Educational
Statement of Purpose
The Leadership Institute seeks to provide a new framework from which professionals in the field of education can become more effective, dynamic, and well rounded leaders in their respective roles. Working to this end the Institute offers a wide variety of trainings and workshops designed to enhance and develop the skills and character of educational leaders to meet the challenges of the coming millennium. Our approach seeks to harmonize and integrate both the necessary life skills with the moral and ethical development necessary to be effective and dynamic leaders.
As leaders in the field of education all aspects of our character need to be well rounded and developed in order to earn, and maintain the respect, cooperation and support of our colleagues. Using the Leadership Institutes Character Development Model our trainings focus on six essential character traits; integrity/ truthfulness, vulnerability/humility, acceptance, compassion/ empathy, trust and service. These six basic trainings combined with the Life Skills Training (see Corporate Statement of Purpose) help foster the inner development of the individual while providing him or her with the necessary life skills to be an effective leader.
The Leadership Institute provides a basic training in each of these areas. Below is a brief description of the workshops summaries and goals and objectives of Character Development Training.
Philosophy of Education
Sant Kirpal Singh one of the great visionary and Spiritual Masters of the 20th century summarized the true goal of education when he said "the real aim of education is to develop the character and individuality of a pupil, his mind, will and soul power." If this is true as educators we need a more student centered, collaborative, holistic, and experiential approach to learning. Students should not be viewed as mere "deposit boxes" for the teacher's knowledge but co-creators of their own unique world view and destiny. The chief malady of current education is that it results in the dissociation of heart and head. It lays emphasis on the development of the intellect at the expense of the liberation of the heart. Great teaching should strive after the ideal of humility and self-sacrifice. Scholarship may be proud culture is humble.
At every age, but particularly early adulthood and late adolescence students learn more through experiential methods than by traditional lecture based mediums. The great Chinese philosopher Confucius summarized this when he said, "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.," Traditional models of education which emphasize lecturing, note taking, and standardized testing, merely fill the brain with other peoples thoughts. The real essence of education is to lead a person to find the truth within himself. I agree with the wise words of the great Italian astronomer Galileo who noted we "cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself."
If this is true as educators our real task is to awaken the spirit of inquiry in each student. We would do well to remember that the word education is derived from two words, edu and care. The literal meaning of these two words is to draw out what is within. What then is the first task of educators? It is to awaken the spirit and love of knowledge. Albert Einstein was right when he said, "the important thing is not to stop questioning." If we can ignite the spark of learning then it will one day blaze up on its own embracing ever greater horizons of knowledge with an open mind and heart.
While providing varied learning styles and individualized assessment for each student is important, the expectation to achieve is even more critical. It is my belief that the higher the expectations the greater the effort and ultimate success of the student. Ultimately, all teaching is rooted in the relationship between the teacher and the taught and the profound respect each has for the other. As Goethe so eloquently wrote, "it was not the teachers who were the most brilliant who taught me the most, but those who loved me the most." Teachers should train students in the spirit of sympathy and love, blending information with inspiration and knowledge with love.
If the teacher's sympathy is of paramount importance in the development of the student, equally important is the teacher's ability to find what is relevant in the student's life. I agree with W.B.Yeats who said, "Education is not filling the mind with facts, but lighting the fire of inspiration." Every day educators should take time to personally connect with their students. A student without the motivation to learn is like a sailboat without a sail. Everyone needs to see a future for themselves and their world.
Lastly and most importantly, education should not be a dry exercise in intellectual showmanship. As Sant Darshan Singh world renowned mystic poet and Spiritual Master has remarked, "To get the best out of man, there should be a blending of studies which involve the mind with those which incorporate morality. Ethics and spirituality cannot be ignored." I would go even further and argue that education without a spiritual component is an absurdity.
In a world where all life is sacred and the spirit is nourished students come to see their interconnectedness with all life. They begin to search for deeper and more profound levels of meaning and purpose and are able to integrate themselves positively in their world around them. From this moral and spiritual base each person can find positive and life affirming expressions of their unique spirit. Such spirit centered education reaffirms our individual and communal value as humans while we build ever widening circles of community.
Workshops/Seminars Offered
The Moral and Spiritual Dimensions of Leadership
Fostering a Consciousness of Interdependence
Time Task Management in our Personal and Professional Lives
Stress Reduction and Stress Management in Corporate and Educational Environments
Building a Culture of Peace in our Schools and Personal Lives
10 Instructional Strategies to Create a Culture of Learning
5 Research Based Instructional Strategies for Improving Standardized Testing
Results