Heartfulness Education bulletin - September 2019
Bulletin No: 2019.51 - Thursday, 10 October 2019
“One love, one heart, one destiny.”
Robert Marley
Join us for today’s webinar:
‘Love and Compassion for Mental Well-being’
A dialogue between Daaji and Dr Chris Germer
7:30 p.m. IST |10 a.m. EST|2 p.m. GMT
Welcome to the Heartfulness Education programs – a suite of educational offerings for the training of teachers and a comprehensive set of activities and curricula for students. Based on Heartfulness Meditation tools for self-development and inner excellence, these programs have been very well received and accepted by educational institutions because they have a deep impact in overall well-being. Here is a short update on a selection of the programs from around the world.
INDIA
Heartfulness Enabled Schools
Through a steady and systematic volunteer effort across India, the Heartfulness Education programs have been offered to willing schools. Our trainers support the teachers across these schools, so that the teachers can deliver The Heartfulness Way curriculum to their students, creating a loving, compassionate learning environment. This program is currently in 225 schools, touching over 100,000 students and 5,000 teachers in 2019.
KGBV in Gujarat
The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) scheme was launched by the government of India in August 2004, to provide residential schools at upper primary level for underprivileged girls. The state of Gujarat has 65 KGBV schools with 325 teachers and 7,500 students. The government of Gujarat has collaborated with Heartfulness to train the teachers on our HEART methodology and inculcate in the girls the UNESCO-espoused nine core human values through The Heartfulness Way curriculum.
The program has been initiated to the satisfaction of the SSA and the government of Gujarat, with the INSPIRE training program for teachers in June 2019 as a 3-day immersive residential program for teachers at Ahmedabad. Currently, the teachers are going through the follow-up program conducted by HET trainers and, at the same time, they are also delivering The Heartfulness Way curriculum to the KGBV girl students of grades 6 to 8. The sincerity and inspiration displayed by the KGBV teachers as well as students has really touched the hearts of all our volunteers.
HELP in Andhra Pradesh
Partnering with the Education Department of Andhra Pradesh, HET has been involved in a systematic engagement to conduct the HELP program for more than 2 years. For the academic year 2017 to 2018, more than 50,000 students participated in the pilot version of the HELP program.
In the academic year 2018 to 2019, an official structure for the HELP program was conceived and it was rolled out across all 13 districts of the state, covering 300,000 students in 1000+ junior colleges. The government of Andhra Pradesh observed that the program resulted in:
- Considerable reduction in stress and anxiety levels
- Improved concentration and memory which has resulted in better marks
- Enhanced motivation levels and self-esteem
In the current academic year of 2019 to 2020, the work has become even more intense and streamlined, and we are systematically covering all schools in the state, expanding to touch 500,000 students, offering them an opportunity to build a bright future not only for themselves, but for the entire humanity.
HELP in Telangana State
HET received a Government Order from the Commissioner’s office of Telangana State, requesting us to take the HELP program to all government junior colleges and junior aided colleges in all 33 districts. A plan has been put in place to systematically prepare at least 10 HELP trainers in each of the 33 districts of Telangana.
The initial rollout plan for phase 1 includes 14 districts, covering 100 junior colleges. Once this phase is implemented with quality and results, expansion into other districts will be considered. This program has currently covered 32,000 students, 125 junior colleges and 100,000 students.
SHA Impact Assessment of the HELP Program
This study is measuring Stress, Happiness and Attention. An independent research team of doctors, clinical researchers, statisticians, research and technical coordinators, data entry operators and volunteers are currently involved in implementing this study, including
- Baseline tests before starting the first HELP session.
- End-line tests after the end of the 16th HELP session.
- All data uploaded into an online assessment tool.
- The CIPACA research team perform data analysis and report.
HELP in the GMR Group
The Centre for Entrepreneurship and Livelihoods is a skills-development training centre established by the GMR Group to provide skills development and employment opportunities to unemployed youth from the underprivileged communities of society. CEL provides 20 types of training to youth for three months, providing food and accommodation. There are 10 of these centres in India and around 5,000 youth are trained every year.
A collaborative agreement between GMR and HET led to offering the HELP program to youth across 8 centres across the country. It was collectively felt that the HELP program can contribute a transformational component of CEL training and the skill-building process to prepare youth for employability across the nation.
Currently, HELP is running successfully in multiple batches with GMR trainers becoming HELP champions and taking the program forward. Excellent feedback has been received from the participating youth who have experienced the benefits of this program. All participants are given certification after the completion of the 16-session HELP course.
Heartfulness Essay Event
The Heartfulness Essay Event is conducted yearly in partnership with the UN Information Centre in close to 15,000 institutions – except for Gujarat, where the government has issued an order for over 25,000 schools to participate. The winners are awarded cash prizes and citations at a ceremony at the Heartfulness Meditation Centre at Kanha Shanti Vanam, near Hyderabad.
Please contact us at education@heartfulness.org, and for more information or visit our website at https://heartfulness.org/education/
NORTH AMERICA
The mission of the Heartfulness Program for Schools in North America is to equip school communities with methods to promote a heart-based nurturing environment, focusing on relaxation, positivity and developing a growth mindset. We partner with school communities to enable members to build a more relaxed, compassionate and positive environments, so that they feel connected, and are able to collaborate with their peers to uncover their own ‘Brilliant Self’. We started implementing this program in November 2015, and it is currently offered in 35 schools, including training and workshops for 550 educators and 2,750 students. Schools in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, California and Toronto have been successfully running programs.
The Heartfulness Program for Schools meets the complementary designation for evidence-based programs of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), indicating that it could play an important role in a school’s approach to promoting student social and emotional learning. We will be published in the Middle and High school 2019 edition of the CASEL guide to effective social and emotional learning programs.
Our first academic paper was published in the July 2019 edition of the American Journal of Health Behavior, on the impact of the Heartfulness Program for Schools on reducing stress and improving mental well-being in a Michigan Middle School. The article can be accessed at this link. There are several research opportunities for this year with a pre and post study on grade 5 and grade 6 classrooms at a charter school in New York, and the impact of Heartfulness on loneliness at a High School in Michigan.
We offered our first full school training at the Renaissance Charter School, New York, on 3 September 2019, where the Heartfulness Program has been implemented for the past couple of years. The program was attended by about 70 educators who participated in the two-and-a-half hour professional development training, which included research, the need for Heartfulness in schools, practical activities and the experience of Heartfulness techniques. This program was very well received and many teachers expressed their gratitude. We have also offered a number of programs in Texas, Michigan, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, and California.
HELP in Atlanta
The Heartfulness team in Atlanta, Georgia, has begun conducting HELP session for the youth in Gwinnett County for their GIVE Center for children with special needs. Gwinnett County Sherrif’s Office has also chartered Heartfulness Insititute to begin conducting HELP sessions for pre-trial units of veterans and women, after successful completion of these courses for officers.
For more information, please contact edu@heartfulnessinstitute.org.
UNITED KINGDOM
Heartfulness UK has produced several audio tracks of guided practices for teachers in primary and secondary schools to download and use. The audio tracks are available at www.heartfulness.uk, and the transcripts will be added shortly. Access to all these materials will be provided via two links, one for primary schools and the other for secondary schools. The materials are simple and easy to use, not requiring any prior training, and children can learn the techniques to teach each other and their families.
We are in the process of advertising and promoting these guided audios by approaching schools and local authorities. We hope that this will promote Heartfulness to a much larger population, including teachers, parents and educational bodies.
FRANCE
In 2018 and 2019, in France we have changed our paradigm, because we are receiving requests from the schools themselves, either from teachers or principals. Here are just a few of the experiences.
The program in France consists of an introduction on the importance of moving from thinking to feeling, as well as 3 simple breathing exercises, relaxation, followed by a time of introspection and a collective exchange. We are developing video content for the Heartfulness practices, as we have more demands than we have trainers to deliver these programs in schools.
Some of the schools include Charles Foucault Schools, Paris, Massillon School, Paris, Tanneurs School Barr, Strasbourg, Barby College, Chambéry, a public high school in Toulon, ann international high school in Toulouse, Fort de France, Martinique, and a public primary school in Liège, Belgium. There have been requests from Quebec, Holland, and the UK this year, requesting the programs we offer to schools in France.