Naropa in Bhutan

This week I am participating in a workshop run by Deborah Young of Naropa University for the Royal University of Bhutan at the Paro College of Education.  The goal is "to identify the most deeply rooted values among the people of Bhutan, and to identify the gaps between those values and current educational practice." RUB has a four-year plan to revamp all the programs at all the colleges here. It's a huge task. RUB Lecturers will be doing a participatory action research project to determine exactly how best to design the colleges so that values and mindfulness become the trademark of Bhutanese education. 

It's been so interesting meeting and getting to know the participants who are all professors at one of Bhutan's eleven colleges. They are the ones teaching the future leaders of Bhutan, particularly those who are teacher trainers. We've begun identifying the principles that are essential to a holistic education. One afternoon I was participating in a group activity and one of the teachers at my table was a linguistics and English teacher at Gaeddu Business College. We discussed how he could incorporate practicum into his curriculum and how he could integrate with other business subjects. This lead to a lively discussion about how the future of Bhutan's business begins with these future business leaders in training. What a difference it would make if they received special sustainability training.

Bhutan's colleges all reside under the Royal University of Bhutan: Royal Institute of Health Science, National Institute of Traditional Medicine, Sherubtse (Liberal Arts), Gaeddu, Institute of Language and Culture Studies, Jigme Namgyal Polytechnic, Paro College of Education, Samtse College of Education, the College of Science and Technology, the College of Natural Resources, and Royal Thimphu College (an affiliate college).

Read the article in the Bhutan Observer about the workshop.

It's Official!

It is a great pleasure to inform you that Lho Mon Society has been registered with the Bhutan Government as a CSO with effect from February 7, 2012. It has been a long wait but thanks to everybody's hard work we finally succeeded. We look forward to working with all of our partners as we continue onward with this good news.

Contextualizing Lessons

I loved this article about a school in New York City that serves primarily low income children. Several teachers have taken it upon themselves to find out what the students really needed to learn and to teach it to them in a relevant way. My only qualm with the story is that it focuses on the low income aspect of the situation, whereas I think this kind of instruction is important for all students at any income level in any country. The Lho Mon Education curriculum framework strongly emphasizes using the local environment as a learning tool. The monks will learn about managing the finances of their own monastery, the domestic helpers can learn about global trade through a visit to the market, rural villagers can learn about global warming by studying weather patterns in their own back yard.

Read the New York Times article here.

Samvaad II Conference, Gurgeon, India

On the way back from Sri Lanka, I attended a three-day education conference (Feb. 10-12, 2012) just outside of Delhi called Samvaad – II. It's always so inspiring to sit with like-minded people, focus on the issues and share ideas, even if we don't always disagree. It was like an energy booster shot in the arm. The conference took place at the Archarya Tulsi Meditation Center, which is part of the campus of The Heritage School, and was co-hosted by The Society of Integrated Development of the Himalayas (SIDH), and the Mussoorie & Mount Madonna School. 

Samvaad means "dialogue," and for the most part that's what we did. Sessions began with meditation or raga music which helped set a contemplative tone. Also helping set the mood was the fact that we were sitting underneath a lotus pond. The photos will explain. It was a truly stunning setting.

There were people from all over India with a range of interests and concerns. Many were questioning the very notion of the necessity of schools. Home schooling and child-centric classrooms are gaining popularity in India. Someone voiced an opinion that we should "get out of the way of children." But then I wonder, isn't there an essential role of a master? I felt like a conservative extremist when I voiced concern about giving children too much liberty to determine their own coursework. It's an interesting subject for debate.

I particularly enjoyed conversation with KB Jinan who works with tribal societies and focuses on education for authenticity and cultural rootedness. He showed several videos of nonformally educated children exhibiting wonderful ingenuity and creativity. They could handle sharp objects and other tools that adults usually hide from small children with great confidence and skill. Jinan has an interesting blog on the subject of the homogenization of modern education here. 

I took lots of notes and there are a few that still pop out at me now that I reflect: 

• How do we teach so that students can make a living while living a life.
• What is the role of students in the development of their education
• What is learning?
• Not having a point of view, instead having a whole field of view.
• We have two ears and one mouth for a reason - listen twice as much.
• "Rituals for the ritually impaired"
• Who shaped your idea of beauty?
• Guilt and shame are toxic in a classroom.
• When no one raises a hand to speak, what is the story behind the silence?
• "Out beyond right and wrong is a field and I'll meet you there" - Rumi

One thing that we all agreed upon is: Education is that which liberates. And the questions that we addressed are the very questions we will be asking at the LME workshop in July: 

• What are the essential competencies and capacities to live a productive and meaningful life?
• What does it mean to educate in these times?
• What can we do to support the development of citizens the world needs now?
•  How must we address the challenges posed by the society and system?

Many thanks to Mahesh Prasad of the Heritage School, SW Maillard, of the Mount Madonna school Santa Cruz, and all the kind staff who made the three days comfortable, fruitful, and memorable.

Announcing Our Partners

We could not be more pleased with our final set of six working partners. Each of these organizations will send between 2 and 12 teachers to our July Curriculum Development Workshop at which we will help them create GNH-infused units for their students. Through this initiative, we would like to see more connected, actively-involved, life-long learners grounded in Bhutan’s ancient wisdom traditions, principles, values, and practices. To that end, we have developed the framework for a comprehensive curriculum that can be adapted and delivered in units individually or sequentially. The units within this framework help students develop the values, knowledge, competencies, and practical life skills that will enable them to live full and satisfying lives and to become contributing members of society. Khyentse Rinpoche said that true freedom only comes when one is no longer enslaved on an inner level by the emotion and desire and on an external level by ignorance. LME would like to help guide students to this level of freedom.

The partners are, in brief: 

· Bhutan Association of Women Entrepreneurs, an organization that empowers Bhutanese women through the promotion of knowledge and business skills, is revamping their domestic helpers program curriculum using the LME Framework for implementation in 2012.

The Bhutan Nuns Foundation is committed to using the LME framework and trainings to develop a secular education program for nuns in East Bhutan. Many girls and women in Bhutan enter nunneries to gain an education and escape poverty and abuse. These women dedicate their lives to serving society. They are very involved in local communities, often helping needy families and serving as role models for other girls and women.

Chokyi Gyatso Institute (CGI), a monastery in Dewathang, Samdrup Jongkhar, East Bhutan is scheduling implementation of a secular curriculum for monks based on the LME framework in January, 2013 to help the monks become more integrated members of society, active in supporting the health and wellbeing of surrounding communities.

The Non-Formal Education Programme, a basic functional literacy programme supported by the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, will develop units to extend their existing curricula into areas of math, science, technology, social sciences and mindfulness.

The Royal Education Council, an education think tank of Bhutan, will work with LME to develop a sample of integrated curriculum as part of the innovative research and experimentation they are conducting in a select group government run public schools.

 The Tarayana Foundation was established in 2003 by Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, to help bridge local needs of disadvantaged remote communities with larger national initiatives. The Foundation will send one Field Officer and one Programme Officer to LME's Curriculum Design Workshop to develop units for their work in rural communities.

 

Show Us Your Money Maker

Washington D.C. has a new teacher evaluation system that gives master teachers merit-based pay increases. It's the logical thing to do, but because of protests from powerful teachers unions, most districts are unable to make the leap. “We want to make great teachers rich,” says Jason Kamras, the district’s chief of human capital. Music to our ears! Read the New York Times article about this great breakthrough.

'Under the system, known as Impact Plus, teachers rated “highly effective” earn bonuses ranging from $2,400 to $25,000. Teachers who get that rating two years in a row are eligible for a large permanent pay increase to make their salary equivalent to that of a colleague with five more years of experience and a more advanced degree.'

Most teachers in Bhutan have a starting pay of about 12,000 nu per month (equivalent to about $240 US) with a cap of about 17,000 ($320). More on Bhutanese salaries here, but suffice to say when civil servants received their last pay raise, the increase for teachers was the most slight. It's the most noble of professions and yet the systems seems designed to discouraging the noble form applying.

Allowing Learning to Happen

During the teacher training this week (which I am continuing to love), Mrs. Das told an interesting tale about a man who thought he could be helpful by assisting a butterfly out of its chrysalis. Why let it struggle. So he slit it open and the butterfly tumbled out. But then what?

Many parents and teachers try to help children and students through obstacles by doing the work for them. Their knowledge and skill is second nature and they want to transfer it to their children, so they can get frustrated when a child struggles to own this knowledge independently. Impatient, or maybe just out of a wish to be helpful, they finish the problem or give the answer before the student has time to do the work. "This is why masters are not always good teachers," said Mrs. Das.

Her classroom strategy? "Wait time," she says. "Give the students time to think before filling in the answers." She also reminds teachers that it isn't what the teacher teaches but what the student learns.

Helping a butterfly out of the chrysalis actually impairs the butterfly, she won't acquire the wing strength she needs to fly, her wings might be misshapen, and she might even die. Though a student will survive heavy handed teaching, something still might die: their own critical thinking, their enthusiasm to learn. Students need to have freedom and guidance to make necessary connections in their brains if they are going to be life long learners. As hard as it is to stand back, sometimes it's better to watch them struggle to find answers on their own.

This article in Psychology Today sheds light on the phenomenon.

I look forward to seeing how we can apply this understanding in the classrooms of all our pilot projects.

REC's Master Teacher Training

Much has been happening in the world of Lho Mon Education, so much that I haven't had time to write up any reports. In short, I couldn't be more pleased with our final line up of LME partners. I will share details about the final two soon. 

Meanwhile, I am spending this week and next at Paro's Khangkhu Resort observing the Royal Education Council's master teacher training for a select group of educators from the REC Beacon Schools, which are testing out the latest innovations in education. Six of Paro's Beacon Schools, or Seed Schools, are participating in the master teacher training (from a total of 15 Beacon Schools in Paro and Thimphu). This week's course is the fourth in the series with a special focus on brain based learning, classbuilding, and teambuilding, critical thinking and active learning. I'm soaking up every word like a very thirsty sponge.

The instructors are from Singapore's Educare and they are, in a word, fabulous. Mrs. Jaya Das keeps all of the teachers completely engaged and animated from the beginning of class until our final tea. We have so much fun. At one point today the whole room was literally in tears from laughter.

The reason for the laughter was the result of an exercise in communication. About twelve of us lined up against the wall facing in one direction. Mrs. Das turned the person at one end (which happened to be me) around and showed a series of hand movements. Nothing elaborate, but I was immediately flustered. I was to turn and tap the next person on the shoulder, and as soon as she turned around, show her the movement, and so on down the line. What started out as a simple touch of the shoulder, ribs and hip, turned into the most hilarious wing flapping movement. As the final teacher did his goose dance, all of us grown adults were in stitches like little kids.

Mrs. Das gave us a minute to let us quell the giggles, compose ourselves, and wipe our tears. Then she asked: What would have generated more accurate information transfer?

The answer? When teachers demonstrate something once and expect students to grasp it entirely, there is sure to be a problem. But if a teacher demonstrates something, lets the student try it out, guides them, revises and then lets them work on their own, the chances are the student will truly absorb the information.

In turn, her own method of having us interact, be active in the room, have fun, helped us absorb that information. So it was a lesson within a lesson. And there were many more lessons throughout the day.

I am deeply grateful to the REC for letting me sit in on these important sessions. Twelve of these master teachers will participate in our July Curriculum Development Workshop so it's been great to meet them, learn about their experiences as teachers in Bhutan and as participants in this groundbreaking program, and to play! At lunchtime, Aum Tashi told me that she applies what she has learned from these trainings and the students have transformed. There is a new sense of security and belonging that has increased student self esteem, reduced discipline problems, and created a learning environment that allows her to be a better teacher and the students to be better students.

Anyway, I could gush on and I probably will!

Crises in Bhutanese Education

This article in Kuensel, sheds light on a crises in Bhutanese education. Despite a skyrocketing unemployment rate, new graduates don't want to accept posts as teachers. Only 44 people applied for 155 slots. Meanwhile, 200 contract teachers who taught for at least a year or two in remote areas have been pleading with the education ministry to give them a chance to join the teacher training program in Bhutan's two teacher training institutes. These issues are both bound up in the issue of the civil service. I'm sure there are hard working officials who are trying to rectify the situation but who are bound by endless laws and bylaws. It's a shame. And such a contrast to the Finnish model, where teaching is the noblest of professions, as explained in this New York Times article.