of difficulties between failure and success.
B. Psycho-physical methods of keeping the sense employees of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell, well-trained, regulated, reliable, busy and free from rebellion, governing them with ease and obtaining their willing cooperation.
C. Art of keeping the mental life free from the bacteria of fear, despondency, melancholia, greed, lack of initiative, anger, worry, idleness and boredom.
D. Art of injecting the tonic of cheerfulness into the body.
E. Knowledge of the superiority of the mind over the body, obtained through practical experience.
F. Developing will power for carrying out plans made by noble ideas, and for resisting the lure of temptations.
G. Art of training the will so that it makes it its own business to be better without the necessity of being goaded by commands.
H. Understanding of the fundamental importance of the will throughout life.
I. Art of choosing the right life-companion and of keeping one’s matrimonial life smooth through consideration, tact, love and fidelity.
J. Art of creating spiritual children and of rearing them beautifully.
K. Art of concentration (positive and negative). Art of training the sub-conscious mind and of learning during sleep.
L. Art of keeping the mind strong and immune from diseases.
Social Arts
A. Art of regulating self-ambition so it does not conflict with the interests and requirements of society.
B. Art of converting the greed to possess into the desire to share.
C. Methods of fostering social service. Art of inventive ability to serve mankind and lighten labor or improve on existing conditions.
D. Art of working to better laws through right education and intelligent understanding and cooperation.
E. Art of graciousness, noble bearing, and genuine interest in the problems of others.
F. Art of cooperation, and knowledge of the absolute interdependence of man’s destiny and universal laws of being.
G. Value of self-sacrifice and good will for all.
H. Law of individual life as related to social life.
I. National and international interest and patriotism,
Applied Spiritual Science
A. Law of sincerity in thought, word and deed.
B. Art of seeking personal happiness through the happiness of others.
C. Relation of man to God.
D. Art of converting self-ambition into ambition for all.
E. Art of merging the little self into the Self of All.
F. Law of protecting the wealth of inward peace from the robbers of worry, unfavorable circumstance, disease, etc.
G. Art of being supremely happy always and of making others so.
H. Freedom from all habits, and performance of right actions through discrimination and free-will.
The above Arts and Sciences are those which should be taught in a “How-to-Live School” to children whose minds are still plastic and whose forces as yet unguided into any definite channel. Adults too may master the subjects, if they will exercise willingness and patience while the good habits are displacing the undesirable ones.
After a thorough training, the students of such a school will undergo ceaseless examination throughout life, and the various diplomas won will be health, fame, efficiency, wealth and happiness.
The issue of the final examination at the end of this earthly sojourn will only be determined by the sum total acquirements and mental and spiritual diplomas won at the various examinations throughout life. And those successful in this last Great Examination receive a Diploma of lasting efficiency, free conscience and blessings, engraved eternally on the parchment of the Soul. This rare reward is incorruptible by moths, beyond the reach of thieves and the eraser of Time, and is awarded for honorable entry into the Fellowship of Truth.
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“The ideal of right education for youth had always been very close to my heart. I saw clearly the arid results of ordinary instruction aimed at the development of the body and intellect alone. Moral and spiritual values, without whose appreciation no man can approach happiness, were yet lacking in the formal curriculum. I determined to found a school where young boys could develop to the full stature of manhood.” Paramhansa Yogananda in Autobiography of a Yogi (Original Edition) p. 24
He founded what he termed the first How-to-Live School in Dihika, India in 1917 and then moved it to Ranchi in 1918. Education for Life and the Living Wisdom Schools are based on that model.
Dalai Lama, Children, Meditation, and Patanjali: a class series for families
Below, you will find a series of class outlines that introduce the practice of meditation and the supporting life qualities to groups that include both parents and children. The basic principles are derived from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the traditional source of guidance on how to calm the mind from the yoga teachings of India. Many of the listed activities are drawn from For Goodness’ Sake, a book by Nitai Deranja
Introduction: The Dalai Lama has stated that “If every 8 year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.” In Demystifying Patanjali (p.38) Swami Kriyananda wrote: “Fifteen minutes of this practice every day, engaged in by thousands, or even millions, of people throughout the world could uplift the whole planet.”
Opening Session: Can we do it? Let’s try to meditate for 5 minutes. Try to keep your mind focused at the point between the eyebrows. I’ll ring a bell every 30 seconds, and you can count 1 point for every time your mind is focused when the bell rings. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the point of concentration.
After the first effort we can see that concentration is not as easy as it might seem. The problem is restlessness. What is restlessness, and where does it come from? Patanjali helps us see that this outward-pulling force can be weakened by following the yamas and niyamas, guidelines for life that are quite similar to the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament and the Eight-fold Path of the Buddha. They help us see how we can become more relaxed and calm.
Session 1) non-lying and self-study (introspection and self-honesty)
Theme: Lying distorts our connection with the perfect flow of reality, Truth-telling reinforces our sense of oneness.
Activity: To Tell the Truth
Divide into groups of about 5, mixing adults and children, with each group choosing something that only one has done but that everyone in the group will claim to have done. Taking turns on stage, each group describes their chosen action with everyone answering questions from the audience about the action. Audience guesses who told the truth. Members of group describe what it felt like to lie.
Homework: Do whatever you say you’ll do for one day, even if it’s trivial like getting a drink of water. Report results the next day.
Session 2) non-stealing and non-covetousness; contentment and openness to higher truths
Theme: Stealing/Covetousness affirms that what we have is insufficient and that we need something to complete us. Acceptance brings us peace (even though acceptance could just be a first step before we need to put out energy to manifest things or respond to challenges).
Activity: Fortunately/Unfortunately (page 20, For Goodness’ Sake*)
Story: Everything always works out for the best (page 21-22, For Goodness’ Sake*)
Homework: Affirm acceptance of everything that happens for one day, especially if it’s unpleasant.
Session 3) non-sensuality; purity
Theme: The senses are tools for interacting with the physical world. When we let ourselves be controlled by them (instead of controlling them), we lose our centeredness and create agitation.
Activity: Gourmet’s Nightmare (page 54-55, For Goodness’ Sake*)
Homework: Experiment with fasting (partial/full/etc.) for one day
Session 4) non-violence; austerity
Theme: Violence results from anger/irritation/annoyance and affirms that we are unsatisfied with the flow of life and want it to be different.
Activity: Finding an animal/insect/plant/fish that you can follow, observe, and/or interact with for 10 minutes in a loving way
Homework: Spend a day blessing every being you come in contact with.
Overview:
Extend the meditation each day.
First day: bell every 30 seconds
Second day: bell every 40 seconds
Third day: bell every 50 seconds
Fourth day: bell every 60 seconds=10 minutes, double day #1
At end of week; bell every 30 second to compare how far we’ve come since beginning
Aides to meditation: Straight, relaxed spine with chin up, eyes relaxed (closed or half open), visualization, counting breaths, mantra, chanting….
End each session with short period of yoga postures followed by deep relaxation in savasana, possibly with peaceful music background and/or guided meditation for 2-3 minutes.
Antidisestablishmentarianism and How We Can Fill the Moral Vacuum in Our Schools
When I was growing up, one of the fascinations of childhood was learning to spell the word antidisestablishmentarianism. It was the longest word my friends and I could find and presented a fitting challenge for our budding intellects. (Some will say it has since been surpassed by the likes of pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.) Of course none of us had the slightest idea what the word meant and no motivation to find out. Later as a young man though, the word drifted back into my memory along with the curiosity to finally look up its meaning. To my surprise I found that it provided a very helpful clue to understanding something that deeply concerned me, the lack of values and moral direction in our educational system.
The word itself refers to the question of whether or not a country should have an established church, a major concern when the United States was forming since European countries of the time were firmly aligned with either Catholicism or some form of Protestantism. Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers were firmly opposed to this practice, and thus we inherited the doctrine of the separation of church and state.
At first, the application of this doctrine was confined to keeping religious prejudices out of our courts and government. Schools, however, were for many years left to reflect the overwhelmingly Christian basis of our culture by incorporating such practices as prayer, the celebration of Christmas, and an emphasis on developing sound Christian values. As our country diversified, people began to challenge this bias in light of the separation clause. In recent decades our courts have consistently, if unpopularly, upheld that it is unconstitutional to impose any religious ethics and practices in a secular institution. Today as we observe the consequences of these decisions, it is appropriate to ask if we are cultivating the kind of society that Jefferson and the others were envisioning, and more importantly whether it is the society we want for ourselves and our children.
When we interpret the separation clause to make it illegal to emphasize moral instruction in our classrooms, we can only offer our children a narrow, superficial view of life that has grave consequences. Most poignantly, we have the school shootings. While the shooters themselves are extreme examples of social isolation, insensitivity, and moral confusion, it will be clear to anyone visiting a typical American high school that there is a strong and growing subculture of our teenagers who share these same negative attitudes toward life. With no positive ideals to aspire to, they “glorify” cynicism, apathy, and decadence. In these circles achievement in academics or any constructive pursuit is grounds for ridicule and ostracism.
This absence of positive values is also disturbingly apparent when we shift our focus to another key aspect of society, our economic situation. Here too we find the notorious “villains”, the Bernie Madoffs and Ivan Boeskes who personify unbridled greed, insensitivity, and dishonesty. But once again we can see that they are only the most visible examples of a morally deficient environment that also brought us the credit default swaps and robo-mortgage signings that produced the latest economic collapse. How did we get to the point where our primary financial institutions like Bank of America, J.P. Morgan and others are subject to outright fines in excess of 100 million dollars and “settlements” that run into the billions? [1]
In looking for answers it is instructive to examine how this broader social drama has played out in one particular educational setting. Many of the people in charge of our major financial institutions received their college training at Harvard which lists such people as Jamie Dimon (J.P. Morgan), John Thain (Merrill Lynch) and Jeffry Skilling (Enron) among its graduates. This institution’s response to the crisis of leadership in our economic and financial sectors is revealing. There is a page on the university’s website entitled “Global Financial Crisis Continues: Harvard Economists React” [2] As one might expect, it is a rather imposing collection of articles on the pros and cons of bailouts, regulation, cap and trade, and financial stimuli. While these topics are no doubt worth examining, not a single article addresses “the elephant in the living room”; that even the best economic system will fail us if the people running it are lacking in the basic moral sensitivities.
Harvard was founded as a divinity school in 1636 during the Puritan era of Massachusetts. During the 1800’s it was heavily influenced by the Unitarian Church and was “secularized” under the presidency of Charles W. Eliot from 1869-1909. Eliot’s motivation however, like Jefferson’s, was to promote religious toleration, not the abandonment of the cultivation of moral values [3]. But here again we see
sincere efforts at promoting religious toleration somehow getting sidetracked and leading instead to moral decay. Faced with results so diametrically opposed to the intentions of people like Jefferson and Eliot, it is time to ask ourselves if there is not some basic flaw in our understanding of the relationship between religion and morality.
The Dalai Lama recently offered a profoundly helpful insight into this discussion. In his book “Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World” he equates religion with tea. He notes that everyone likes tea, but some prefer it with certain spices, others with sugar, and in Tibet, with a pinch of salt. On the surface there may seem to be broad differences. But he makes the point that the real reason people like tea, is that everyone needs water; and tea is simply a way of meeting this universal need. He goes on to show how religions (like teas) are simply different approaches to meeting the universal human need for morality.
Utilizing this insight we can see that our fear of encouraging morality in our schools is based on a false identification of moral values with a particular religion. Is there really a Christian monopoly on humility? Have the Buddhists cornered the market on compassion? One of the advantages of a pluralistic society is that we have all met kind, honest people who were different from us in religion, ethnicity, and race. On this basis we can begin to see that there are universal values like courage, honesty, and justice that are simply the bedrock of any healthy and successful society.
In separating church and state, we don’t have to throw out the baby with the bathwater, or as the Dalai Lama might put it, deprive people of water while making sure we don’t impose a particular brand of tea. We are intrinsically moral beings. Would you rather buy your next car from an honest or a dishonest person? The next time you use public transportation, would you rather sit next to a kind or an obnoxious person? By focusing on this universal basis of morality, we find the path that allows us to bring moral training back into our schools, not in the mode of dogmatic indoctrination, but in a spirit of experiential, free-ranging exploration that allows students to examine what really works in creating the happy, fulfilling life that we all aspire to.
Nitai Deranja is the president of Education for Life International and the author of “For Goodness’ Sake: helping our children and teens discover life’s higher values”
[1] (CNN, April 10, 2012)
[2] (http://www.economics.harvard.edu/about/views)
[3] “The second eminent contribution which the [people of the] United States have made to civilization is their thorough acceptance, in theory and practice, of the widest religious toleration.” The Oxford Book of American Essays. 1914. Volume XX. Five American Contributions to Civilization by Charles William Eliot
Hallmarks of an Education for Life School
By Nitai Deranja, President of Education for Life International
Education for Life offers techniques for transforming education into an integral process which harmonizes book learning with direct life experience and instructs students in the art of living. It is based on the deep insight into the potential of every human being: Nurture creativity, intuition and wisdom in every student, tapping into unexplored capabilities or pure potentiality. Education for Life is a system of education that has the same goal as life itself: progressively to become on every level- heart and mind, body and spirit- more balanced, mature, effective, creative, happy, harmonious human beings.
When you visit an Education for Life School, you will find that each classroom seems unique. There is no standardized “look” to the classrooms, no set outward curriculum that each teacher follows, and no fixed style of learning for students. What then, are the distinguishing features of an EFL school? It is the purpose of this pamphlet to highlight the subtle, yet essential factors that define Education for Life and therefore determine the quality and scope of a child’s school experience.
First and foremost, EFL teachers are trained to appreciate that life itself is a school. Throughout our lives, the events that come to us offer a series of lessons that can lead to an ever-deepening sense of personal fulfillment and happiness. Put slightly differently, life continually offers us the opportunity to expand our consciousness. From this perspective the primary goal for the years of formal schooling becomes the development of the skills and attitudes that will help us take full advantage of these life-lessons.
A hallmark of an Education for Life classroom then will be the modeling of a cheerful openness to life and the unexpected lessons that might come our way. Although teachers will bring appropriate lesson plans to class, there will always be a readiness to embrace and make use of whatever special experiences a particular day presents. In the early grades opportunities for growth might present themselves through an unexpected visitor, unusual weather, or a spontaneous incident from the playground. In later years there will be a concerted effort to involve students in the broader streams of life outside the classroom. In every instance, an EFL teacher will strive to help students discern whether their responses to new events produce an expansion or contraction of consciousness. Specifically, the teacher will guide students from reactions of fear toward courage, from judgment toward compassion, from sadness toward joy. In our school’s philosophy this directionality of attitude is referred to as “Progressive Development.”
This focus on the gradual expansion of the student’s consciousness leads naturally to the next essential component of an EFL classroom, a child-centered curriculum. While every school must address the standard topics of modern education, the EFL curriculum will be child-centered in the sense that the teacher looks primarily to the students’ readiness for particular kinds of growth in determining the specific activities that will take place in the classroom. By knowing each student’s interests, talents, and potential, the teacher is able to present the lessons in a manner that maximizes student involvement and progress. Thus while a teacher may work with the same basic material over a period of years (fractions, world history, etc.), each class will manifest a unique expression of the learning process. EFL curriculum categories such as Understanding People, Cooperation, and Wholeness, as well as our small teacher/student ratios, facilitate this approach to learning.
The emphasis on a child-centered curriculum also contributes to a feeling of mutual respect between teacher and student. In paying close attention to individuals, the teacher develops an appreciation for each student’s positive qualities. Children, on the other hand, sense that the teacher is seeking to adapt the learning process to their interests and abilities as opposed to imposing a rigid program of prearranged lessons. In this way teacher and students can partake in the excitement of co-creating the curriculum.
The final characteristic of an EFL classroom is also rooted in the goal of preparing children to find happiness and fulfillment in life. In responding to life’s challenges, we have four primary tools at our disposal: the body, feelings, will, and intellect. The proper development of these “Tools of Maturity” lies at the heart of Education for Life. In our schools we emphasize one of these tools in each 6-year cycle of the child’s growth.
The stage from 0–6 encompasses the “Foundation” or preschool years. During this period the child is primarily occupied with learning to relate to physical realities, especially those of the body. An EFL preschool will promote physical vitality through a healthy diet and generous amounts of exercise, sunlight, and fresh air. Frequent nature outings will be interspersed with activities specifically designed to promote physical agility and coordination. The Foundation Years are also a time for cultivating the physical senses through creating a beautiful classroom environment and involving the children in painting, crafts, music, dance, and other activities that refine the children’s capacities for hearing, seeing, feeling, etc. Storytelling and role-playing are popular venues with this age for sharing initial insights into human behavior. The preschool years also provide an opportune time for cultivating uplifting habits of cleanliness, cooperation, and truthfulness.
The next cycle of growth covers the period from 6-12, the “Feeling” or elementary years. During this stage we shift our emphasis from the body to working with and through the child’s emotions. For a beginning step, children are helped to notice the different kinds of feelings and their varying effects on people. Students learn to appreciate and cultivate the uplifting influences of kindness, cheerfulness, and even- mindedness. Conversely, they can learn to redirect the disturbing energies that produce anger, greed, and jealousy. Techniques for working with these energies include breathing exercises, affirmations, yoga, and meditation. Of crucial importance during these years is the cultivation of the calm, centered state that leads to clear intuition. As their capacity for refined feelings develops, students learn to discriminate between the positive and negative effects of different kinds of activities and environments. Teachers will also utilize feelings as a powerful stimulus for other kinds of learning by emphasizing the awe of nature and scientific exploration, the sense of order and symmetry in mathematics, and especially the encouragement to be gained from the study of inspiring and saintly people.
Properly understood, the “Willful Years” from ages 12-18 present some of the greatest opportunities for the child’s development. Adults can help students avoid the self- involved negativity and rebelliousness that can plague the junior and senior high school years by encouraging positive applications of the will. Realistic, yet challenging goals must be set for these young people; goals that are in accordance with their own higher sensitivities as well as their individual talents and interests. Through faith in their positive potential and consistent adherence to appropriate disciplinary procedures, adults can support the students’ efforts to gradually learn such lessons as perseverance, self-sacrifice, responsibility, and self-control. Classroom applications of this approach will emphasize a “hands-on” style of learning where students can apply their energies to life-like situations. Science projects, debates, service projects and challenges of physical endurance are especially appropriate for this age group. A primary goal of the EFL teacher is to help each student identify and realize individual areas of expertise, thus providing a basis for the healthy development of the will. In an EFL school students of this age are asked to share in the responsibility for financing field trips and other special activities, even to the point of earning part of their tuition.
The final EFL cycle covers the “Thoughtful” or college years from 18-24. During this period the intellect is trained to work in conjunction with the three complementary tools of the body, feelings, and will. Intellectual insights are coordinated with the energy and enthusiasm produced by physical vitality, the intuitive feel for the rightness of an idea that comes from clear, calm feeling, and the ability to overcome obstacles that results from a dynamic application of the will. In this way the intellect becomes an effective tool for gaining the insights needed to lead a productive and fulfilling life.
What Does “Spiritual Education” Mean?
by J.Donald Walters
The first public service that Paramhansa Yogananda undertook after he became a swami was to found a school for young boys. Starting in 1916 in the village of Dihika, Bengal with only seven students, he was “determined to found a school where young boys could develop to the full stature of manhood.” A year later he moved the school to Ranchi and founded the Yogoda Satsanga Brahmacharya Vidyalaya which is still in existence today. Almost sixty years later, in 1972, at Ananda Village, the first Ananda school was founded, based on the ideals and directions that Yogananda laid out about education. Starting also with only seven students, the original Ananda School now has a campus of seven classrooms with ninety students, plus branch schools in Palo Alto, Portland, and Seattle. The following article is from a talk that J.Donald Walters gave in which he discusses the Education for Life system used in the Ananda Schools.
What I’ve tried to do in my life is to take Yogananda’s central teachings and apply them to many fields of life – business, the arts, relationships, raising families, schools, communities, and so on. The education of children was very dear to Yogananda’s heart, but what he actually said about it was very little. Through the years, we have taken what he has given us, meditated on it, and applied our understanding in the Ananda School classrooms in order to deepen our insights and attunement to Yogananda’s vision for spiritual education.
The purpose of spiritual education is to fulfill the divine potential of children, and to prepare them for life by giving them the tools they need to keep on learning throughout the many experiences that will come to them.At Ananda we are trying to develop a system calledEducation for Life, something which is very much needed in society today. The reason for so many of the problems in our world is that we’re giving children what Yogananda called an essentially atheistic view of life. When we rigorously exclude all spiritual teachings and higher values, our children end up getting the message that there aren’t any higher values, and that there isn’t even a God. Children have a natural longing for values and ideals, but our society gives them a universe and a life in which they have no faith. The cynical teachings of modern education are so ego-oriented, and so money and job-oriented that when children grow up cynical and angry at the universe, it’s hardly something to be surprised at. It’s the fault of our society that allows that kind of thing to happen.
When we speak of spiritual education, we don’t mean a church kind of education. What we mean is to help children understand that they’re going to be a lot happier if they are kind to others, and if they work for high ideals. The child who has a little bag of dates and eats them all himself isn’t nearly so happy as the child who shares those dates with others. In all cases, we can see that people who are selfish just aren’t happy, and people who are selfless are happy. They can apply this understanding not only at school, but also at home and everywhere in life. If we can bring this kind of teaching to children, this then is spiritual education.
Another purpose of spiritual education is to build the person on all levels. We are triune beings composed of body, mind, and soul, and if any part of us is starved at the expense of the others, then we aren’t complete. It’s an interesting fact that people who write, as an example of a mental activity, will very often also do something physical to keep themselves grounded. When Yogananda first had an experience of cosmic consciousness, his guru, Sri Yukteswar, handed him a broom, saying, “Let us sweep the porch.” We have to learn to keep these worlds in harmony with one another. If we let one go in favor of the other, in some way we become unbalanced.
An education that ignores individual differences and tries to run children through an assembly line is bound to produce shoddy results. An education that is deep, enduring, and effective must be highly individualized.
In the education of our children, we need to help them develop their characters and their minds, but we must also help them prepare for living successfully in this world. We don’t want them to go out into society and find themselves incapable of relating to what’s going on. They have to have the facts that are a part of our modern upbringing. But they don’t need to have those facts taught to them in such a way as to leave them believing that there’s no value in anything. There is a great deal of emphasis on the wrong things today. The basis of spiritual education is to prepare them for society in a way that will help them to remain idealistic.
Suppose you have children who have learned how to love everyone, who have learned the goodness of life. When they go out into the world they may face hatred, criminal activity, and many other negative things. Will they be able to handle it? This is probably the primary concern that people have with spiritual education. The answer is to be seen in those who live with love. It isn’t as if they become stupid or lose the ability to relate to the world as it is. In fact, the broadest understanding comes from that which is centered in love; the narrowest understanding is that which is centered in hatred. If you’re on the lowest level, you can relate only to the lowest level; if you’re on the highest level, you can relate to all levels. To see that this is true, we can point to examples of people who live that way and who are able to handle life’s many challenges far, far better. I have observed that people who are complete as human beings are generally more successful. A spiritual education can actually guarantee greater success even in the way worldly people define it.
A good example is Yogananda’s most advanced disciple, Rajarsi Janakananda. He was the chairman of several large companies and owned several others. He had the clarity, calmness, and centeredness to be able to pull back from all the stress and excitement and see the way to resolve difficult issues. The secret of his success was the fact that his consciousness was rooted in God, and in the desire for right action.
Children are born with different inclinations, with different strengths, weaknesses, and educational needs. One of the unfortunate aspects of modern education is the assembly-line approach to teaching where the same information is more or less dumped out to everyone. There isn’t any philosophy; it is just information. Small classes, where the teacher can get to know each child personally, are essential for giving individual attention and for discovering what the natural level of understanding is for each child.
Spiritual education is training people for life. How many people get married, and then get divorced because they don’t know how to get along with their spouse? They’re not educated for that. nor for life.
Education, rightly understood, is expansion of awareness. It is preparation for that process of real learning which takes place after we leave school, when we are in the constant struggle, the battlefield of life. By giving children the tools and understanding to make the right choices in life, we can lead them to lasting happiness. Then they will be able to achieve the kind of spiritual victories that are the true meaning of success.
The Balanced Life: Curing Mental Abnormalities
By Paramhansa Yogananda
(Published in East-West Magazine, November-December 1925)
Look at the misproportioned figures on the left in the above picture — the first one with a peanut-sized head and a body as fat as a balloon, the second figure with one arm developed like that of a Sandow, but with the physique of a dwarf, and the third one with a top-heavy head fitted to a frail Lilliputian body. Would it not be a very amusing or pathetic spectacle (according to your mood) if you suddenly beheld a crowd of such people?
Behold the group on the right side of the picture. These people are normal so far as their outward physical form and appearance is [sic] concerned. But they are mentally unsound and deformed. As clothing hides scars, sores, and some deformities, so also the neat-looking garb of human flesh often covers serious mental maladies.
If you were confronted with a vast crowd of average people, well-dressed and physically healthy, and if you were gifted with the power to see their mental bodies, what a surprise and heartache you would have. Their mental bodies, with reason as the head, feeling and senses as the trunk, and Will as the feet, you would observe to be abnormal, diseased, and deformed. You would see some people with a tiny head of small sense, attached to a bulging trunk of sense-appetite. Some would possess a withered body of feeling and pep, with the arm of business faculty very much over-developed in proportion. Another perhaps has a large Socratic brain, but his trunk of sympathy and feeling is shrunken and dried up. Still another, normal in head and body, would be seen to possess a pair of impotent, paralytic feet of will and self-control. And so on.
Such multitudinous psychological deformities and pathological mental bodies, under-developed in some directions and over-developed in others, lie concealed within man, causing suffering to his soul and hampering his expression on the material plane.
It would not be out of place here to name a few of such psychological diseases so that, invisible and supreme cause of all havoc in human life though they are, they may yet be detected and brought into the distinct consciousness of the unconscious sufferers, who may learn their nature, silent growth, and symptoms, and thus guard against their secret onslaughts and all-destroying powers.
SPIRITUAL MELANCHOLIA
This disease is prevalent among those that are mentally and physically idle under the pretext of being too busy with spiritual things. These sufferers neglect the great and small duties of material life in the name of serving God, and thus invite the devil of mischief to dwell in them. They suffer from pessimism and lack of appreciation for all things good and beautiful in the material life. This is a contagious disease and all spiritual aspirants must guard themselves against it by keeping their blood of energy warm and immune with constant, healthful, worth-while activity.
SPIRITUAL INDIGESTION
This results from indiscriminately swallowing a lot of mental patented medicines in the form of pseudo-spiritual books and lessons by quack spiritual doctors. This disease kills not only the real hunger for Truth but also destroys the power to discriminate between good and bad teaching. He who eats all the time and eats anything that he can get, will not only over-eat but will eat poisonous food along with the good, thus inviting first spiritual indigestion and finally spiritual death. The long-continued over-study of all sorts of philosophical principles and treaties [sic] without ever trying to assimilate them and test them out in one’s own practical experience results in doubt, indifference, and disbelief in all spiritual laws
SOWING MENTAL “WILD OATS”
Those afflicted with this disease lead a purposeless life through having too much time or money on their hands and lacking a true aim or understanding of life. They are whim-led, doing anything that comes into their heads, filling life with cheap novels, exciting movies, or other unproductive pastimes. They do not realize their malady until some terrible shock or nervous break-down overtakes them..
MENTAL COLD OF DESPAIR
You don’t know when you are going to catch it, and suffer from its outbursts of despondency, intolerance, and impatience.
MENTAL CATARRH
This disease consists in harboring constant chronic worldly worries which are usually neglected and passively yielded to instead of being fought and routed.
PSYCHOLOGICAL INSANITY
It causes its victims to be one-sided in the pursuit of happiness. They begin to think that money is happiness, or fame is happiness, or health, or power. They sacrifice everything else-youth, reputation, peace of mind, etc., on the altar of their all-consuming ambition and learn too late that the balanced life alone, observing all the laws of nature and of God and combining activity with calmness, can bring happiness and fulfill man’s natural destiny. The sufferers of Psychological Insanity become “money-mad” or obsessed with some one ambition until their perspective on life is warped and distorted. One man, for instance, was very successful in his business and amassed a million dollars, but before he could use it, he died of a complete nervous breakdown and excessive worry. Others, to gain fame, sacrifice their self-respect and sincerity. Sufferers from this disease of one-sidedness miss their true goal and can never derive real satisfaction from the possession of their longed-for object, since man’s nature is many-sided and demands all-round development.
RELIGIOUS INSANITY
This ism-fanaticism among so-called spiritual people results from the clinging to some untested dogma or opinion of man without putting it to the test of experience, and causes paroxysms of anger and hatred against the laws of tested Truth and liberal rational thought. This religious madness leads to disobedience of God’s simple laws of mental efficiency, material prosperity, and physical health.
Physical diseases being tangible, painful, and repugnant arouse our active resistance and we seek to remedy them by exercise, diet, medicine, or some definite method of cure. But psychological diseases, though the root cause of all human woes, are not prevented or attended to promptly and are allowed to devastate and wreck people’s lives.
SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES SHOULD BE TAUGHT
Educators, physical culturists, preachers, reformers, doctors, and law-makers will hasten the progress of true civilization only when they themselves first learn and then teach others how to harmoniously develop all the factors of life and of man’s nature. This is the true education and all-round human culture that all the world is seeking.
Educational authorities deem it impossible to teach spiritual principles in public schools because they confuse them with the variety of conflicting forms of religious faith. But if they concentrate on the universal principles of peace, love, service, tolerance, and faith that govern the spiritual life, and devise methods of practically growing such seeds in the fertile soil of the child’s mind, then the imaginary difficulty is dissolved. It is the greatest mistake to ignore this problem just because it is seemingly difficult.
Many college graduates after leaving their universities are often found with a top-heavy, book-inflated head and are unable to walk straight in the path of life due to their legs of Will and Self-control being almost paralyzed through disuse. They tumble headlong into the pit of wrong marriage, sex misuse, inordinate dollar-craving, and business failure. They had not been taught any other use of their college-sharpened mental blades of smartness except to hurt themselves. Many young men seem to take pleasure in doing those things which react to their own disadvantage and suffering in the end. Last year [1924] in America young men ranging in years from 15 to 30 stole one billion dollars by the “hold-up” method. Who was responsible? We, all of us. They also are vicious who do not prevent the spread of vice and teach others to be virtuous through their example. Schools, colleges, and society have not scientifically tried to prevent crime by eliminating its true mental cause.
Why not take the proper educational steps to avoid this annual theft of one billion dollars and use some of those millions for creating “How-to-Live-Schools,” where the art of living and a balanced development of all human faculties would be taught? We hope to have such a “How-to-Live-School” for all-round development at our Mount Washington Educational Center in Los Angeles as soon as funds are available and proper interest has been aroused for the work. In the meantime, we plan to work along such lines as far as possible.
SCHOOLS AS GARDENS
I consider properly organized schools as gardens where infant souls are grown and nurtured. The gardeners should be well-selected and cooperated with by parents and the public. The teachers should never be neglected, for they are soul-molders. The care and spiritual nourishment of the early life of a human plant usually determines its later development.
I sincerely praise the modern school system of America and its constantly improving methods of intellectual and, to a certain extent, physical training. But I cannot fail to point out its main shortcoming. It lacks spiritual background, and very badly needs to be supplemented by moral and spiritual training. The boy who belongs intellectually to Class “A”, or is a great baseball or football player, often attracts notice and is encouraged by the professors and students; but very few observe or warn him rightly if he is leading a dark Class “D” moral or spiritual life.
But where is such a school which adopts definite measures for developing the whole nature of man, teaching him the true art of life and fitting him to go through the various minor and ultimately the final examination of life? Such schools are urgently needed to teach the following arts and sciences of all-round growth:
CURRICULUM OF THE SCHOOL FOR TRAINING BALANCED SOULS
1. Science of Body for Practical Efficiency
A. Technique of recharging the body-battery from the Cosmic Current by will.
B. Scientific relaxation of energy from the body parts for perfect rest.
C. Conservation of vital energy.
D. Bodily suppleness and agility.
E. Physical endurance (of cold, heat, strain,etc . )
F. Knowledge of what and how much to eat daily,and the value of partial fasting.
G. Regular habits of eating and sleeping.
H. Value of sitting erect and thus keeping the cerebro-spinal axis, diaphragm and lungs in proper position and action.
I. Moderation in some sport, such as swimming, tennis, baseball, etc.
J. Cleanliness—daily bath for keeping the body pores open.
K. Sex hygiene—relation of sex-control to good memory, long life, mental inspiration and matrimonial happiness.
2. Mental Engineering
A. Art of building bridges over the river of difficulties between failure and success.
B. Psycho-physical methods of keeping the sense employees of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell, well-trained, regulated, reliable, busy and free from rebellion, governing them with ease and obtaining their willing cooperation.
C. Art of keeping the mental life free from the bacteria of fear, despondency, melancholia, greed, lack of initiative, anger, worry, idleness and boredom.
D. Art of injecting the tonic of cheerfulness into the body.
E. Knowledge of the superiority of the mind over the body, obtained through practical experience.
F. Developing will power for carrying out plans made by noble ideas, and for resisting the lure of temptations.
G. Art of training the will so that it makes it its own business to be better without the necessity of being goaded by commands.
H. Understanding of the fundamental importance of the will throughout life.
I. Art of choosing the right life-companion and of keeping one’s matrimonial life smooth through consideration, tact, love and fidelity.
J. Art of creating spiritual children and of rearing them beautifully.
K. Art of concentration (positive and negative). Art of training the sub-conscious mind and of learning during sleep.
L. Art of keeping the mind strong and immune from diseases.
Social Arts
A. Art of regulating self-ambition so it does not conflict with the interests and requirements of society.
B. Art of converting the greed to possess into the desire to share.
C. Methods of fostering social service. Art of inventive ability to serve mankind and lighten labor or improve on existing conditions.
D. Art of working to better laws through right education and intelligent understanding and cooperation.
E. Art of graciousness, noble bearing, and genuine interest in the problems of others.
F. Art of cooperation, and knowledge of the absolute interdependence of man’s destiny and universal laws of being.
G. Value of self-sacrifice and good will for all.
H. Law of individual life as related to social life.
I. National and international interest and patriotism,
Applied Spiritual Science
A. Law of sincerity in thought, word and deed.
B. Art of seeking personal happiness through the happiness of others.
C. Relation of man to God.
D. Art of converting self-ambition into ambition for all.
E. Art of merging the little self into the Self of All.
F. Law of protecting the wealth of inward peace from the robbers of worry, unfavorable circumstance, disease, etc.
G. Art of being supremely happy always and of making others so.
H. Freedom from all habits, and performance of right actions through discrimination and free-will.
The above Arts and Sciences are those which should be taught in a “How-to-Live School” to children whose minds are still plastic and whose forces as yet unguided into any definite channel. Adults too may master the subjects, if they will exercise willingness and patience while the good habits are displacing the undesirable ones.
After a thorough training, the students of such a school will undergo ceaseless examination throughout life, and the various diplomas won will be health, fame, efficiency, wealth and happiness.
The issue of the final examination at the end of this earthly sojourn will only be determined by the sum total acquirements and mental and spiritual diplomas won at the various examinations throughout life. And those successful in this last Great Examination receive a Diploma of lasting efficiency, free conscience and blessings, engraved eternally on the parchment of the Soul. This rare reward is incorruptible by moths, beyond the reach of thieves and the eraser of Time, and is awarded for honorable entry into the Fellowship of Truth.
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“The ideal of right education for youth had always been very close to my heart. I saw clearly the arid results of ordinary instruction aimed at the development of the body and intellect alone. Moral and spiritual values, without whose appreciation no man can approach happiness, were yet lacking in the formal curriculum. I determined to found a school where young boys could develop to the full stature of manhood.” Paramhansa Yogananda in Autobiography of a Yogi (Original Edition) p. 24
He founded what he termed the first How-to-Live School in Dihika, India in 1917 and then moved it to Ranchi in 1918. Education for Life and the Living Wisdom Schools are based on that model.
Team Sprite
Alumni, Keith Ross
Academic Achievement and Education for Life
By Nitai Deranja
Education for Life (EFL) is based on a balanced development of the four Tools of Maturity: the body, feelings, will, and intellect. In contrast, mainstream education with its one-pointed focus on obtaining higher test scores has increasingly emphasized the training of intellect at the expense of activities that promote growth in the other areas. It is interesting then to compare the results of these two very different approaches.
Education for Life and Testing
While we do not advocate the testing of young children, older students often express a healthy interest in knowing how they are doing academically in relation to others their age. When the EFL high school near Nevada City, California applied for accreditation in 2005, a part of the process entailed giving the students a nationally recognized, standardized test. The results have been remarkable, though not unexpected for those who are familiar with recent educational studies. In every year the students as a group have averaged in the top 10% of schools nationwide, even reaching the top 1% on one occasion. SAT scores have been equally impressive with the average EFL student scoring 1691 as compared to a national average of around 1500. How can EFL students compare so well with elite academic schools when our focus includes large amounts of time directed toward drama and music, games and outdoor activities, service projects and travel? Current educational research provides some valuable insights.
The Body and the Intellect
It seems obvious that a healthy body provides the foundation for a healthy intellect. Disease, low energy, stress, and a lack of cleanliness and order can all seriously undermine the ability to focus mentally. This relationship is clearly demonstrated in a study done in 2013 by The National Academy of Sciences.
State-mandated academic achievement testing has had the unintended consequence of reducing opportunities for children to be physically active during the school day and beyond…. Yet little evidence supports the notion that more time allocated to subject matter will translate into better test scores. Indeed, 11 of 14 correlational studies of physical activity during the school day demonstrate a positive relationship to academic performance. Overall, a rapidly growing body of work suggests that time spent engaged in physical activity is related not only to a healthier body but also to a healthier mind.
Feelings and the Intellect
Similarly, the ability to work constructively with one’s feelings can be a tremendous help when trying to maintain mental focus in the face of interpersonal tensions or inner turmoil. The advent of the term “Emotional Intelligence” in 1995, produced a wave of research authenticating the importance of social and emotional growth. A key report by J. Payton et al looked at an array of data taken from 317 studies involving 324,303 students. Their conclusion follows.
SEL [Social and Emotional Learning] programming improved students’ academic performance by 11 to 17 percentile points across the three reviews, indicating that they offer students a practical educational benefit…. Although some educators argue against implementing this type of holistic programming because it takes valuable time away from core academic material, our findings suggest that SEL programming not only does not detract from academic performance but actually increases students’ performance on standardized tests and grades”.
Will and the Intellect
The connection between the will and intellect is evident in the value of such qualities as perseverance, concentration, and initiative. In her book “The Willpower Instinct”, Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal Ph.D surveyed the results of over 200 studies in this area.
People who have strong willpower are better off – i.e. better control of their attention, emotions, and actions. They are happier and healthier. Their relationships are more satisfying and last longer. They make more money and go further in their careers. They are better able to manage stress, deal with conflict, and overcome adversity. They live longer. Self-control is a better predictor of academic success than IQ. It’s a stronger determinant of effective leadership than charisma. It’s more important for marital harmony than empathy.
Conclusion and Prediction
It may be taking awhile, but educators are gradually acknowledging that a one-sided emphasis on the intellect is counterproductive. Even the “winners” of this approach are adversely affected. In November of 2011, NBC interviewed an administrator at Peking University High School in Shanghai, the top school worldwide as measured by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, but also a school where students put in 12 hours of study per day including weekends. “Test taking is damaging to students’ creativity, critical thinking skills and, in general, China’s ability to compete in the world. It can make students very narrow-minded. In the 21st century, China needs the creative types its education system isn’t producing.”
For over 40 years, Education for Life has pioneered an approach that emphasizes cultivating the intellect in conjunction with the body, feelings, and will. Modern research shows that the future of education around the world lies with schools that can successfully implement this kind of integrated, holistic approach.
Test Scores
A question that often comes up in discussing Education for Life with newcomers is, “How does this approach affect academic achievement, especially as measured by standardized tests”. The answer often surprises people.
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is the principle tool for judging high school achievement in the United States. The following table shows the average scores of our graduating students compared to average national scores.
The SAT has withstood the misguided notion current in many educational circles that student achievement can be measured by the number of facts and formulas that have been retained. As an example high scores on the current STAR test in California depend on a student’s knowledge of the Schlieffen Plan, the Tennis Court Oath, and other obscure data that require a fixed curriculum and massive amounts of spirit-deadening memorization to assimilate. Students in an EFL school with an expansive, student-centered curriculum would not do well on these tests.
Other tests, like the SAT however, approach achievement from the more plausible perspective that student progress is better measured in such areas as reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and writing skills. We utilized one of these tests, The Iowa Test of Educational Development (ITED), with our students. The results are listed below in percentile ranks that show how our students compared with other schools. A ranking in the 90th percentile means they scored in the top 10% nationally.
These scores demonstrate the effectiveness of a holistic approach like Education for Life even in more traditional areas of student achievement. For a fuller discussion of this topic, see the article on “Organic Education”.
Education for Life High School Graduates
EFL graduates are accepted to the colleges they choose. For example,our 2013 senior class were accepted at the following colleges and universities: UC Merced, UC Davis, St Mary’s, Lewis and Clark, Humboldt State, Reed, Linfield, Whitman, Puget Sound, Maharishi University of Management, and Ananda College of Living Wisdom.
Food Drive
When we first met as a new Families for a New Tomorrow (FNT) group in the fall of last year, our families together decided that we want to collect food for those in need. It was really powerful when as families, we spoke about hunger.
To the younger children, we talked about what it meant to feel hungry. They all related to how it felt when they were picked up after school and said ” I’m starving!”
Some of the children wanted to ask all of those who did not have food to come over to their house to eat.
The elder children (7-8 year olds) spoke of actually collecting food.
The children then decorated grocery bags , took them to their classrooms and spoke to their peers about donating food / asking for donations. They seemed really proud to do it, and the teachers supported them as well.
After 2 weeks of food collections- we met again. This time we took out all of the food collected…and the children tried to imaging all of the delicious meals that folks could enjoy …putting the different types of food together. We tried to make sure the food was given in the spirit of love and caring.
Those who could go – went with a few parents and donated the food to the second harvest food bank!
We as an FNT group have done it twice and plan to make it a semi-annual event.
Magical Chain and Fairy Lanterns