The Goal of Education

What are your hopes and dreams for your life...not just during college,
but the life you create for yourself beyond college? Financial security? Happiness? Peace of mind? Love? An awareness of the
greater purpose and meaning of life?

At the Ananda Institute of Alternative Living, the goal of education is the same as the goal of life itself: to help young adults become successful, mature, effective, happy and harmonious adults. We call this approach Education for Life. Primarily, it is a system of education that will prepare students for meeting life’s challenges, and not only fit them for employment or for intellectual pursuits. Author J. Donald Walters, founder of Ananda, writes in the preface to the book:

“It [Education for Life] is a way to see the whole of life, beyond the years spent in school, as education... For if indeed, as most people deeply believe, life has purpose and meaning, then its goal must be to educate us ever-more fully to that meaning. And the true goal of the education we receive during our school years must be to help prepare us for that lifelong learning process."

The Ananda Institute of Alternative Living is a small 4-year spiritual college with a holistic Education for Life approach to education. Students complete a “How-to-Live” course of study and a “Major Career Focus” allowing them to graduate with an emphasis in one of the following areas: Building Communities, Business & Leadership, Health & Healing, Education, and The Arts (Music, Art, Drama, Dance). Each year, students participate in “study abroad” programs offered by the institute. In their junior and senior years, students complete a portion of their study in internship programs designed to prepare them for a future career.