Dear Readers

Welcome to the March 2004 issue of the email newsletter.

This month:

• Oman Ministry of Education extends warm support to SSEHV
  
  
• Values Alive!
  A change in name for Holiday Programmes and Good Values Clubs
  
  
• Teaching materials update
  Find out about new SSEHV teaching resources now available and in the pipeline
  
  
• Government promotes values-based education to make learning fun
  Read extracts from an article by the Senior Advisor on Education for Oxfordshire
  
  
• Spreading the word
  Read what the journal Positive News says about SSEHV
  
  
• Story: The Orphan - by Dr Suneil Aggarwal
  A moving story told from the point of view of an orphan refugee who finds that on reaching the UK his troubles are not yet over

If you have any feedback about this newsletter, or if you'd like to share your experiences of SSEHV, please write to feedback@ssehv.org.uk.

Kind Regards,
The Newsletter Team

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Oman Ministry of Education extends warm support to SSEHV

A workshop entitled 'The role of teachers and inculcation of human values' was held at a school in Oman in February, with the support of the Oman Ministry of Education. The event, which was attended by 68 teachers from 20 schools, was reported in the Times of Oman, The Oman Observer and a popular national magazine called The Week.

Speakers included Michelle Ni Thogdha, curriculum officer at the Ministry of Education, psychologist Dr R. Narayan, and Rajesh Ramanaidoo, who was one of the organisers of the first SSEHV holiday programme in the UK in 2001, and who recently emigrated to Oman. A message of support in absentia was also received from Aisha Ahmed Al Balushi, director of the department of private schools at the Oman Ministry of Education.

During the three-hour, interactive session, the audience heard about the importance of human values in education, how SSEHV works in bringing out positive values inherent in every child, the meaning of each of the five core values, and how SSEHV has been implemented in the UK.

The event was organised by the SAI (Serve And Inspire) Group in Oman. Michelle Ni Thogdha invited a representative from the SAI Group to speak again the following day at a 'School owners and principals workshop' organised by her Ministry at the Oman Chamber of Commerce.

Rajesh commented, "The presentation went very well and the success of SSEHV in the UK was of particular interest to people. The curriculum advisor approached me afterwards and said that she has been thinking for some time about introducing Citizenship education in Omani schools and she was interested in how the UK is using SSEHV to fulfil the requirements of the citizenship programme."

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Values Alive!

After a great deal of thought and discussion, we've decided to change the name of our holiday programmes, which have been variously known as "Summer/Easter/Christmas/Holiday Camps", "Summer/Easter/Christmas/Holiday Schools" and "Holiday Programmes", to "BISSE Values Alive Events". One reason for the change is to avoid confusion about whether the events are residential, as the word "camp" implies. The word "school" can also be off-putting for children who want to enjoy their holidays!

"Good Values Clubs" will also now be known as "Values Alive Clubs".

The clubs and events will be known as "BISSE Values Alive Clubs/Events" rather than "SSEHV Values Alive Clubs/Events" because, when written in full, the word "Values" would appear twice - i.e. Sathya Sai Education in Human Values Values Alive Club/Event, and this would be unworkable.

It is hoped that "Values Alive" will be a simpler and more inspiring term for the clubs and holiday events, and that it will quickly catch on. The change will be reflected in all new BISSE and SSEHV literature. Following is a table outlining the old and new terminology for ease of reference.

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Teaching materials update

Two new Teaching Workbooks and accompanying CD's are now available from the British Institute of Sathya Sai Education.

Book 3, for Key Stage 3, age 11-12 years, has been substantially revised and republished with interactive drama role-plays in place of narrative stories.

A totally new Book 4, for Key Stage 3, age 12-13 years, was also published at the end of last year.

Three further books are currently in progress and will be published later this calendar year: Book 5, for Key Stage 3, age 13-14 years; a book for reception class children, aged 4-5, and a book of additional lesson plans for Key Stage 1, 6-8 year olds, to supplement the existing Book 1.

Workbooks and CD's are priced at £21 or £26 per set. CD's by themselves cost £6. Postage and packing charges are applied at cost.

For more information about Teaching Workbooks, CDs, song books, posters and other teaching resources, please see the Resources section of the website at www.ssehv.org.uk. If you have any questions or would like to place an order, please contact BISSE on sathyasaiehv@dial.pipex.com or Tel +44 (0)20 8429 2677.

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Government promotes values-based education to make learning fun

Neil Hawkes, Senior Adviser on Education for Oxfordshire, highlighted a recent sea-change in government thinking on learning approaches in an article published in the Spring 2004 edition of Oxfordshire Governor, a magazine for local school governors.

The article, entitled 'Excellence and enjoyment - a strategy for primary schools', pointed to a booklet published last September by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) called 'Excellence and Enjoyment' in which emphasis was placed on enjoyment and values in primary school classes.

Hawkes writes, "…The government wants schools to continue to focus on raising standards and at the same time not to be afraid to combine that with making learning fun - yes fun!

"This is the first time an official document has encouraged schools to make learning fun. It reflects the growing realisation that pupils learn best when they are in a values-based atmosphere that highlights mutual respect and enjoyment of the learning process - both by staff and pupils.

"…Primary education shapes children for life and should be seen as building on early years (3-5) education. As well as giving them the essential tools for learning, it is also about creating a happy, safe, supportive, values-based atmosphere with a strong inclusive commitment to helping all children to succeed. It is built on strong relationships based on respect that promotes equal opportunities. It promotes a school ethos that does not discriminate because of race, religion or colour. Parents and the community play a vital part as active partners…"

To obtain a copy of the booklet "Excellence and Enjoyment", send an email to dfes@prolog.uk.com, or call 0845 6022260, quoting reference DfES/0377/2003.

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Spreading the word

The following article appeared in the Spring 2004 issue of Positive News. With an international circulation of 75,000, this quarterly publication reports on the events, people and influences around the world that are creating a positive future for our planet.

For more information about Positive News, and its sister publication, Living Lightly, visit www.positivenews.org.uk, call 01588 640022, or write to Positive News Publishing Ltd, 5 Bicton Enterprise Centre, Clun, Shropshire, SY7 8NF, UK.

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The Orphan, by Dr Suneil Aggarwal

Asif was a ten year old Iraqi orphan who had been shipped to London after the latest American attack on his country. As if being forced out of his home wasn't enough, he had injured his left foot following a bomb blast in his house. Along with six other young boys, all aged between eight and 11 years old, he was sent to a temporary shelter. When he found out he was going to be with other Iraqi boys, he felt happier. "At least we will all play together," he thought.

However things were not as Asif expected. Due to his limp, the other boys teased him terribly. They used to push him around and call him a "limp dog". Unfortunately only one of the care workers was Iraqi. The boys knew this, and so they only teased Asif when the Iraqi care worker wasn't around so no one understood the taunts. Asif became more and more miserable as the days went by. Sometimes he felt so sad, he wished that he had died in the bomb blast, rather than just injuring his leg.

Then one fine Monday morning, a middle aged English couple came to visit the shelter. John and Millie Wood were well known in the local area for adopting refugee children from all around the world. They had been doing this for over 20 years, and they felt it was now the right time to do so again, as they only had five boys in their care!

All the boys in the shelter were quiet that day, wondering what the visitors were doing. As usual, Asif hid himself towards the back of the group, frightened of looking them in the eye.

"What's your name?" John asked Asif. Asif did not understand, so he said nothing and slowly walked away. But he did notice the smile in John's eyes and remembered his father looking the same way at him a long time ago. Later that evening the Iraqi care worker arrived and told him that he was going to live with the English couple. He felt happy to be going away from all the bullying to live with the nice man and woman, but frightened because it was going to be another place with children. "What if they bully me as well?" he thought to himself.

The next day, he was picked up by Millie in her large Land Rover. He was surprised by the comfortable seats and the speed of the car. One day he hoped to drive a car too, but he knew it may be impossible with his damaged foot. They soon arrived at a big house, some way from the shelter in the countryside. He was taken up with his few possessions to a room with another boy in it who he later learnt was called Khaled, from Afghanistan. Khaled said hello in Afghan, and Asif not understanding what he said, replied hello back in Arabic. Khaled smiled, amused at the fact neither understood the other. Asif smiled because this was the first boy that had smiled at him, not laughed at him.

As the days went by, Asif started attending a local refugee school where they taught English to Iraqi children. In the evenings he used to come home and play with the other boys, who like Khaled were all nice to him and smiled a lot. Even though they could not understand each other, they could all play in the garden. The others always made Asif feel welcome and no one called him names when he could not run properly. He had not felt so happy since the war had started in Iraq.

John and Millie were kind hosts. They looked after all the boys like their own children. And yet they were worried that Asif never seemed to try to talk to them. But one day Asif came home from his classes and said, "Thank you." They were overjoyed and hugged him. That was when he realised that even though these people did not understand his language, they showed him a friendship that other boys from his own country had not done. So he understood that friendship crosses the boundaries of language.

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