February 2006

A monthly e-zine from the British Institute of Sathya Sai Education  www.ssehv.org.uk

Welcome to the February 2006 issue of our monthly e-zine.

Items this month:

• Spreading the word about human values in Wales
• Sathya Sai Saturday School launches in Wembley
• Lesson plan for 6-8 year olds
• Training Update

If you have any feedback about this newsletter, or would like to share your experiences of SSEHV, please write to us.

Kind Regards,
The Editor

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Spreading the word about human values in West Wales

21 teachers, heads, educationalists, students and professionals attended a one day introduction to SSEHV in Carmarthenshire, West Wales on 6th February organised by Zita Starkie. The teachers came from six local schools and a member of the local county council responsible for co-ordinating Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) in schools across the region also attended.

The response of the participants to SSEHV was extremely positive. Carole Alderman, who was one of the assistant trainers on the course, writes, "By morning break it was apparent that the participants were relating very positively to the presentation. There was pin drop silence as the teachers gave their full attention." In the feedback questionnaires completed by the attendees, all aspects of the day were rated as "good" or "excellent" with the sample lesson plan receiving a 100% "excellent" score. Comments included the following: "Invaluable - it should be the very core of all schools' work"; "I wish I'd learnt about this when my children were young" and "Excellent programme - I need to go away and consider how I can incorporate this into my life and my work."

As a result of this training day and the work that Zita has been doing in the area teaching SSEHV in local schools, a number of future activities are planned. Zita will conduct further two day sessions for 30 teachers at a time, to introduce SSEHV to teachers throughout the county of Carmarthenshire, the largest county in Wales. There will also be a five-day intensive SSEHV Foundation Course in Carmarthenshire in late August. A lecturer in education at Trinity College Carmarthen who attended the day plans to introduce all her students to SSEHV and encourage them to take an SSEHV training course themselves and use the lesson plans available at www.ssehv.org.uk in their teaching practice. Several of the teachers that attended the course plan to introduce SSEHV into their own schools.

Thank you to all who participated, to Zita for organising the event, and to the other four trainers who travelled from different parts of the country to facilitate the course.

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Sathya Sai Saturday School launches in Wembley

Around 25 children aged 6-7 are regularly attending a new SSEHV weekend school in Wembley from 9.30-11.30 on Saturday mornings. The children come from four local primary schools, three of which have previously hosted five-day SSEHV holiday schools. The Saturday School, which opened on 27th January, is staffed weekly by eight volunteers, including five professional teachers, and two visiting teachers who come on alternate weeks.

The school is divided into two classes and activities include an SSEHV lesson, followed by either the martial art Choi Kwang Do or a session playing human values based board games. The plan is to introduce a regular drama lesson into the timetable shortly.

The school is currently full, but it is hoped that it will be able to expand in time as more volunteers come on board and more resources become available. It will also be used as a training school for students studying for an SSEHV qualification from the Open College Network, to provide them with practical classroom experience with the support of trained and experienced teachers.

If you would like more information about the school please contact Joyce Power.

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Lesson plan for 6-8 year olds

This lesson plan is from the newly published book 'Sathya Sai Education in Human Values - More Lesson Plans for 6-8 Year Olds'. For more information about this and other SSEHV teaching resources, visit the resources pages of our website.

Objective: To explain the five values

Quotation/theme for the week:

1. Friends that you help when times are bad give back that help when you are sad

2. Five Values Poem
There are five values that I cannot see
Five values that are you and me.
The first is Truth, which rings a bell inside,
The second Love, to give, not hide.
The third is Peace, we feel when mind is still.
The fourth is always Doing Right,
When out of view, as well as within sight.
Fifth, totalling the other four,
Is called Non-violence, which means being kind
In what we do, and say, and think in mind.

Silent Sitting: Pre-silent sitting exercise

We are going to do a relaxation exercise. We are going to start by relaxing the body. We have to release any tension we have in the body so that we may feel at ease and relaxed. I will be standing in front of you and show you how it is done.

Please stand up.

We are going to start with the arms and legs. First we are going to tighten them, then relax them. OK?

Tighten the muscles of your arms and legs. Go! Tight! Really tight! Feel the muscles getting really hard!

Now relax.

Now we are going to release any tension in the stomach.
Breath in ..., hold …, and tighten the stomach muscles.
Tight, really tight. Feel the muscles getting hard.
And relax.

Now we are going to do the shoulders.
Put the tips of your fingers on the shoulders.
Now circle the arms backwards a few times ...
And forwards ...

And relax.

Now we are going to deal with the neck.
Do this really slowly.
Allow your head to drop gently forward.
Turn it to the right in a circular motion. Slowly, slowly round; and back to the front.
Now turn it to the left, in a circular motion. Slowly, slowly round; and back to the front.

Now we are going to release the tension from the hands and feet.
Lean forward a little and allow your arms and hands to drop loosely.
Now shake the hands .
Good.
Now let's do the same with our feet; one foot at the time.
One …, two …

And relax.

Have we dealt with the whole body?
No, we have not done the face.

Now stretch all the muscles of your face.
Screw up your face muscles and make a really h o r r i b l e face.
Ready, go!
Please do not put your fingers in your mouth.

And relax.

Now we are ready to relax our head and our thoughts. Please sit down.

I will be asking you to close your eyes; I will play some music and then ask you to imagine something, to see something with your imagination.

When your eyes are open, you are distracted by all the things that you see around you. When the eyes are closed, it is easier to concentrate on the music and on the visualization.

Now please close your eyes and remain relaxed listening to the music.

Play Track 1 from silent sitting CD
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Story: The meerkat and the lion
based on a traditional story

There was a great lion sleeping under a tree.
When disturbed by a meerkat, he roared cruelly
And trapping the meerkat beneath his great paws
Growled, "Now I will eat you." And sharpened his claws.

"Please let me go free for I'm not very fat
And one day I'll help you, I promise you that."
The poor little meerkat said, trembling with fear.
The lion laughed loudly such brave words to hear.

Once upon a time, on a hot afternoon in the forest, a lion was
dozing in the shade of a tree. He was not fast asleep, for lions are always on their guard. His lioness had just caught him a good dinner and he was feeling well fed so, for the moment, he meant no harm to anyone.

Then, from behind a rock crept a little meerkat. He was just an ordinary meerkat and he wasn't going anywhere in particular. He felt rather hot and was busy searching for some shade.

First one way and then another he darted, but wherever he went, the ground was hot beneath his paws, and he hopped to and fro unhappily. Then suddenly he found himself in a cool spot.

"Ah," he thought happily. "This is just the place I've been looking for." He was so happy to be out of the sun that he never noticed the big, tawny figure that was already stretched out nearby.

"You should pay more attention to where you are going!" said a deep voice.

And before the meerkat quite knew what had happened, a huge shaggy paw came down on top of him. The poor little meerkat found that he could only peer out between a row of cruel claws, and when he plucked up enough courage to look between them, he nearly fainted with fright.

"A lion!" he cried. "It's a lion!"

"It is indeed," said the lion. And he raised his great paw just enough to allow the meerkat to move away a few inches before he dropped it down on him again. For cats all like to play.

"Please lion," the meerkat cried. "Please let me go."

The lion sniffed at him thoughtfully, as though trying to make up his mind whether to eat him or not. "I don't see why I should free you," he said at last. "Give me one good reason, little meerkat, and I'll think about it."

"I can give two reasons," the meerkat said, thinking quickly. "One is that I am so small that I cannot possibly make you a good dinner, and the other is that if you free me I shall be very happy to help you in return some day."

The lion laughed. "And how can a little meerkat like you be of any help to the King of the Forest?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," the meerkat admitted. "But if you kill me, neither of us will ever find out."

"Well I must admit you're a brave little fellow," the lion said. "Run along then." And he lifted his paw from the meerkat's back.

"Thank you very much," the meerkat said gratefully. "And do not think I shall forget, for we meerkats always keep our word."

With that he ran off as fast as he could.

In the days that followed the lion forgot about his meeting with the meerkat. Then, one day he fell into a trap. The hunters from the nearby town had dug a deep hole and put a net over it. The net was then covered over with grasses and reeds, and the men waited nearby, hoping that the lion would walk on it. Much to their delight the lion did. With a roar of fear and anger he fell through the reeds. Eagerly the men hauled him up in the net and left him near their camp while they decided what to do next.

"We should sell him to a circus," said one. "I'm sure we should get a good price for him."

"No, no," said another. "We would get more money from a zoo."

While they argued, the lion lay helpless within the strong net, feeling very unhappy indeed. Suddenly a tiny voice said in his ear, "Do not worry, friend Lion. I have come to help you."

The lion looked down in surprise and saw it was a meerkat.

"How can a tiny meerkat help me?" the lion asked sadly. "With all my strength I cannot break this strong net."

Standing up tall on his backlegs the meerkat looked round. Seeing that no-one was looking, he very quietly began to gnaw through the rope that held the net closed. Faster and faster he chewed, and at last his little teeth had severed the tough strands of the rope.

"There," panted the meerkat, as the rope fell to pieces. "Now quietly creep out of the net while the hunters are busy talking."

With great care, the lion crept from the net and followed the meerkat out of the hunters' camp back into the depths of the forest.

"I do not know how to thank you, little meerkat," the lion said gratefully. "Ask whatever you like and I'll do my best to give it to you as thanks for your help."

"Oh, you don't owe me anything at all," the meerkat told him. "Don't you remember me? I am the meerkat you once released and I am doing you a good turn now, just as I promised. We meerkats may be small, but even so, we do our best to keep our word."

There was a great lion sleeping under a tree.
When disturbed by a meerkat, he roared cruelly
And trapping the meerkat beneath his great paws
Growled, "Now I will eat you." And sharpened his claws.

"Please let me go free for I'm not very fat
And one day I'll help you, I promise you that."
The poor little meerkat said, trembling with fear.
The lion laughed loudly such brave words to hear.

Then one day, the lion himself in a trap
Was helped by the meerkat who knawed the rope. Snap!
So when we feel cross 'cause someone's trod on our toes
Let's be kind to each other. Be friends, never foes.

Questions:
1. How did the lion catch the meerkat?
2. What was he going to do to him?
3. How did the meerkat escape from the lion?
4. How did the meerkat show his gratitude to the lion?
5. Why was the lion grateful to the meerkat?
6. What can we learn from this story?
7. How did you feel when you heard this story?
8. Did it remind you of anything in your own life?

________________________________________________________________________

Group Activity

1. Game: One thing we have in common …
Clear an open space. Give the class three minutes for each pupil to find a partner whom they don't know well, or don't usually play with, and write down one thing they have in common. The common factor might be, for example, something they like doing or something they have which is the same: colour of eyes, a birthday in the same month, keeping the same kind of pet, or that they like swimming. At the end of three minutes, ask a few volunteers to name whom they chose and to say what they found that they have in common.

2. Together we can …
Keeping their same partner, give each pair one speech to read out in turn in the drama, thus together creating the whole drama and involving a team effort by all the class. (Ensure everyone is included and has a chance to act).

Drama: The scene is set in the South African veldt. A lion is asleep under a Baobab tree.

Cast:
Narrator
Lion
Meerkat
First Hunter
Second Hunter
Third Hunter

Narrator: (Reads the first two verses of the poem, as in the story).
Once upon a time, on a swelteringly hot afternoon in the African veldt, a lion was dozing in the shade of a giant, sprawling Baobab tree.

Lion: [opening one eye] I am not fast asleep, because I'm always on my guard. But my lioness has just caught me a good dinner of Thompson's gazelle. It was very tasty and so now I'm feeling stuffed and drowsy. So, at least for the moment, I mean no harm to anyone.

Narrator: Then, from behind a rock, crept a little meerkat. [Enter little meerkat] He was just an ordinary meerkat and he wasn't going anywhere in particular.

Meerkat: I'm feeling rather hot and I'm busy searching for some shade.

Narrator: First one way and then another he darted, but wherever he went, the ground was hot beneath his paws, and he hopped to and fro unhappily. Then suddenly he found himself in a cool spot.

Meerkat: [happily] Ah! This is just the place I've been looking for.

Narrator: He was so happy to be out of the sun that he never noticed that he was, in fact, in the shadow of a big, tawny figure that was already stretched out beside him.

Lion: [in a deep, booming voice] You should pay more attention to where you are going!

Narrator: And before the meerkat quite knew what had happened, a huge, shaggy paw came down on top of him. The poor little meerkat found that he could only peer out between a row of cruel claws, and when he plucked up enough courage to look between them, he nearly fainted with fright!

Meerkat: A lion! A lion! It's a lion!

Lion: It is indeed.

Narrator: And the lion raised his great paw just enough to allow the meerkat to move away a few inches before he dropped it down on him again.

Meerkat: Please, Mr Lion. Please let me go!

Narrator: The lion sniffed at him thoughtfully, as though trying to make up his mind whether to eat him or not.

Lion: I don't see why I should free you [yawning, stretching and scratching his stomach]. Give me one good reason, little meerkat, and I'll think about it.

Meerkat: [quickly] ) I can give two reasons. One is that I am so small that I cannot possibly make you a good dinner! And the other is that, if you free me, I shall be very happy to help you in return some day.

Lion: [laughing] And how can a little meerkat like you be of any help to the King of the Jungle?

Meerkat: I'm not sure. But if you kill me, neither of us will ever find out.

Lion: Well, I must admit you're a brave little fellow [pauses to think, then sighs] Go on, then. Run along … before I change my mind.

Narrator: And he lifted his paw from the meerkat's back.

Meerkat: Thank you very much. I'm very grateful. And I shan't forget, for we meerkats always keep our word.

Narrator: With that, the meerkat ran off as fast as he could. In the days that followed the lion forgot about his meeting with the meerkat. Then, one day he fell into a trap. The hunters from the nearby town had dug a deep hole and put a net over it. The net was then covered over with grasses and reeds. The men waited nearby, hoping that a lion would walk on it. And much to their delight, they didn't have to wait many days before the lion did. With a great roar of fear and anger, our lion fell through the reeds.

First Hunter: Come on, men. Let's haul him up in the net.

Second Hunter: Yes, we can leave him near the camp while we decide what to do next.

Third Hunter: We could sell him to a circus. I'm sure we will get a good price for him.

First Hunter: No, no. We will get more money from a zoo!

Narrator: While they argued, the lion lay helpless within the strong net, feeling very unhappy indeed. Suddenly a tiny voice said in his ear.

Meerkat: Don't worry, friend Lion. I have come to help you.

Lion: [Looking down surprised] Why! It's the meerkat.[Sadly] But how can a tiny meerkat help me? With all my strength, I can't break this strong net.

Narrator: Standing up tall on his backlegs the meerkat looked round. Seeing that no-one was looking, he very quietly, began to gnaw through the rope that held the net closed. Faster and faster he chewed, and at last his little teeth severed the tough strands of the rope.

Meerkat: [panting] There! The rope has fallen to pieces. Now quietly creep out of the net while the hunters are busy talking.

Narrator: With great care, the lion crept from the net and followed the meerkat out of the hunters' camp and back into the depths of the veldt.

Lion: [gratefully] I don't know how to thank you, little meerkat. Ask whatever you like and I'll do my best to give it to you as thanks for your help.

Meerkat: Oh, you don't owe me anything at all. Don't you remember me? I am the meerkat you once released and I am doing you a good turn now, just as I promised. We meerkats may be small, but even so, we do our best to keep our word.

Narrator: (Reads the poem, as in the story).

Question: How did you feel when you saw, heard or acted in this drama?

________________________________________________________________________

Song: Peace, Joy, Love on Earth

Peace, peace, peace. Peace on earth.
Peace, peace, peace in all the universe.

Joy, joy, joy. Joy on earth.
Joy, joy, joy in all the universe.

Love, love love. Love on earth.
Love, love, love in all the universe.

(This song can be sung as a round and also with actions)

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Training Update: 2006

All SSEHV courses are free to attend, although a refundable photocopying deposit of £10 may be required at registration. Details of all our training courses, together with contact information and dates can be found on our website at www.ssehv.org.uk, in the Training section.

Forthcoming SSEHV courses are:

SSEHV Foundation - Stratford, East London: 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th March. Contact: Pamela Nash

Intensive SSEHV Foundation - Broadstairs, Kent: 1st - 6th April. Contact: Pamela Nash

Values in Parenting - Leicester: 5th & 19th March, 2nd & 23rd April, 7th & 21st May. Contact: Michele White

Intensive SSEHV Foundation - Pinner, Middx: 30th July - 5th August. Contact: Pamela Nash

If there is no course scheduled in your area but you would like there to be one, we can arrange one as long as there are a minimum of ten people who would like to attend. Please contact Pamela Nash for more information.

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