Be It, And They Will Be

This article is based on a talk given by Dr. Jumsai at a conference in N’dola in April, 1999. Dr. Jumsai is head of the Institute of Sathya Sai Education in Thailand and one of the founding members of the Sathya Sai School in Thailand.

At the Sathya Sai School, we like to say that we don’t teach subjects. We teach children. Our aim is to transform children into beings full of human excellence. Toward that end, Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (EHV) is taught to every age group for one period each day. Of course, we also teach standard curriculum courses in math, science, geography, reading, art, and music. We integrate human values into every subject, using every opportunity to transform children.

Many people wonder how we can do this while, at the same time, meeting government requirements for public education. The answer is simple. We don’t need to change the syllabus content. In fact, we do everything possible to teach academic subjects with the highest standards. But while we teach subject matter, we concentrate on imparting human values as well. Our method requires a certain amount of work. First, we have to understand that children listen to us as we talk; they watch us as we write on the board. But what they learn through eyes and ears is only ten percent of the total message they receive.

For example, one teacher taught a beautiful lesson to the children. While wiping the chalkboard with a cloth, he accidentally dropped the cloth. Without thinking, he used his foot to pick it up, then tossed the cloth with his foot and caught it in his hand. At the end of class, a child said, “I can do it. I understand.” Pleased, the teacher asked the child to tell what he had learned. The child asked for the cloth, dropped it, then picked it up with his foot. So you see, it is not always what we teach that is important. A lot of meta-message is unspoken. Children copy what they see in us: the way we look, how we speak, the mannerisms we use.

The first way we can integrate values is through our example. Teaching is whatever we do in front of the class. If we want to teach punctuality, we must come in on time. We don’t need to teach a lesson on punctuality. The child understands by example.

Some of the things we remember throughout our lives were not taught as subjects. Today, if you want to speak out in a group, you automatically raise your hand. To wait for your turn to do something, you line up. Those things were never part of our school curriculum, but we learned them early and carried them with us.

Essentially, there are two rules we need to remember. The first is to be a good example. In a Sathya Sai school, this means not only teachers. Each person children have contact with must be a good example. When I interview parents, I ask them why they want to send their children to us. They say they are confident that with us their children will be safe from drinking, drugs, and all other vices. Their assumption is true. All of our staff—teachers, cooks, janitors, administration – are free from these vices. All the grown ups in the school community are good examples. Children learn simply by being in the presence of their elders. They emulate adults, copying what they see. All of us radiate unspoken words.

The second rule goes back to rule one: Be a good example. By doing that, you transfer values without actively teaching them. You don’t need to change the syllabus. You don’t need to change anything except your own example. But there is an important point to remember. Whenever we think something, a transfer of energy occurs that children detect, though they may not even be aware of it. If we have a lot of love, children know it. They take the love into their hearts. This again is the unspoken meta-message.

Recently, we had two teaching positions open in our Thailand school. More than 200 people applied for the job. One way we select a new teacher is to have the applicant visit the school, then we observe the children with that person. We see clearly which teachers have love in their hearts. The students gather close to the ones who have love in their hearts. If a teacher is angry or anxious, children stay at a distance. If a teacher is caring and thinks of children in a loving way, he (or she) automatically draws children to himself. That is one of the many criteria we use in hiring. Children are very sensitive. They know who loves them and who is full of worry and anxiety.

This leads to an important point. A teacher who wants to teach students to smile might sing a song about smiling. But, suppose the teacher sings it without smiling herself. If she is unhappy, what is transferred to the children? Not a smile, only a word. Unhappiness is transferred. The message is mixed, or even cancelled out. Children will detect the different messages. It is so important for teachers to have what we call “the three h’s.” The first is for “head,” or what one thinks; the second is “heart,” one’s conscience—the deep feelings inside; the third is “hand,” one’s actions. The three must be in unity. Before anything can be done correctly, what we think must be approved by our hearts before we put it into practice.

If you talk around smiling, make sure you are smiling from your heart. Then you can transfer the values of smiling, peace, joy and happiness. No matter what you teach, if you have these qualities, you will touch children with your words. You will transfer values even without talking about them. Children will receive them, gaining an enormous amount from you. So, as you see, we don’t have to get permission from the authorities to put this kind of education into practice. We can do it now. Be a good example, both inside and out so that you can transfer values. That is the most important thing. Then you can start to integrate values into the subjects themselves.

To describe the integration of values into subject areas, I will concentrate on math and science. Sathya Sai Baba has provided an example. He says that when you take hydrogen and burn it, then add oxygen, you get water. The scientific notation for water is H2O. You could just tell this to children, but it is just information with no value. On the other hand, you could tell them how to make use of what they have learned, how we can use water for the benefit of society – how to preserve water instead of wasting it, that clean drinking water promotes health. You could explain the ways water benefits people. Don’t talk about how we can use water to hurt others. Talk about how useful water is. People use the water from a river for irrigation, for drinking, for washing clothes, or for bathing. Wherever it flows, water serves everyone and is useful to them. Similarly, children should always be serving and filled with love.

You can integrate values by making them an intrinsic part of a subject. For example, in a math lesson, the national curriculum gave the following word problem, “A farmer had ten cows. Seven were stolen. How many were left?” I was shocked. That is a terrible thing to tell children because it implies that stealing is normal. Our teacher read the problem another way, “A farmer had ten cows. He had a son whom he loved very much and he decided, out of that love, to give his son seven cows. How many did he have left?” That is integration of values. We can teach the same math, but with values included.

As a further example, the seventh grade students heard that an elderly woman was in the hospital. They decided to visit her to give love and kindness. The nineteen students wanted to buy her a pot of flowers for $15.00 and share the cost equally. How much should each child pay? The head of the class said, “If it doesn’t divide equally, I will pay the rest.” The woman was so happy that the children had kind thoughts of her. You can make up all sorts of math problems in such a way that values become part of the lesson.

Here’s another: You have three children. Alone, the youngest child can lift ten pounds, the second fifteen and the oldest twenty. If all three work together in unity, helping one another and cooperating, what is the weight they can lift together?

When you heat water, it becomes steam and evaporates; when it cools, it becomes ice and weighs less. In the same way, when we are angry and heated up, our energy dissipates. If we remain calm, cool, and still, we become stronger and lighter. We could also use a boat as an example. Children construct boats to put in the water. If we put a weight in the back, the boat will start to move. Without the weight, the pull is equal, so the boat does not move. If we add weight, we reduce the surface tension in the front and the boat starts to move. In our class, the children race boats in this way: they reduce tension. Then just like the boat, they move forward and progress.

The north star never moves. Because it stays in the same position, we can use it as a guiding light. If we are lost at sea, we can use the star to help us find the way. We should be like the north star. We should stand firm as an example, always giving love and serving people. Many people are lost in their lives and don’t know which direction to go in. Show them by your example how to have peace. They can use your example to move forward.

These are just a few examples. We also tell stories about great mathematicians or scientists from the past. Sir Isaac Newton had a dog named Diamond whom he loved very much. One day Newton was working on a manuscript that he had been laboring over for months. He had put an enormous amount of thought into the document. Tired, he decided to take a walk. When he arose, the dog jumped up, too. When Diamond rushed toward his master, he knocked a candlestick over onto the manuscript and the pages caught fire. But instead of being angry, Newton said, “You will never know what damage you have done.” Then, full of forgiveness, he embraced the dog. Many stories, like this one, show great feelings of love and forgiveness.

In science, we do an experiment with light and mirrors. One child catches light from the sun on his mirror and reflects it to the next mirror. The children see that light travels quickly in a straight line. Similarly, all of us should travel without wandering or wasting time. Time wasted is life wasted. Sometimes we add games to the experiment. We create mazes with obstacles and try to target the light to hit the word “love” inside the maze. But the path of light is blocked by words such as pride, envy or hatred. The children must work together to avoid such obstacles. So if we can avoid anger, envy and pride, we can have love in our hearts.

These are just a few ways we integrate values into the curriculum. But by far, the most important factor is how we look, how we act, what we do, and how we speak. Through these things we transfer values to children.

“Education is not for mere living; it is for life, a fuller life, a more meaningful, a more worthwhile life. There is no harm if it is also for gainful employment: but the educated must be aware that existence is not all, that gainful employment is not all. Again, education is not for developing the faculty of argument, criticism, or winning a polemic victory over your opponents or exhibiting your mastery over language or logic. That study is the best which teaches you to conquer this cycle of birth and death, which gives you the mental equipoise that will not be affected by the prospect of death, that will not be disturbed by the blessings or blows of Fate. That study begins where this study of yours ends.”

~Sathya Sai Baba