Ananda Marga Gurukula Meeting
March 15-20, 2005
Ydrefors, Sweden
This year will mark the 15th anniversary of Ananda Marga Gurukula, which was founded
on September 7th 1990 by Shrii P. R. Sarkar. A six day international meeting was held in Ydrefors, Sweden with 12 participants, to further the coordination of AMGK activities. The sun was shining while the snow all around provided a beautiful back drop. Some highlights of the meeting were:
  • Vision statement was updated and a SWOT analysis was used as a basis for strategic planning.
  • The Constitution and Bylaws of AMGK Inc. were reviewed and approved.
  • A detailed discussion was held concerning the NHE movement which
  • included the NHE Diploma Programme. The process of affiliating schools and certifying directors of NHE Schools was initiated. See more details below.
  • New NHE Publications and Resources were chalked out. See details below.
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  • Efforts were begun in the process of accrediting AGMK and its programs such as those offered by CNS and NHE faculty. See foldout on CNS.
  • Efforts were expanded to establish sectorial branches of AMGK in every sector as per the founder’s guidelines. The process has begun in NY and Berlin Sectors and will soon be initiated in all other sectors.
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  • Electronic version of GK Network and cyber-related matters were discussed and a committee formed to realize the objectives.
  • The AMGK Volunteers Program was reviewed.
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    Neohumanist Education
     

    At the 50 year anniversary of Ananda Marga and 15 year anniversary of Ananda Marga Gurukula, we are happy to be able to present to the world our global network of Neohumanist Education as a consolidated system of education, firmly based in its own philosophy and principles and dynamically evolving its pedagogy. Neohumanist Education is the underlying spirit of the entire Gurukula. Its ideals are to be infused in all faculties as the living spirit that inspires the character of the entire educational edifice of Gurukula itself. NHE is a distinct faculty of Gurukula responsible for disseminating Neohumanist Education into all faculties. At this time work of this faculty is concentrating on NHE in Early childhood, elementary and secondary schools.

    NHE Early Childhood Diploma Programme
    Under the NHE faculty, with input from many NHE educators around the world, we have now finished producing a course for Early Childhood which has been offered as a distance learning pilot programme for the past four years. At present 24 of our senior NHE educators are in the process of reviewing the completed course to ensure its global applicability and endorsement. The course will continue to be available as a distance learning programme for interested and qualified students. At this point in time the NHE Diploma Programme is an "in house" course. Applicants must minimally complete some spiritual life style training before signing up for the course and must be associated with an acarya who will give their recommendation. A tentative price of $1200 was set for the course, to be adjusted as needed. Those taking the course will be able to act as head teachers or directors of schools and be able to train other teachers working under them. This course will be a degree programme once Gurukula is registered as a degree-giving university. The course already has many students, some of whom are expected to complete the course this year. A graduation ceremony will be held at CNS in June 2006 as part of the NHE Seminar (see below).

    NHE Teacher Training Programme for Elementary School
    Work will soon begin on the NHE Diploma Programme for Elementary grades through consultation with our existing model elementary schools around the world.

    Affiliation and Certification
    As per Shrii PR Sarkar’s instructions, we are starting the process of certifying all NHE schools and Directors and affiliating the schools and institutions with AMGK. The process has begun with our model schools around the world. This effort will be expanded to include all NHE schools in the coming years. The process of affiliation of schools involves meeting the NHE Standards set by AMGK and the director certification includes successful completion of the NHE Diploma Programme or equivalent.

    NHE Publications
    In coordination with the work to begin on the NHE Diploma Programme for Elementary grades, AMGK is beginning a project to produce books related to the specialties of NHE in the areas of Astaunga Yoga, Ecology, PROUT for kids, STUVOL, etc. These will be by age group – Kindergarten, Elementary, Junior High, etc. Many of you have a wealth of material in these areas that you have created, assembled and successfully applied over the years, and we will be asking you to share this material either by contributing to the AMGK publications, or by producing your own publications that can be distributed by AMGK. Work on YES and STUVOL has already begun.

    NHE - YES - Yoga in Schools
    See page 3, announcements, for an update on the YES manual for early childhood. Work on the manual for elementary level is beginning with Didi Anandarama and Kamaleshvara and we invite input from all our schools.

    NHE - STUVOL
    New STUVOL booklets for KG 1 and KG 2 have been prepared for Delhi sector with material mostly taken from Circle of Love. Work on elementary level will be next. See next page for more details on STUVOL.
     
    NHE Educators Summit will be held June 6-16th 2006 in Sweden.
    The programme will include an NHE Seminar, Graduation for those completing the Diploma Programme and an Ananda Marga Gurukula meeting. If you are interested to attend please contact: <amgk.glo@gurukul.edu> 

     

    WHAT IS STUVOL ?
     
    STUVOL - Student Volunteers is part of Neohumanist Education. This program was created as an extracurricular activity by Shrii P.R Sarkar and is similar to after school programmes or electives. STUVOL runs from Kindergarten to College. STUVOL offers students activities through which they can develop their service spirit and grow into caring and benevolent personalities. Through STUVOL activities, students apply their learning,

    gain practical skills and experiences, get scope to express their creativity and resilient spirit, gain confidence in their personal strength and share their joy with others in the society. In NHE schools, STUVOL can be a separate programme, or the elements of STUVOL can be integrated into the rest of the school programme.

    STUVOL Age Groups
    STUVOL 1 - KG to grade 2
    STUVOL 2 - Grade 3 – 5
    STUVOL 3 - Grade 6 – 8
    STUVOL 4 - Grade 9 – 11
    STUVOL 5 - College
     
    Four Aspects of STUVOL
     
    1. The Physical aspect of STUVOL aims at developing healthy habits, love and care for one’s body and surroundings, resilience and strength.
    -Health related knowledge of home remedies
    -All-round cleanliness skills
    -Yoga, kaoshiki, tandava (competition)
    -Games, sports and martial arts training
    -First aid, nursing, emergency training, safety skills
    -Culinary and hospitality skills
    -Construction and building skills, architecture and design
    -Farming principles and nature related information

    2. The Intellectual aspect of STUVOL aims at developing expansion of mind. As a backdrop for learning about the world we use the cycle of creation (Brahmacakra) to introduce general knowledge of the natural environment in relation to the child.
    -Problem solving
    -Learning English as the common world language
    -General knowledge about what is going on around us
    -Functional knowledge and independent thinking ability
    -Mechanical, electronic and computer related skills
    -Space related knowledge such as astronomy and astrology
    -Different religions and mystical traditions

    		   -Communication skills - reading, writing, speaking, dialogue, negotiating, debating, discussing, summarizing.
    -Office management skills

    3. The Moral aspect of STUVOL aims at developing trustworthiness, character and developing good habits in the child.
    -Smartness, etiquette and social norms
    -Character building and moral training
    -Discipline
    -Communication
    -Problem solving
    -Personal development skills
    -Kiirtan, meditation
    -Biographies of inspirational people
    -Leadership skills

    4. The Cultural aspect of STUVOL aims at developing omniscient grace, nice temperament and ideation of the Great in the child.
    -Poems, songs and stories of inspirational nature
    -Sentient entertainment - humour, jokes, magic and tricks, puzzles, riddles,
    -Mysteries of the world.
    -Drama, puppetry
    -Multicultural arts and crafts
    -Basic philosophical ideas
    -The greatest places on earth