Integrating Education ? What is Right Education?
“Though there is a higher and wider significance to life, of what value is our education if we never discover it? We may be highly educated, but if we are without deep integration of thought and feeling, our lives are incomplete, contradictory and torn with many fears; and as long as education does not cultivate an integrated outlook on life, it has very little significance.” - J. Krishnamurti Venue Panchagani, Maharashtra
Dates Nov 3 - Nov 7 2011
THEME: Main purpose of education is integration—that is breaking down the barriers between self and man, man and man, man and the environment around including Nature. Can we, therefore, initiate a movement create to working educational modulus based on the recommendation incorporated in “Learning—Treasure within”, a report to UNESCO of the International Commission Education for the 21st Century under the Chairmanship of Jacques Delors.  A school should be able to demonstrate a sustainable community with living and learning cells based on the following four pillars of Education as expected in the report mentioned above: a) Learning to live together. b) Learning to know. c) Learning to do. d) Learning to be. PROGRAMME
The present day education divides human beings as it is based on comparison, competition. It is focused on developing a student as an exclusive, separate entity. This creates division within the student which in turn causes divisions in the human society. Divisions based on nationality, religion, race, language, culture, as though were not enough that economical disparity has become another factor of division. Fee-based education has created divisions among the students. The days of economically poor and rich students studying together seem to be over. This rift in the status in schools grows further and causes much larger divisions in the society when students come out of the schools and start living their own life. The economic division seems to be overpowering all other types of divisions. Is there a way of educating which will integrate the human being first within himself and then with other human beings, with nature and with everything around him? Can there be education which will help develop the student into an integrated personality rather than make him exclusively separate and fragmented person? Is every human being unique? Where does that uniqueness lie? Can education nurture that uniqueness without isolating the individual from the rest? The purpose of this residential workshop is to come together and attempt to understand all such and more questions and to explore the possibility of their solutions and implementation of those solutions. The workshop will not only consider the philosophical and theoretical angle of these questions but will also consider the day to day implementation of these. A book by J. Krishnamurti will be used as a reference study material for this workshop. The programme includes silence sessions, lectures by resource persons, group dialogues, panel discussion, evening walks and screening of video recordings of Krishnamurti’s talks/dialogues. Although the workshop will be held in English, participants may use English, Hindi and Marathi for interactive discussions during the workshop. .
VENUE
The gathering will take place in the picturesque campus of Sanjeewan Vidyalaya located in the Panchgani Hill Station in Maharashtra. The landscape and the climate make for an ideal place for retreat and inward exploration.
View Larger Map ACCOMMODATION Participants will be accommodated in the students’ dormitories of Sanjeewan Vidyalaya located in the senior school campus. Each dormitory has 12 standard bunk beds accommodating 24 persons and a cluster of 3 toilets (2 Indian and 1 western style) and 2 bathrooms and a set of washbasins attached to it. Men and women will be accommodated in separate dormitories. The dormitories are furnished with cupboards, tables and chairs. Bedding will be provided. Hot water for bath will be available. Groups can be accommodated together if they so request at the time of registration. Aged persons will get priority in allocating the lower beds. FOOD
Wholesome vegetarian food will be provided for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tea, coffee and snacks will also be served. WEATHER Climate at Panchgani is moderately cold in November with average day temperatures around 16oC. Warm clothing is recommended for the workshop participants. ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE Participants are expected to: Arrive : Thursday 3rd Nov [any time] Depart: Monday , 7th May [After Breakfast] TRAVEL Panchgani, is a small hill-station in the State of Maharashtra–India, about 100 km, South-West of Pune. This mountain resort is 1,259 meters. above mean sea level on one of the ranges of the Sahyadris. It is only 20 km from Mahabaleshwar, 270 km from Mumbai via Pune and 266 km via Mahad. The closest airport is at Pune, 98 km from Panchgani. The nearest railway station Wathar is at 45 km. It is convenient to come to Panchgani via Pune. There are regular buses, taxi services and car rentals between Mumbai and Panchgani. The campus of the Sanjeewan Vidyalaya is about 1.5 km away from the Panchgani township and easily accessible by local taxis and auto rikshaws. REGISTRATION A non-refundable registration fee of Rs. 2,800/- includes food, accommodation, and stationery for study. The feewill be non-refundable after registration but is transferrable to another individual.It will be refunded if your name is not registered because of lack of space. The registration fee may be paid by Cheque/Demand Draft or by direct deposit in a bank. For further details please contact us. For further information on this please get in touch with the contact person.The fee should be accompanied by the registration form duly filled in. The confirmation of registration will be done by telephone and/or e-mail on receipt of the payment. Please note that no extra stay will be possible in the school campus either before or after the gathering. Registration form can be found here. REGULATION Smoking, consumption of alcoholic beverages or narcotic drugs and eating of non-vegetarian food is not permitted during the gathering. ALTERNATE ACCOMMODATION outside school Accommodation in a Guest House about 5 kms. away from the school can be arranged on request. The charges for the room: Double occupancy: Rs.5,500 per person Single occupancy : Rs.7,570 per person. The charges include food, accommodation and transport between the guest house and the school for the entire period of the gathering. CONCESSIONS Few concessions for very needy persons are available only in dormitory type of accommodation. However it is suggested that participants should first confirm the availability of concession before asking for it. DONATIONS Since the gathering is being organised on a no profit and no loss basis, the registration fee has been kept as low as possible. In such a situation a shortfall of funds is inevitable. The participants are welcome to contribute more to meet such a shortfall. CHECKLIST:
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