Learning to Live Together Harmoniously: Spiritual Perspectives from Indian Classrooms (Spirituality, Religion, and Education)

This book calls for an expanded vision of holistic education that emphasizes togetherness and harmony through the discovery of oneself, others, and the larger society. It brings together teachers voices, experiences, and practices for such an education with Southern Knowledge, philosophy and ideologies proposed by Indian philosophers and spiritual leaders like Aurobindo, the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Krishnamurti, and Tagore. The book reconceptualizes and extends UNESCO's "Learning To Live Together" to emphasize "Learning to Live Together Harmoniously" (LTLTH) and develops a novel conceptual framework for it. The book also explores how LTLTH can be translated into practice; calling for a continuum of harmonious lived experiences created through experiential and project based pedagogy, systems and processes for autonomy and autonomous behaviour regulation, empathetic teacher student relations, schoolwide ethos of harmonious living, and teachers ways of living and being. Jwalin Patel is the President and Co-Founder of the Together in Development and Education (TIDE) Foundation in India. This book is based on the research he conducted during his PhD and postdoctoral studies at the University of Cambridge in the UK, the experiences of teachers from holistic schools in India, and the grassroots interventions carried out by the TIDE Foundation Foreword Foreword Acknowledgements Contents Abbreviations List of Figures List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction My Positionality and Purpose of the Book Togetherness and Harmony Book Outline Part I: An Alternative Vision for Education For Togetherness and Harmony 1.1 Education, 12 (+2) Long Years at School Chapter 2: Calls for Alternative Purposes of Education Limited Scope of the Modern Education Systems Personal Reflections Indian Thinkers International Thinkers Calls for Alternative Purposes of Education Personal Reflections on a Spiritual Education Education as a Means of Inner Renewal and Social Change: A Vision from Contemporary Indian Thinkers International Calls for Broader Purposes of Education International Efforts for More Holistic Education Conclusion Chapter 3: Alternative Visions from Indian Thinkers and Schools Indian Thinkers Education as a Means of Inner Renewal and Social Change: A Vision from Contemporary Indian Thinkers Calls for Spiritual Education (Education of the Heart and Its Equivalents) Calls for Education for Peace (and Social Justice) Child-Led Education Holistic Education Discussion and Limitations The Relevance of Indian Education Thought in the Twenty-First Century Alternative Schools Background to Alternative Schooling in India Context to Some of the Alternative Schools Shreyas Foundation, Ahmedabad, Gujarat Rishi Valley School, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh Patha Bhavana, Santiniketan, West Bengal Mahatma Gandhi International School, Ahmedabad, Gujarat Mirambika Free Progress School, Delhi Conclusion Chapter 4: Learning to Live Harmoniously: an Essential Aim of Education in the 21st Century Alternative Purposes of Education Around the World A Sustained Emphasis on Education of the Heart in India Learning to Live Together Proposed as One of the Four UN Pillars of Education Rising Interest in Other Synergetic Equivalents International Interventions Transforming Educational Systems Education of the Heart as a Primary Purpose of Education: A Teacher’s Perspective Limited Emphasis on Career and Knowledge Some Emphasis on Finding One’s Passion An Emphasis on Holistic Education Wellbeing as an Essential Goal of Education Education of the Heart Equivalents as the Primary Goal of Education Eastern Perspectives of Education for Harmonious Living Building a Focus on Harmony; Learning to Live Together Harmoniously The Role of LTLTH in Building Active Democracies Conclusion Untitled Chapter 5: Conceptualising Learning To Live Together Harmoniously A Problem of Conceptualisation A Broad Umbrella-Like Term Non-describable/‘Indescribable’ Conceptualisations Multitude of Incomparable Frameworks of Various International Equivalents Building a Conceptual Framework Exploring Extant Frameworks Three Domains Discovery of the Self Discovery of Others Discovery of (Human and Natural) World Six Dimensions Awareness Empathetic and Caring Relations Sense of Purpose Change in Perspective Compassion(ate Action) Meaningful Engagement Conclusion Chapter 6: Learning To Live Together Harmoniously (LTLH) as a Way of Living and Being- Nuances of an Interconnected LTLTH Framework Interconnected Framework LTLTH Through Education of the Head, Heart, and Hands Interconnected Framework LTLTH as Purpose of Education Rather than a Predetermined Goal/Objective with a Singular Path Education for LTLTH as a Way of Living and Being LTLTH as Knowledge, Skills, and/or Virtues, Values, and Attitudes A Non-dualist Approach to LTLTH as a Way of Living A Different Non-anthropocentric Epistemology Seeds for Lifelong Learning Children are Intrinsically Good Seeds in a Non-linear Journey A Fine Balance Between Letting Children Be, Deconditioning and Conditioning to a Separate Set of Cultural Norms Conclusion Part II: Classroom Practices for Togetherness and Harmony Lived Experiences as Teachers Education for Harmony Is Caught Rather than Taught The Pedagogical Problem Blackbox of Pedagogy A Few Examples of the Outcomes Observed Chapter 7: Experiential Learning Pedagogies and Practices The Potential (Albeit Limited) Role of Curricula Increasing Numbers of Curricular Interventions Limited Relevance of Content Within Alternative, Holistic Schools Stories as a Means of Real-Life Connections Classroom Pedagogies Dialogue as a Means of Bringing New/Different Perspectives Peer- and Project-Based Learning as the Core Teaching/Learning Process Meditation, Reflection, and Introspection Embedded in Educational Processes Engaging Students in Social Action (as a Form of Education) Underlying Approaches to Teaching Embodied Learning (for Both Academic Education and Education for Harmony) An Extended Community of Educators—Peers, Community, Nature, and the Wider World as Educators Nature as an Educator A Lived Experiences-Based Pedagogy for LTLTH Conclusion Chapter 8: Continuum of Harmonious Lived Experiences Through Classroom Ethos, Behavioural Management Routines and Teacher Student Relations A Continuum of Lived Experiences A Classroom Ethos of Harmonious Living Caring School Ethos A Sense of Onus and Collective Responsibility Cooperation over Competition An Intangible Impact of the Space Equal, Caring, and Loving Teacher Student Relations TSR Mediate the Impact of All Other Processes Deeply Understanding a Child Evoking Familial Bonds Care, Love, and Respect-Based Relations Warm and Safe Classroom Environment Autonomous Behaviour Management Freedom and Autonomy as the Basis of Intrinsic Behaviour Regulation “Student-Centred” Behaviour Management Strategies Balancing Teachers’ Freedom and Needs Conflict Resolution Conclusion Chapter 9: Teachers’ Ways of Living and Being: Teachers as Reflective Lifelong Learners of Harmonious Living Teachers’ Philosophy of Education Teachers Living Harmoniously and LTLTH (Learning to) Living Together Harmoniously as a Way of Life Conscious Effort to Learn to Live Together Harmoniously Supporting Teachers’ Journeys of LTLTH An Ethos of Harmonious Living, Autonomy, and Reflection for and by Administrators, Teachers, and Students Ethos of Harmony Ethos of Autonomy and Freedom Supporting Dialogue, Experimentation, Collaboration, Reflection, Introspection, Meditation, and Social Action: Integral Support for Learning to Live Together Harmoniously Dialogue, Collaboration, and Experimentation Teachers Involved in Reflection, Introspection, and Meditation Teachers’ Social Work and Spiritual Journeys Flat Hierarchies: Equitable and Humane Leadership A Powerful Sense of Onus and Responsibility Schools as Lifelong Learning Centres, Ashrams, and Communities for Harmonious Living Conclusion Chapter 10: Provocations, Reflections, and Call to Action Concluding Notes A Few Epistemological Considerations A Call for Reflect(act)ion How Can One Bring About Education of the Harmony: It Seems like a Complete Reform? ‘Kernels’ of Best Practices An Invitation to Walk Your Own Path Untitled Afterword References Index