HEART Program

POISE

Introduction Pursuit Of Inner Self Excellence (POISE) Teachers Training

Teachers play a pivotal role in moulding and guiding the lives of students in the right direction – not just academically but also in life skills and character-wise. It therefore becomes imperative that teachers equip themselves with the highest possible level of knowledge and experience. It is a widely accepted fact that modern day education, especially in India needs significant change, from rote learning to experiential learning, from being teacher centric to Learner Centric, from mere examination and marks oriented to skills and outcomes based education. How do we bring out these changes in today’s education?

 

To accomplish this we have come up with a tailored program called POISE (Pursuit of Inner-Self Excellence) designed to empower teachers with the values needed to pursue inner-self excellence.

 

POISE includes proven methodologies and techniques drawn from ancient as well as contemporary cultures, religious thoughts, as well as words of wisdom from great personalities. Apart from helping them gain self-knowledge, POISE teaches the teachers how to inculcate spiritual values in different aspects of teaching.

The motivation for this course is that the students shall not wait for wisdom to dawn with age but start their life with meaningful values intended for the management of their Self and life.

 

POISE is aimed at transforming the system of education by changing the way teachers think about teaching. Successful implementation of the practices suggested in this program can help participants adopt an outcome-based approach that encourages experiential learning and brings about the much-needed change in the attitude of students, which enriches their emotional as well as spiritual quotient.

Training is categorized:

Introduction to POISE – 2 hrs module
One day POISE Training – 6 hrs module
Two Days POISE Training – 2 days module – Certified Programme
Three Days – Train the Trainers – 3 days module – Certified Programme

One of the most significant functions of any educational institution is to provide learning experiences that lead students from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. Teachers are the key persons who play an important role in this process of transformation. This handbook is an attempt to include the spiritual dimension in teacher education and training. It provides guidelines for including spiritual practices such as prayer and meditation alongside value education in schools.

Current educational practices predominantly focus on imparting education in languages, mathematics, natural and social sciences. The spiritual dimension has been largely ignored. The spiritual dimension is an inherent characteristic of human beings and it needs to be included in our educational initiatives. This has an enormous potential that can contribute to teaching and learning in meaningful ways. The inclusion of this dimension in teacher training programs has the potential to demonstrate how the intellect can be guided with one’s heart and soul. This attempt will equip teachers in training with self-knowledge. Self-knowledge, teaching methodologies and theories in education together, will help teachers embark on a journey towards self-growth and transformation. This in turn will help teachers to address the current needs of their students in a holistic manner.

Heartfulness Education Trust is part of Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation. SMSF is a Recognized Research Centre of University of Mysore. SMSF is also accredited to International Accreditation Organization (IAO), United States. The Pursuit Of Inner Self Excellence (POISE) Teachers Training curriculum is developed by Research Scholars and Guides at Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation (SMSF), Bangalore.

Objectives:

At the end of this course, the Teacher will be able to:

1. Understand values and their role in improving the quality of life
2. Impart values to students effectively and pass it on to future generations.
3. Integrate values for self-development.
4. Create awareness about the scientific benefits of meditation.
5. Integrate meditation in their routines to improve the quality of both theirs as well as their students’ lives.

Contents:

Unit1 – Values for human excellence

1. The value of human integration
2. Compassion, universal love and brotherhood
3. Heart-based living
4. Silence and its values, Peace and non-violence in thought, words and deeds
5. Ancient treasure of values – Shatsampatti, Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga,Vedic education – Role of the Acharya, values drawn from various cultures and religious practices – Ubuntu, Buddhism, Jainism,Islam, Christianity, Charvaka, etc.
6. Why spirituality? Concept – significance
7. Thought culture

Unit 2 – Ways and Means

1. Correlation between the values and the subjects
2. Different teaching techniques to impart Spiritual education
3. Introduction to Brighter Minds initiative
4. Principles of Communication
5. Inspiration from the lives of Great Masters for values – Sahaj Marg System

Unit 3 – Integrating values in life

1. Relevance of Value Education in contemporary life
2. Significance of spiritual values in Education-UNESCO
3. Maxims for Character formation
   • Mean what you Say and Say what you Mean
   • Expect not,Thou shall not be disappointed
   • Blame not others, Blame thyself
4. Principles of Self-management
5. Designing destiny
   • Purity, Simplicity and Humility

Unit 4 – Meditation for self-transformation-A scientific approach

1. Introduction to Yoga and Meditation
2. Types of Meditation
3. Heartfulness Meditation and Wellness
4. Scientific Benefits of Meditation
5. Pursuit of Inner Self Excellence (POISE)
6. Collective Consciousness-concept of egregore effect