2nd Winter Mindfulness Camp for Local Educators

SJI was honored to have 41 teachers, predominantly from Samdrup Jongkhar Dzongkhag, join us for the 2nd annual Lho Mon Education Winter Mindfulness Camp, hosted at Chokyi Gyatso Institute from 20th-26th of December. All participants and staff were particularly fortunate to have Drubgyud Tenzin Rinpoche  attend  and provide daily teachings.

The event provided guided meditation practice to educators and facilitated discussion on the importance of mindfulness in the classroom, both for educators and students. With upwards of 6 hours of meditation a day, it was not an easy week!

From beginning to end, including teachings from Lopon Pema Longdro, walking meditation and karma yoga instruction from Jamyang (a visiting mindfulness practitioner), and discussions with Dasho Neten Zangmo, the camp was a great success.

SJI would like to thank all of our participants, our resource persons, and particularly

Drubgyud Tenzin Rinpoche for guiding us on such an unprecedented endeavor. We're already looking forward to next year!

The Nickname

I was teaching the topic''what's in our name?'' to the monk students of Chokyi Gyatsho Institute at Dewathang, East Bhutan. One of the interesting words that we have discussed was ''a nickname''. What is a nickname? A simple answer is a name given to a person to substitute an actual given name.

Who gives those names? Many a times our friends give those names. Why?

So, what is the big deal? Well, nicknames are a most commonly used form of identity next to our given names in many social settings. Be it in the school, college, institute or office, we have gotten a nick name. Certainly, I have one, and presumably, you are not excluded.

A nickname undoubtedly has many implications to a person and is subject to change depending on place and environment. My friends in college call me ‘’Naku’’ as my complexion is dark. In middle secondary school, one of my teachers call me ‘’Dagap’’ as I am originally from Dagana, a district in South Central Bhutan. I have a friend in high school who is known as ‘’Khenpo’’ (a master in Buddhist philosophy) because he likes to share and talk about Buddhist ideas and philosophies, and a friend known as ‘’Kuchu’’ (bulged forehead) are some of the names associated with individuals who manifest personality, habit, an appearance and cultural environment. 

There are situations in which a person would be recognized easily by a nickname rather than by his orher real name. I still remember how I could not answer one of the visitors who asked me the name of one of the lecturers in the college. I knew him by his nickname but not his real name. It is quite interesting how nicknaming culture has evolved and influenced us.

I asked a question to the students in class if they have any nicknames. Certainly the response was a loud yes! All the students have at least one. I was curious and asked them to share it. A boy at a corner said I am a “Zala” (monkey), next a “Solo” (chilli), then ''Nado'' (dark appearance), a “Khengpa”(belonging to one of the communities in East Bhutan), a “laughing Buddha” (a boy who keeps on smiling), a “Yedpa” (a boy who belongs to yak herders in Singye Dzong, Lhuentse, East Bhutan), a “Phagpa” (a pig, because of his body size), a “Manchereatoka” (Mancherea is a place name in Dewathang and toka means an oxen) and so on.

The origin of those names show a strong relationship with their physical appearances, personalities, habits, likes and dislikes, cultures, and social backgrounds. Knowing and learning those names are worthy particularly for educators, because it gives some information about their personalities and their identities. 

Calling someone by a nickname has charm and humor in its own way, and it expresses personal understanding of a person. Nicknames have a sense of identities, and these identities often reflect our cultural backgrounds and belief systems of the place where one is born. There are different ways of nicknaming with their own significance to the name given.

Stethoscope -Zero Investment yet Thoughtful

One of the common devices that we see worn by a doctor is a stethoscope. Learning the name of stethoscope, its function, short history, geographical location of its origin and reason behind its invention in a integrated lesson is exciting for a teacher and students alike. The fun part of a integration lesson is the art of designing a workable stethoscope using garbage. It involves creativity of the individual student, an agreement for a best idea within the working group, and the idea of turning litter into a productive item.

Students in groups of four members were asked to make a stethoscope using available materials from the environment. So, using flexible plastic tube found in and around the Chokyi Gyatso Institute, small pet bottle with cap on it, plastic wrapper and cello tape, all the groups came up with their own creations. The investment for the construct was very simple yet thoughtful. It was a collection of garbage. However, there were other educational values such as using their creative thinking, motor skills, hands-on practice and changing the way they look at garbage.

Here is how the stethoscope is made, as explained by one of the groups to the class. They need approximately a 3 feet long tube. Cut the flexible plastic tube into two parts. Tube A measures 2 feet and Tube B measures 1 foot long. Tube B will be used to plug into our ears as the listening device.First, to construct Tube A, we need a small pet water bottle. Take a measurement of 2 inches from the bottle cap and mark it. Cut off at the measured point and level it with scissor. We will get a funnel shaped like structure.This will be used as a vibration device to be placed on the chest. Wrap a piece of plastic tightly to seal the opening over the cut off edge. Now make a hole through the bottle cap. Connect it with one end of the Tube A and seal it air tight with cello tape. Now we have one end ready. The other end will be connected with Tube B. For that, make a hole in the middle of Tube B (at 6 inches) and connect the other end of Tube A by sealing it air tight with cello tape. To make ear plugs: take a measurement of 2 inches from the end of Tube B on both the ends. Cut half way through each measure and bend it 90 degrees. Next, seal it with cello tape. There we have a stethoscope.

Each group has come up with their own design of stethoscopes with some distinction in the shapes and some additional designs such as ear plug, the size of the pet bottle and the materials they have chosen. Some groups have constructed it using a big tube and a big pet bottle. Those were very large and heavy to carry, nevertheless are good and loud for listening the heartbeat. Students were making fun with each other for those big stethoscopes for checking the heart rate of an elephant.

While there is learning taking place, there should also be fun. The combination will result in retention and excitement in education. The way of learning that has fun with practice orientation should take place within the content of ecological integrity, waste friendly ideas and learning as creativity, and we are providing those experiences as much as possible through similar activities of construction.

Why three names in Bhutan?

Our name has social references to identify oneself. It is how we identify ourselves verbally in a larger social context. It has an impact on our sense of identity definition--Who am I? Am I a male or a female? Am I Bhutanese or an Indian? Am I a Buddhist or a Muslim?

Our name is the first thing that gets through the introduction, be it formal or informal. Our names are seen on the table during a conference. It is written on the top of our first email and is introduced first in an interview. Names are emphasized in the classroom, so that the students do not view themselves separated from the educational process. A name has its role to play in many situations. So, why not make our students explore about their names? What is the meaning it is rooted in? How did they get their names? Who gave their names? What is the story behind their name?

There are different naming systems across the globe and each system has its own significance, the cultural significance, hereditary importance, and belief system of our own birthplace. Many times there is a story behind a name. For example, my name is Dawa because I was born on Sunday. Therefore, encouraging students to develop a curiosity to learn about their names is important.

Many of the beautiful Bhutanese names have Buddhist ideas and meaning in it. Kelzang means one born with good fortune, Sonam is believed to have merit, Tashi is considered to be auspicious, and Tshering is wishing for long life to that person are a few examples. Being in a Buddhist country and follower of Buddhism, the names are given with a strong sense of belief in it. Many Bhutanese names are received from Rinpoches and lamas, such as the names of our many students. Most of their names have a strong meaning of Buddhist ideas and they cherish having one. The practice of requesting a name from a Rinpoche or lama after the birth of a child is still alive and popular in this region. There were also practices of receiving names from their elders like our parents or grandparents. But, few of the students have gotten their names from their grandparents and parents.

Most Bhutanese usually have a first and second name, however today if we look at the names of the upcoming generation we can hear three or more names, e.g.  Sonam T. Dorji and Kezang D. Wangmo are some common three names. I am wondering the origin of three names. Did Bhutanese ever have three names? What is the significance of a third name besides the first and second? Is it a family name? Is it a caste name? How are three names linked to our parents and grandparents? Is it a system of a name replicated from other urbanized culture? These are some of the questions we have to ask and reflect on it.

I was told by a couple Rinpoches that giving a name to a child these days is getting difficult. There are demands for their names and also preferences.

Bhutanese having three names do not include a family name except for Royal Lineages. Wangchuck dynasty has been the only example of Bhutanese having a family name. The introduction of three names is a wonder of an influence of Generation Z, I believe. Teaching the impact of the physical pressure on those existing age old system of naming in our respective region should be kept alive through education.

Celebrate the mistake

By Dawa

From April 30-May 1, 2015, I attended a five-day training at DKCLI, Chauntra, Himachal Pradesh India, called: Bringing 21st Century Methods into the Monastic Classroom, lead by Mrs. Jaya Das of Singapore. The training was attended by more than 40 Rinpoches, lamas, tulkus and khenpos including Dzongsar Khyenste Rinpoche, Ratna Vajra Rinpoche, Avikirti Rinpoche, Thartse Khen Rinpoche, Tulkus, Khenpos and teachers from DKCLI, Sakya College and Chokyi Gyatso Institute (Dewathang in Bhutan).

One of the many things I learned over the five days was that it's important to cherish mistakes, especially in the field of education. If there are no mistakes, no learning will take place. If students are not afraid to say something, they are not afraid to think and make mistakes. Valuing mistakes means valuing many good ideas and thinking.

Mrs. Das taught that today, with the rapid advancement of technology and social media, the teaching and learning process in the education sector has been enormously challenged. There are many fascinating things to divert the students' interest and attention from learning effectively in the classroom like cell phones, television, videogames etc. Now one of the important questions we teachers have to ask is how are we going to make the teaching and learning process more interesting, engaging and learning?

The workshop, which was sponsored by Khyentse Foundation, was conducted to infuse the 21st century competencies in the teaching and learning process, enhance lessons using brain-based learning, incorporate active learning strategies and building rapports in the class. We learned that students can be engaged with the lessons best by using active learning strategies and brain based learning. Active learning strategies provide opportunities for participation of all the students through different attention signals, valuing interactions, collaboration, team work, pair work, and respecting student-centered classroom.

As a teacher, providing an appropriate learning experience like teaching each other between students, practice doing what they are learning, discussion, demonstration and audio visual are also important part in the lesson to help students with retention and motivation while learning.

We teachers must have an awareness of how the brain learns. This knowledge will help engage learners to do it with the strategies that are based on how our brain works and also recognize different kinds of learners in the classroom-Auditory, Visual, Kinesthetic and Tactile learners.

One of the strategies to activate our brain is physical movement like walk, clap, move around, talk, laugh, jump and use our body parts in an fun way as much as possible in line with lesson.  

Not to overlook and very important to consider is making student's everyday learning product relevant and practical in the context of everyday life.

The 21st century teaching and learning is all about feeding the needs of 21st century students and absolutely not fitting the circle shape through square shape.

Personally I feel the training was empowering one. I have started to use some of the active learning strategies that I have picked from the training like cheer up, team building, ten minutes talk and two minutes stop, discussion etc. These learning strategies I have observed are very helpful in keeping the students active and engaged with the lesson.

- Lopon Dawa

The First class

On April 8, 2015, Drubgyud Tenzin Rinpoche lead a ceremony to welcome the new class of 52 monks—what we are calling the Lhuk Group—who will be receiving secular and non-secular education at Chökyi Gyatso Institute.

The two-hour event was an auspicious start to the boys' education. The goals were to make them feel welcome, to let them know how special these classes will be, and to create a good foundation for a successful year ahead. The new monks will study for four hours daily. Drubgyd Tenzin Rinpoche has created a new two-year curriculum for teaching dharma to young monks which will be taught by Lopon Dechen one hour every day. Lopon Pema Longdrel will teach one hour of Tibetan grammar and Lhomon Education's Lopon Dawa will be teaching basic Math, science, geography and art based on the LME Framework. Also, fr the next 5 months Laurence Shepherd will be teaching English as a visiting instructor. All were on hand for the ceremonial first day of class.

The ceremony started with a butter lamp offering. Drubgyed Tenzin Rinpoche explained that by lighting candles we hope to dispel the darkness of our minds. Then each student then lit a candle and were lead to the newly refurbished classrooms. They were introduced to the basic daily routine and rules of our classroom - lining up, mindfully placing their shoes, sitting for 3 minutes of meditation, and saying prayers. The arrangement of shoes along the corridor of the class building looked very neat and clean. This practice encourages every day mindfulness and helps students realize that the mindfulness can be part of their daily lives.  Rinpoche talked about  the seven point meditation posture- the back straight, the legs crossed, the hands folded below the navel, the chine tucked in slightly, the eyes looking in front, the tongue be held against the upper palate, and the lips should slightly open and how to anchor our mind on our breath.

 

All the lopons and Rinpoche plan to work together and meet on a weekly basis to make sure that there is synergy between the various subjects being taught so that the boys learn to relate their dharma studies with the world around them. Lopon Dechen's first unit is on the Life of the Buddha, therefore Lopon Dawa will teach about identity, the meaning of names, family trees with a special focus on history and geography.

While all monks will be studying together for their Buddhist studies, the LME and English classes have been divided into three groups based on previous education experience. Most of the boys have completed class 3 but some are uneducated and some have completed up to class 7. This differentiated class environment is one of the key challenges to teaching at the monastery.

It is remarkable that in a day and age when many monasteries have lower enrollment, CGI will be increasing its numbers by almost 50% with this new group of monks.

The Monks of Chokyi Gyatso Are Seeing Clearly

In March, 2015, the monks of Chökyi Gyatso Institute were given eyes check ups and eyeglasses were provided for those who were in need. The initiative has been in the works since 2011, when Pauline Tan of Singapore helped collect used eyeglass frames that were donated for reuse. Healthcare is free in Bhutan but there are very few opportunities for eye check ups. The local military hospital hosts eye clinics from time to time but heretofore the shedra was not informed.

By chance, a group of eye doctors and assistants came to the shedra to pay respects to Rinpoche after a week-long clinic and when they learned that the monks also need check ups, they kindly rearranged their schedules to spend one extra evening checking as many monks as they could. Several serious cases were diagnosed, 10 new prescriptions were written and several eye infections and other issues were detected.

Finally we were able to pair Pauline's frames with good quality prescriptions and, with the help of the Student Welfare Fund, which paid for the lenses, this week the boys got their glasses. Some of the young boys were a bit shy to put on their specs at first but after we told them that Rinpoche and many of the khenpos wear glasses and that they make you look smarter, they have started to wear them regularly.

Many thanks to Dr. Dechen and her team, Pauline Tan, and the Student Welfare Fund of CGI.

A fond farewell...

The twenty monks of the first LME class with teacher Brodie (can you spot him?) on a birdwatching trip.

I am on a 22 hour train ride from Guwahati to Bodh Gaya and finally have some time to reflect on the 14 months I spent teaching the young monks of Lhomon Education pilot project at Chokyi Gyatso Institute. Cliche or not, I can't believe all those 14 months are already behind me.

I arrived in October of 2013, a novice teacher with a few years of teaching in Asia under my belt, but having never been to Bhutan. I remember being met at the border (after 44 hours of travel) by Noa, the director, and two of my would-be students, Pema Gyeltshen and Tsering Samdrup. They seemed so young, and full of excitement and curiosity, but most of that was veiled by their shyness. As I was introduced to the rest of the 20 monks, ranging in age from 12 to 19, I could have said the same thing about them all.

Over the next year and a half we grew to know each other and trust each other, and at the same time we explored education together, and what it means to know and to learn. In the course of teaching, I was sometimes amazed by knowledge that I took for granted, coming from one of the better public school systems in the U.S. During my first month at the institute we all walked to the river together for an afternoon of swimming, and one of the boys, standing in the middle of the river with the water swirling around his waste, asked me if the ocean was deep like the river. I explained that the ocean was deeper than the mountains were tall, pointing to the peaks that loomed some 500 meters above, and he was incredulous, clamoring to tell any monk around him what I'd said.

At other times I was amazed by their knowledge, which they themselves surely took for granted. On every walk I took with the monks, they would show me different plants, telling me the names, and explaining which ones would sting, and which ones you could eat, and which ones were medicine, and which ones you could surreptitiously throw at your friends when they weren't looking, and have it stick to their clothes. They knew which trees bore fruit, and at what time, and knew which birds ate them. All of this they taught me, never openly judging my ignorance but probably wondering how I had survived to adulthood without knowing these basic things.

During the majority of my time there, my task was to improve their English as much as possible, and Dawa's was to improve their math, but our education was never that straight-forward. Dawa and I were happily subsumed into the fabric of the daily life at the monastery, and the borders between class time and other time was continually less and less distinct. Our office door was always open, and our extra chairs in the office were always occupied by curious monks, some wanting to look at the books on the birds of Bhutan, some trying to make a boat out of recovered materials, some asking for help with their homework, some just wanting to chat.

And even in class, it seemed it was never as straight-forward as a simple grammar lesson, as the boys' curiosity nudged our class time towards learning about the different countries of the world, and how cars work, and why the moon is dark on the left side when waxing, and the right side when waning. Over the months we encouraged the boys to ask as many questions as they could think of, answering those which we could and researching those which we could not. As a teacher, I enjoy saying "I don't know but I'll find out," because it instills in the student that none of us has perfect knowledge, but we should never stop striving for it. And for the students, they relished in finding out what we knew and what we didn't. (I'll never forget one of the more poignant questions asked of me at the beginning of my time there: "Teacher, who is great in your village?" I never could sufficiently answer this question that was so easy for my students).

It is also a fact of teaching in a monastery that not all of the monks are going to be great students. In fact, many of the monks were in the monastery explicitly because they were poor in their studies. Bhutan, which it should be said has made remarkable strides in the pursuit of universal education over the last thirty years, is still operating within the constraints of the very traditional Indian education system on which it is modeled. One of the drawbacks of that system is that it doesn't value individual traits, and has a very rigid and one-dimensional evaluation of ability.

So for our part it was extremely rewarding to take these students and show them not what they were bad at, but rather what they were good at. We tried in our daily teaching to explore the different kinds of intelligences, and then demonstrate to the students that while one may struggle with spelling, he may excel at crafting, or while another is not skilled in mental math, he may be the best gardener in class. Exploring how the brain works, not just with rote memorization (which is standard not just in the modern education system, but also in Bhutan's traditional monastic colleges) but also with problem solving, creativity, imagination, and ingenuity was as rewarding to Dawa and myself as it was to the students who gained a new-found appreciation for what they could do.




And although they weren't perfect students (I suppose its possible I wasn't always the perfect teacher), they never stopped amazing me with their cheerfulness, earnestness, and joie d'vivre. We actually had to make rules in class limiting the singing and dancing, because I learned that if you aren't clear on that, the classroom will quickly resemble a rehearsal room for a Bollywood film.

Looking back, there were a few days that didn't go perfectly, and others I've already forgotten, but both of those are dwarfed by the number of days I'll remember as wonderful explorations with young monks who were just starting to understand the world, and leaning on me to help broaden it. I feel so fortunate to have been one of the people these young men came to for answers about the world. I miss them already.

Putting Monks To Work On The Auto Line

The many holidays of mid-winter are mostly behind us now, and we're excitedly getting back into having regular class. To make it interesting, we've started an in-depth study of one of the most transformational inventions in human history; the automobile.

After getting some of the basics out of the way, today we delved into the early history of the automobile, and how Henry Ford changed the US and the world when he set about changing how people make cars.

We went over some basics of economics first: If Henry Ford wanted to sell more cars by making them more affordable for the common person, how could he lower the price? By making them more efficiently. And how could he do that? By improving on the assembly line model that had been developing for the last few decades.

Ford was able to streamline production to make it so fast that they could pump out a Model T in 15 minutes. And soon, Ford was one of the biggest auto manufacturers in the world, and companies that failed to incorporate his advances were soon out of business.

But how to make that efficiency poignant to a young monk in Bhutan? For this lesson we tailored a classic lesson plan; make two different teams, one of traditional, individual craftsmen, and the other of a streamlined assembly line. Both teams were expected to make 8 "cars" (an assembly of surplus straws, rubber bands, and paper that we had around the office). The craftsmen each had their own tools, and the assembly line all shared on set of tools.

Unsurprisingly, the assembly line was much faster, completing their 8 cars in under four minutes (Take that, Ford!). The surprise was how much longer the craftsmen took- more than twice as long. The students rightly noted that all of the many small movements that were eliminated by having each person have one job added up to a large gain in efficiency.

Of course, making things more efficiently is only half of the story. Afterwards we discussed the social effects of this. Students listed some of the benefits of this streamlining: efficiency, cheaper cars, more profits, and cars that everyone, even the people making them, could afford.

And the drawbacks? A few months ago we watched Modern Times, the Charlie Chaplin classic, and none of the students could forget the scene where Chaplin goes temporarily insane after working on an assembly line that was too fast and impersonal.

Some of the more subtle effects were surprises to the students: a factory with people in a streamlined system is safer than one where people are moving around. On the flip side, making more cars means more of an environmental impact.

Regardless of the overall net good of Ford's  revolution, one thing the students walked away from today with was that it certainly changed the world they live in profound ways.