Photo Album of the Workshop on Facebook

India Council for Integral Education (ICIE) conducted a seven-day workshop on Integral Education from March 1 to 7, 2017, for a group of 16 teachers with the Bejon Desai Foundation (BDF), Nashik, at the Society House in Puducherry. The Foundation is engaged in various developmental projects like setting up educational institutes and running social and health programmes to improve the conditions of the community around. Sri Aurobindo Society has been collaborating with the Bejon Desai Foundation in bringing about a change in the quality of education in the community. 

During the workshop, the participants undertook a transformational journey through the principles and practice of Integral Education, as envisioned by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. 

The following topics were covered by a team of resource persons: 

Sessions on various aspects of Integral Education and their practice in the classroom, Sanskrit 
– by Shivakumar 

Principles of True Education & Exploring the Beauty Within
– by Ravi Shanker 

Exploring Oneself via Craft, Zen Tangle Art, and Yogic Exercise
– by Kiran 

Communing with Nature, Dotted Notebook, Project Method
– by Jasmine and Riddhi 

Besides the above, there were also some special sessions on “How Does a Child Learn” by Surekha di, a visit to our farm — Matrikunj, “Appreciating Art” by Sushanto da, “Language Development” by Uttama di, and “Practicing Integral Education– a Sharing” – by Riddhi. 

The participants also had a chance to interact with Dr Kiran Bedi, the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. Dr Bedi, during her interaction with the teachers, emphasized the need to instill courage and self-confidence in the children of today.

Overall, the participation and involvement of the entire group of teachers were very profound and heartening. It was a beautiful beginning of the journey towards becoming better educators and even better human beings.