The pedagogy of SSEHV is integral education based on a holistic approach, which touches all aspects of the human personality and addresses every aspect of life. It combines secular and spiritual education.
The aim of SSEHV is therefore to integrate the human values in the curriculum, thus eliciting the human values through all aspects of education, including the process of learning and the process of teaching. Most importantly it is done through creating an environment and culture of love. Here the teacher has a key role to play by being an example of love.
The program does not suggest or recommend any change or alteration of the existing curricula. It only seeks to achieve the reinforcement and enrichment of the existing curriculum to impart a new dimension of values.
The means are the five teaching techniques : Silent Sitting/Tuning In, Prayers/Quotation, Storytelling, Group Singing, Group Activities and other compatible techniques, which provide a full range of learning activities and embrace body, mind and spirit.
Silent Sitting/Tuning In results in superior concentration, better receptivity and improves understanding. At a deeper level, it greatly aids memory and prepares the ground for intuitive awakening. As the thoughts, desires and emotions get stilled, new vistas of Peace are unearthed.
It is only in silence that the intuitive flashes of excellence are seen and experienced. Tuning in is the force behind genius and it imparts a new dimension of depth to the human personality. For centuries, the greatest of scientists, musicians, poets and artists have used and recommended the habit of sitting quietly and tuning in.
The tremendous level of noise and the powerful distractions in today’s environment have increased the hyperactivity of our children. A brief period of silent sitting promotes the ability to tune out distractions and to tune in to one’s inner resources. It develops patience and discipline.
The aim of Storytelling is to awaken interest, imagination and spirit of inquiry, to promote curiosity and ability to visualize, to create understanding, empathy and tolerance, and to improve discrimination and memory. It captures the heart and mind in a dynamic process, giving meaning and significance to one’s life by developing models for behavior.
Prayers and/or inspirational quotations improve memory and concentration, sharpen intuition, and lift the spirit and the heart to the highest ideals.
Prayer promotes positive thought and acknowledges a Higher Force or Being that one can call upon for guidance and assistance. Prayer helps to eliminate fear. It develops self-confidence, wisdom, health and happiness; and it confers peace. It is useful to find prayers from various religions which are expressing the same thoughts. This helps to promote unity of faiths and to develop tolerance and respect for others of different faiths and cultures.
Group Singing develops concentration, cooperation and team spirit. In addition, it promotes balance, harmony, joy and love. Research shows the healing effect of music, because it brings heart and breathing into rhythm – but it also develops musical sense and harmony of body, mind and spirit.
Group activities such as group dialogues, creative activities, theatre and role playing, projects of social commitment and service to the society allow the children to find a direct way to transfer the understanding of the values into daily life situations. Being active enables the children to experience what has been understood. The activities promote creativity and imagination, develop discriminative power and abstract thinking. They facilitate self-discipline and the understanding of social rules and obligations, as well as understanding of the environment.
Follow-up and life application
These exercises are designed to help the children incorporate the values into their lives, as part of their personalities. Teachers will find that they too are a part of this experience. Once the teacher appreciates the process of identifying and experiencing the five human values, it will form an integral part of his/her life.