Education

Education for Life Teacher Training

Year-long course for 2005/2006

This course is for people who are drawn to teach in an Education for Life School or to apply EFL principles to other educational settings. The focus of the course involves working side-by-side with the staff of the Ananda Living Wisdom School. There are opportunities to work in preschool through 12th grade. Activities include regular classes on EFL techniques and philosophy, informal interactions with teachers and students, and time for personal spiritual growth. The two week EFL summer program is a prerequisite for this course.

Total Cost for 2005/2006: $9,000(tuition, room & board)
Study Abroad Costs: TBD

For those students pursuing a career in Education, The Ananda Institute of Alternative Living offers an Education for Life (EFL) Teacher Training Certificate. Education for Life offers a constructive and brilliant alternative to what has been called the disaster of modern education. The need for a change is universally recognized. The statistics of drug abuse, violence, and illiteracy speak for themselves. In his groundbreaking book, Education for Life, author J. Donald Walters traces the problem to an emphasis on technological competence at the expense of spiritual values, which alone can give higher meaning to life. Education for Life offers educators everywhere techniques that are both compassionate and practical.

The revolutionary Education for Life approach is based on the pioneering work in India, in the early years of the Twentieth Century, of Paramhansa Yogananda, the great Indian teacher with whom Mr. Walters lived as a disciple. The Education for Life system has been tested and proven over the past 35 years at Ananda Village, the spiritual community founded by
Mr. Walters in 1968.

• Our campus is on the original site of the first Ananda Community, and just five miles away is the 780-acre Ananda Village, where 250 people live, work and teach in community. Our location provides the ideal environment, a “living laboratory” with four Education for Life schools (from pre-school through college) devoted to creating and sustaining a new model for education. Nevada County, where the institute is located, has one of the highest concentrations of alternative schools in the entire U.S. • There are several Education for Life schools on the West Coast alone. These schools offer our teaching interns the opportunity to work side-by-side with longtime EFL teachers and administrators, in a “hands on” learning environment. • An Education for Life website www.livingwisdom.org exists as a means of communicating to the world-at-large our educational ideals, our schools, and our innovations. After graduation, those creating their own EFL schools may become part of this already well-established network, as a way of promoting their school. In addition, EFL teachers throughout the US meet annually to share ideas and continue to learn new and innovative ways to share with children and students the groundbreaking methods of Education for Life.

Education Curriculum:

• History & Evolution of Education Through the Ages
• Yogananda’s Vision for Schools and Education
• Understanding the Stages of Maturity for Education for Life
• Understanding the EFL Curriculum
• What makes an EFL Teacher Successful?
• Sharing the EFL Curriculum
• Adventure, Service, Self-Discovery and Self-Expression
• The Foundation Years
• The Feeling Years
• The Willful Years
• The Thoughtful Years
• Sharing Spiritual Values in a Non-Dogmatic Way
• Sharing Yoga & Meditation with children & young adults
• Sharing Music-The Universal Language
• Sharing Art with children, teens & young adults
• Music for Overcoming Harmful Emotions
• Sharing Games & Sports with children, teens, & young adults
• Sharing Dance & Movement for all ages
• Service to Others-A Key to Success
• Envisioning & Manifesting Your Education for Life School
• Energy, Key to Success
• Creating a Dynamic Team
• Organic Gardening for teaching values
• The Art of Supportive Leadership
• The Psychology of Written Expression (using Vimala Rodgers course
techniques for teachers from Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life)
• Superconscious Living for Teachers
• Understanding Meditation as a Teaching Guide
• Developing Intuition
• Sharing Meditation with Others
• Vegetarian Cooking for Health & Vitality
• The Teacher as Channel
• Understanding People & Children
• The Art of Listening
• “Flow Learning”
• Sharing Nature with children, teens and adults
• “People are More Important than Things” Philosophy
• “Where There is Dharma There is Victory” Philosophy
• Ethics for Teachers & Administrators
• Working with Parents
• Creating Schools in Community
• Becoming a Magnetic Administrator
• Creating Fundraising Opportunities for Your School
• Marketing & Developing Your School
• Promoting Your School Through Writing Articles & Books
• Education for Life Teacher Internship
• Education for Life Administrator Internship

Application for “Major Career Focus” in Education:

Ananda Institute of Alternative Living
Dean of Students
14618 Tyler Foote Road, #114
Nevada City, CA 95959
deanofstudents@anandauniversity.org

Study Abroad for Education

Students with a “major career focus” in Education must complete independent projects in their specialty during annual study abroad programs. These projects are determined with each student and the Education Career Counselor prior to embarking on each trip. Study abroad projects can be varied and creative, but must relate to a particular area of focused learning for each student. The Institute has developed relationships with schools and organizations abroad that offer an expansive learning environment for our students.

Internships for Education for Life Teachers & Administrators

An important component to the certification process is the completion of a pre-determined number of months spent working in various Education for Life schools with teachers and administrators who mentor and provide “hands on” training for institute students. These internships allow students the chance to work in “real life” education situations while still receiving invaluable support and guidance from institute teachers during the internship process.