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Values
Education for Children and Young Adults
Living
Values e-News
Living Values Education
Newsletter |
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In
This Issue |
May 2008
Issue Number Thirty Two |
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From
the Editor's Desk
Forthcoming Events
For more information, please contact
training@livingvalues.net
- Brazil: 12 Apr to 30 Aug 08 - LVEP Train the Trainer Workshop
- Greece: 12 Apr 08 - LVE Workshop - The Circle of Values
- Paraguay: 7 Mar to 5 Sep 08 - LVE for Children at Risk
- Paraguay: 14 Mar to 12 Sep 08 - LVE for Families and the Community
- Paraguay: 28 Mar to 26 Sep 08 - LVE for Trainers
- Paraguay: 4 Oct 08 - Third Annual National LVE Educators Meeting
- South Africa: 7-9 July 2008 – Annual Meeting for ALIVE Associates and Focal Points
- South Africa: 10-11 July 2008 – A Conference on Living Values Education
- Spain: 25-27 April 08 – IX National Meeting of Living Values
- USA: 19 and 26 Apr 08 -Create Peace and Respect in Your Classroom
- USA: 21 May 08 -LVE Parent Workshop
- USA:17-20 July 08 - LVEP Educator Workshop
- USA: 20-22 July 08 - LVE Train-the-Trainer Workshop
- USA: 9-11 August 08 - LVEP Educator Workshop
News and Success Stories from Around the World
- Brazil: Wonderful Results with Street Children with Living Values Education
- Greece: LVE on the Island of Chios
- Israel: When Values Become the Path – a Program for Entire Communities
- Kuwait: LVE Grade 5 Students Draw Conclusions After Testing the Effects of Positivity on Plants
- Mauritius: Indian Ocean Islands Unite through Silence
- Suriname: Living Values for Everyone from the Concierge to Professors
- United States: Living Values Education for 20,000 Children in Florida
- Venezuela: The Magic of Living Values
- Vietnam: Living Values Telecasts Nationwide
- Vietnam: LVE Program for Drug Rehabilitation the Most Effective in the Country
Subscribe and Submit News
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Welcome to the thirty-second issue of Living Values e-News, the electronic
newsletter of the Association for Living Values Education International.
It is wonderful to receive news from so many of you. There are many new
LVE events and trainings around the world. Suriname, New Zealand and the
Czech Republic have recently held LVEP trainings for the first time in
their countries and received enthusiastic responses. They were held with
cooperation LVE-style: Loes in Suriname with the help of the team there
and Belen from Venezuela; Sherman Ng, new to LVE, with the cooperation of
Trish from Vietnam and Sally from Australia; and Yambi Mwesigwa, new to
LVE, with the cooperation of Suzanne from Greece. A few weeks ago I
received a new translation, a copy of the Living Values Activities for
Children Ages 3-7 in Serbian. Zana did a beautiful job. Kalle in Estonia
and the team in Vietnam are having good results with Living Values
Activities for Drug Rehabilitation. Yomi in Nigeria is doing a series of
LVE workshops and trainings in cooperation with another organization on
Values for Positive Citizenship. And, an LVE team in Iran is implementing
LVEP in several schools. Congratulations to all of you, and the educators
with whom you work.
It is a special time in the world, and I feel that a new era for Living
Values Education has come. There is certainly a need in the world,
recently highlighted by more frequent killing in schools. I think the main
thing holding LVE back is the lack of research documenting results.
However, some information is very easy to document if the whole school is
implementing LVEP as almost all schools collect data. Recently, a whole
school in California did LVE; the school is in a gang area and there were
many problems with discipline and violence. When the principal filled out
the Whole School Indicator form, it was easy to share results back with
everyone and easy for them to see their own success. In just one semester,
there was a 69% decrease in suspensions.
Assessments can help schools see what is successful, and encourage them to
keep up their good work. While some teachers and schools may initially do
LVE to improve student behavior and the school climate, there is a larger
purpose. As educators, we are also doing this as we feel the cognitive
thinking skills and social and emotional skills that students are exposed
to and asked to explore and develop will help them grow toward their
potential, protect them from violence, and help them engage in the
community with values – and respect, confidence and purpose. To see or use
our assessment forms, please contact
lve@livingvalues.net.
ALIVE, the Association for Living Values Education International, and the
LVE Association of South Africa will be hosting the Living Values
Educational international annual meetings in South Africa from 3 to 11
July 2008. It promises to be a series of worthwhile and rewarding events,
including an international LVE Educator Workshop and a two-day conference.
We hope that the LVE Focal Points and representatives from each LVE
Associate around the world will be able to join us for the Annual Meeting
and General Assembly from 7 to 9 July.
I would also like to share with you a few thoughts from ALIVE's new
president, Pilar Quera Colomina:
“Education today means sharing a space for coming together that includes
respect, trust, and where actions include commitment. If we view this from
the perspective of formal education, change arises when entering this
shared dialogue. A space for relating and learning is created which
questions the framework we have been using up to now – including the old
system of authority, power and control.
It seems to me that we are currently going through a shift of paradigm in
reference to the culture that has dominated up to now, with its
patriarchal culture and its reflection on obsolete scholastic content and
methods. We need to tie this change to the transformation of education.
Let us strive for an education that promotes being the best people we can
be instead of persisting with the mentality that “everything goes." We are
currently more and more aware that in order to educate, the effort of the
community is needed to create people who grow and who become enriched in
continued educative spaces.
To presently educate we must outline three important aspects: reflecting
on who I am (identity), on our belonging (collective, schools, families,
districts) and how we contribute (participation), all tied to the
planetary vision of the world, to the “theoretical – practical” relation,
to the feelings of brotherhood, to respect and care of oneself, of others,
and of relationships.
One of the main reasons there is so much fear in our society is that we
spend most of our time listening to negative news of violence and
conflicts. Make it a goal to change the subject and speak about what life
offers you. It is important to create hope and enthusiasm for the future
and a more positive vision of the present reality. This is how we promote
peace.
The greatest wealth is to know how to appreciate what we have, and who we
are. We build and rebuild values from the diverse experiences that we go
through. Values guide and show our character to us. They determine our
choices, define our way of thinking, seeing, feeling, behaving, and our
way of living. They are the treasures of our lives. When they are based on
spiritual principles, they show dignity and determine the direction of the
person, creating a feeling of self-confidence, freedom, respect and
generosity towards all manifestation of life.
Our aim is for joint experience to serve us to investigate and question
the learning paradigm that generates and allows the advancement of the
enrichment of the being, a paradigm that creates a sustainable culture of
peace and cooperation. After all, wisdom doesn´t necessarily arrive with
age but is rather a gift of the experience.”
The LVE Web site – at http://www.livingvalues.net – warmly welcomes
hearing from educators with one or two success stories (or even
not-so-successful stories!) of values activities and approaches that
they've tried in their classroom. So read on... and, as ever, we hope that
you'll do more than just read: please also send us your news – and go out
and make some news!
With warmest wishes,
The Editor
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News
and Success Stories From Around the World |
 BRAZIL
Wonderful Results with Street Children with Living Values Education |
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brazil@livingvalues.net |
Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte
A
Living Values for Street Children training program was held in Olinda/Recife
from November 1-9. This included a training of educators, training of
trainers, as well as offering of two public speeches.
Forty very enthusiastic educators were trained, among them fifteen people from
the local governmental agency for street/at risk people, and six from the
police, facilitators of the police education program for drug prevention in
the schools.
The public speeches were attended predominantly by police officers. The police
band performed a musical presentation for the participants at the end of the
educators training, with the presence of a representative of the "Social
Defense Secretariat" of Pernambuco state.
Rio de Janeiro
An
introductory presentation of Living Values for Street Children was held in Rio
de Janeiro November 29 as part of the launching of LVSC in this state. Forty
people from governmental agencies and NGOs dealing with street/at risk
children were present, coming also from the towns around Rio de Janeiro city.
A training program will be organized in the coming months.
Values Education in the Assistance Processes for Delinquent Minors
Regional meetings are being organized in the state of São Paulo, bringing
together governmental agencies, departments and NGOs, to discuss and implement
the decentralization, and reinforce the process for assistance to delinquent
minors through "socio-educational measures" which can be applied without
incarcerating adolescents. The first took place September 21 in Santos, with
200 participants from nine towns of the region, and the second, November 30 in
São José dos Campos, with 300 participants from several neighbouring towns.
At the end of both meetings, participants stated the intention of including a
program for Values Education and Active Listening in the "socio-educational"
processes of Liberdade Assistida - "Assisted Freedom", Prestação de Serviços à
Comunidade - "Rending of Services to Community" and Internação (when the
minors stay in Fundação CASA during a period of time) and in the regular
schools.
Wonders of Fundhas
Fundhas organized their "First Conference of Children and Adolescents of
Living Values Program of the Central Unit of Fundhas." The president, the
secretary, etc. of the conference, all were children.
Directors, educators and other professionals of Fundhas were present.
The fifty-six children present discussed the following themes, in groups:
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What are values?
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Which values do you know from the LVE Program? And
what is their importance to society?
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Do children develop more social and emotional
abilities for a just and positive society as a result of the values? Justify.
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How often do you apply the values, with whom and
where? Give examples.
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What has changed for you after knowing values?
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Have the values made a difference in your life?
How?
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Have your parents learned the values and are they
applying them at home? Has anything changed at home?
Some of their answers:
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...
the importance for society is to learn how to live together with one another
in peace and with all other values
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...
in order that the world becomes more cheerful without drug sellers
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...
we can pass the values to other people, and be
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...
to appreciate the families, the people and not have prejudice
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...
almost everything changed, the way of life, the way of talking to others, the
fights and quarrels, began to have more respect
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...
they think that the parents are using values, with fewer quarrels, becoming
more calm, creating more friendship and joy at home
At
the end, a Letter of Intention was written and signed by the children, the
directors and professionals of Fundhas and the LV representative. It will be
sent to the local Committee for Children and Adolescent Rights (the
institution for coordination of all programs, agencies and institutions
dealing with children, mainly at risk), etc.
Results
Fundhas presented their report about LVE activity in the first semester and
the results:
...
We find that the implementation of the program has been done in a very
positive way, we already notice changes in attitudes and behaviour, in
the relationship between the children for better, and we received feedback
from the families reporting that the atmosphere at home has improved, as well.
There has also been a reduction in student absenteeism.
Additional positive aspects being observed include:
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No
student suspensions this semester for poor behavior or breaking the rules.
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The
tolerance level of the professionals has increased, as well as the listening.
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The
atmosphere within this institution is one of cooperation now.
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If
relationship problems arise, students stop by themselves and reflect within
their group to determine the best method of intervention.
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In
the "Multifamily Group" (group of parents in Fundhas) some parents are
rediscovering the wisdom regarding the necessity of living in harmony and with
respect. They are living and interacting with love.
A
Special Project on the island of Chios
Selected
teachers at ten nursery and primary schools are implementing LVE on
the island of Chios with the leadership of Sofia Tanaini and other
teachers.
Introduction – Goals:
A child
who is able to communicate, express feelings and thoughts, find ways
of resolving the conflicts s/he experiences, is much more free to
exploit his/ her abilities, and invest his /her energy in creative
goals, being at the same time more competent to get over life
difficulties. Keeping these thoughts in mind, the ten-school team
started the planning of the programme. The first goal was for the
teachers of the team to get to know each other and feel the group
dynamics themselves with a view to setting common objectives. Then,
the differences between the schools and age of students were brought
up and there were various suggestions in regard with ways and
activities to bring students and teachers closer. This procedure
lasted for a whole year and proved to be very important, as
communication and feedback invigorated teachers themselves both
mentally and emotionally and contributed to the realization of our
goals. In the each of the ten schools, one or two teachers are
involved with LVE. We hope that in time all the teachers at each
school will be involved.
Our Goals for the Children:
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to get to
know themselves and the world around them in a better way and
acquire certain communication skills.
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to bond
together, recognise that each is different, important and unique,
explore advantages and disadvantages to cooperation and promote it.
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to
acquire self-knowledge, identify their abilities, desires, traits,
appreciate themselves and get recognition from others.
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to
understand that getting older and changing is a process common to
living creatures, but different pace-wise for each of us.
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to
explore similarities and differences among people of different
teams, realise that differences enrich life and learn how important
mutual tolerance and respect are.
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to
understand the importance of effective communication, get training
in skills that promote true relationships, control impulse, and get
used to getting in each other's position.
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to learn
to control impulsive reactions when under pressure and resolve
differences in ways different from those of anger, aggression, and
submission.
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to set
realistic personal goals.
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to learn
to evaluate their training and their progress in it.
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Our
common goal was to give emphasis to socialization, verbal
expression, a cooperative spirit and team work. Informing and
sensitising their family and close environment were first
priorities. This meant that we were concerned to get the parents and
community involved. Cooperation with local authorities and
organizations not only contributed to the success of the programme
but also gave adults the chance to examine their own emotional life
as well as that of their children.
Evaluation
A
systematic evaluation of the programme proved to be a hard
procedure. While the aims concerned mainly emotional processes, we
do not have the suitable tools and sufficient education to reliably
comment on the possible emotional changes on the part of the kids.
However, because the whole procedure was for us also, an
unpredictable journey in the land of emotion, the degree to which we
were involved did not permit us to objectively evaluate what had
occurred. In general, we could say that in the part of expressing
and handling emotions, the change in the attitude of the children in
terms of being able to talk about their feelings was obvious. And in
the field of self-image, we saw “low profile” children demand more
space and change the pattern of their behaviour with the rest of the
children. It is true that such programmes are hard to evaluate,
since their results emerge gradually in the future. What became
clear, is the necessity of such programmes, that address not only
the gnostic part but also their emotional world. The programme gave
students the chance to ask themselves questions and have fun in an
original way. They expressed their feelings, got to know each other,
discussed, realised the importance of human relationships and became
more competent in handling conflict and delaying gratification. The
children started exploring and trusting each other, talked and
expressed their preferences, emotions and the difficulties they
faced. They learnt to respect the rules they set. They discovered
hidden abilities and grew more confident.
The local community needs initiatives that will promote new values
and interests and bring up subjects to discuss and explore. In this
framework, the opening of the school to society and the benefit of
the impact, brings students and parents closer. Apparently, parents
were the immediate recipients of their changes and emotions. In the
programme, there was no bad, mediocre or good student. There was the
painter, the story-teller, the actor/actress... Self-involved kids
overlooked their needs for the benefit of the team. Children with
learning difficulties surprised everyone with their host of
knowledge, vocabulary and drama skills. Children's contact with
emotion and its expression by means of their thoughts and desires is
an issue of life-long education. However, it's now time to take a
first step and realise that emotion is a prevalent element in their
life, the key to both a “normal” social life and the conquest of
knowledge itself. Only when we as teachers realise that emotional
intelligence should have its place in our everyday learning process
will children have the chance to live in a school that respects
their differences and their personal needs.
LVE
Israel is seeking to approach more and more people as quickly as
possible. They have created entire model LVE schools for the past five years
so people can see the difference, as well as in kindergartens. They find
teachers working with kindergarten children have an open heart.
Because the country is at war, it is challenging to talk about peace with the
Ministry of Formal Education. However, LVE Israel feels strongly that everyone
must work together in unity not only during times of need, but at all times –
for everyday life, not just during a time of war. They have created a program
of values, which includes an additional one of “inner peace.” Each school
explores inner peace and then selects six values of their choice. In the last
eighteen months, this project was piloted in the cities of Natania and Raanana
– within community settings, schools and government. Twenty to thirty cities
now want to participate; they have already signed contracts to begin in
August. Due to the increased interest, there is a great need to train new
trainers and bring more volunteers on board. There are plans to train
coordinators from primary and high schools in Raanana to assist with this
project.
In addition, LVE Israel has been invited to train youth leaders, instructors
in the Regional Council of Modiim in August. They also continue to give
support and training to two primary schools in Lod, one for the Arab
population. As well, LVE Israel works with the Ministry of Health.
The teachers at the Kuwait American School, which
implements LVEP school-wide, gave some of Masaru Emoto's water
images to a Grade 5 class as part of their science work. The
students conducted a controlled experiment on the growth of plants
using happy, positive water and ordinary tap water. The plants
receiving the happy water grew 8cms taller than the plants that
received tap water! The children's conclusions - when you are
positive to water, it helps plants to grow taller. We are 75% water,
so, if we are positive and happy to one another, we'll grow tall
too! Amazing!
The principal of the school, Peter Williams also reported: “Our non
verbal standardised scores have improved over three years thanks to
the values approach.”
ALIVE Mauritius, in collaboration with the Mauritius Institute of Education
recently organized a three day training for sixty educators and individuals from
other sectors to practise and impart values in their daily life as well as their
workplace. Participants from Mauritius, the Republic of Madagascar, Mayotte
Island, Rodrigues and Reunion Island particularly appreciated the workshop, “Use
of Silence: a New Language” which gave them time to digest the training material
and see how all the elements were interlinked. Participant comments included:
“In this restless world, the process of diving deep within oneself helps us to
progress, realign ourselves with our inner force and hence, focus better.”
“Silence helps us to find and connect with the child within.”
“The skill of giving ourselves a moment of silence before beginning any sort of
work helps us to better perform and to have a deeper experience.”
“Silence is the long-lost-and-now-found language that allows values to emerge,
be expressed and experienced.”
Facilitator Frances Burkhalter from Switzerland, remarked, “Silence helps me
create ties with my inner values, with my inner wisdom and, hence, my fortune.
Silence helps me discover the immense potential dormant in me and fills me up
with self confidence and enthusiasm. With humility, I then share this power with
everybody. Besides, silence allows the potential in others to emerge and grow
spontaneously. Finally, silence aids the thinking process, makes thoughts
crystal clear, thus making it easy to bring them into action.”
Although the picture created during the workshop of the “Tree of Silence”
identifies growth attributes in French, most qualities are readily recognisable
in English. La rencontre entre l'océan et le ciel means: The meeting between the
ocean and sky.
Plans are being formulated to facilitate inter-island communication through the
creation of an ALIVE INDIAN OCEAN website, an exchange forum, inter-island
meetings, a secretariat for the Indian Ocean listing available facilitators, as
well as an annual meeting of the “Values Family.”
Surinam held its first LVE Educator Training in January. Louise Bemmel, the LVE
Coordinator reported: “Forty-one contented and brightly smiling faces were in
evidence at the end of our educator training. The group was a mixed one: there
were educators from private and public schools, representing levels ranging from
kindergarten to university, a therapist, a psychologist, media and parents. The
AlphaMax Academy who took the initiative was present with their full staff,
including the concierge. Belen Romero, the LVE Coordinator from Venezuela who
led the training, did a very good job and many participants plan to use the
material in their respective workplaces.
The opening was made an official event by United Nations representative, Mr. O.
Jones addressing the participants. He beautifully and touchingly shared his own
experiences from around the world, having witnessed the effect of a value-based
school system: how violence can change to a peaceful atmosphere, where children
felt safe.
During the second part of the day, activities were videotaped for the evening
news. One participant was also in charge of this medium and enthusiastically
shared her feelings, ‘Everyone should know about this!' The Living Values core
team which prepared the program was really satisfied with the result, enthusiasm
and promises for application of what the participants had learned.
ACES, the Aventura City of Excellence School,
Florida, has been a model LVE school for five years. It was
recently named a finalist in the National School of Character
competition. One of the advantages of having an LVE model school
is that people can visit it to see what LVE looks and feels like!
A visit from personnel of an organization that serves at-risk
children, Family Central, Inc., resulted in a collaboration with
LVEP, Inc., which will allow 20,000 additional children in three
counties to receive Living Values Education.
Family Central, Inc. oversees more than $60 million dollars
annually in child care and services to needy families in South
Florida. Between January 15th and February 15th Family Central,
Inc. accomplished an intake of more than 3,500 families needing
child care, food stamps, or other social services. The level of
need is increasing daily in the USA, and at the same time it is
increasingly difficult for individuals and families to access
needed services. Family Central serves as an important link
between governments, funders, service providers, and families in
need. Family Central, Inc.: “We are honored to provide information
and training on Living Values Education to support child care
providers and pre-K educators as they introduce character
education into their curriculum.”
In Florida, character education is required to be included in
child care and voluntary pre-K programs, although this regulation
has rarely been enforced. Family Central is unique in taking the
leadership to see that technical assistance in character education
is provided to child care providers. Child care workers who
participate in LVE training offered by Family Central's coaches
will be eligible to receive continuing education units toward
their required annual in-service hours. Moreover, these CEUs will
be at no charge to the worker (other trainings require a fee to be
paid.) We are also contemplating the possibility of some kind of
"certification" as a "character educator" that would add to the
professionalization of the child care worker.
Trainers from the Florida LVE team of LVEP, Inc., the national LVE
association for the USA, led by Dr. Kathleen Shea, are working
with Family Central to bring values education to more than 20,000
children in South Florida. An introduction to LVEP was presented
to more than 50 Child Care Program Directors on January 17. A
two-day TTT was held for forty-seven "coaches" (trainers and
technical assistance providers) from Family Central, Inc. on
January 24-25th. These coaches were trained to provide a six-hour
training program to more than 1,000 South Florida pre-school child
care workers in whose care are more than 20,000 children.
A demonstration site has been identified where the intention is to
fully implement LVEP. This is the Village Methodist Early
Childhood Center. This center serves about 100 children, from
infants to 5-year olds and is directed by a young woman who has
trained as a Montessori teacher, and who has deep roots in the
global peace movement from her native country, Costa Rica. We hope
that this center will become the "ACES" of early childhood. Others
were similarly inspired: one of the educators plans to move to
Maryland sometime next year, and is planning to open a child care
program centered around Living Values Education.
A follow up training is planned for April 2008 to assess progress
and provide additional support to coaches using the program.
A very successful LVE training concluded in April with sixty
Special Education Educators in Cumaná, Estado Sucre. They all work
for the governmental Educational System, “Dirección de Educación
Especial, Zona Educativa Estado Sucre.” They were very happy with
the training and evaluations rated all sections very positively.
Participants reflected on their own personal values and the
importance of getting in touch with them. The sharing of
experiences was very important for all, as stated in the
evaluation, because it made them realize how deep a value or lack
thereof can be imprinted in our lives. They loved the activities,
especially the mind mapping of the values and the active listening
activity, after which they all agreed that this is a real art and
must become a constant in their lives. As most participants were
parents, they also agreed that these tools will help them with the
upbringing of their children. As usual with the magic of Living
Values, it was a wonderful and rewarding experience for everyone.
Both participants and the facilitator are looking forward to a
follow-up session soon.
February 2007 saw the completion of a series of 52 Living Values programs each
of 45 minutes duration broadcast on the national education channel twice weekly
throughout 2007. Since mid 2007, the programs were also aired weekly on the
youth channel and the Vietnamese International Channel that is broadcast
worldwide.
Much positive feedback was received by email and letter. One particularly
touching letter was from a girl who lived in a rural area in the North of
Vietnam. She wrote to the TV station that her home life was miserable; her
father was an alcoholic who regularly beat her mother, and her mother frequently
shouted at her and her siblings. The girl wrote that she had wanted to take her
own life as she did not feel any hope for the future. Following watching the
LVEP program on TV, she has been able to use the tools the program provided to
create something positive out of her situation and she has begun to encourage
her friends to watch the program.
In 2008, it is anticipated ten television programs featuring Living Values will
be telecast throughout Vietnam.
A month ago, the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor shared some positive results about the program's implementation in the drug rehabilitation centres in Vietnam. They reported that while there were various other programs used in the centres, they have found that Living Values Activities for Drug Rehabilitation works best and want to use it nationwide in all drug Centres and with all new staff. They report that to date about 25% of the government's drug rehabilitation centres have had some training in LV Activities for Young Adults and are planning future trainings.
Please
also send us:
-
your success stories in using Living Values for the Impact
section of our Web site;
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photographs for the News section of our Web site; and
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students only, your stories, experiences, feelings and inspirations about
Living Values for the
Children Participate section of our Web site.
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