Water Education and Education in Human Values

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Source: http://members.iteachnet.org/webzine/article.php?

story=20030329004354751

 

Excerpt from the article:

 

Water Education and Education in Human Values

Saturday, March 29 2003

 

Dr. Margaret Taplin,

Institute of Sathya Sai Education of Hong Kong

 

Increasing attention is being given these days to the need for

formal education to promote holistic development that includes

spiritual health along with physical, social and emotional well-

being. At the same time, there is increasing awareness that while it

is important to conduct specific classes in values education that

introduce children to the vocabulary and concepts of human

excellence, if they are to come to live these values in their daily

lives it is important for values education to be an integral part of

the entire programme.A programme developed over the past two years

in the Sathya Sai School of Zambia, Africa, has been successful in

integrating education in human values not only throughout the whole

school curriculum but also into the community – so much so that it

has captured the attention of the United Nations and has now been

adopted in several other African countries.The focus of this project

is water education, an important issue in the Zambian culture

because of problems with shortages, pollution and corruption and

cheating in managing supplies.It was considered an important focus

because "water education is embedded in traditional values of

solidarity, respect for nature and shared responsibility" (Kanu,

2001).Kanu has suggested that,"Water education can play a strategic

role in bringing about positive attitudinal changes among both water

consumers and providers, and in the longer term, can help develop a

new water-use ethic in society". It was not, however, treated as

an "add on" to the school programme – instead the teachers were

asked to find the topics in the existing curriculum that were

related to the topic of water, particularly conservation and

preservation, and to explore how these topics could be utilized to

promote the dual goals of water education and education in human

values.

 

Of course these issues of water preservation and protection are far

from limited to Africa.They are relevant to communities all over the

world.The purpose of this article, therefore, is to describe some of

the activities used in this particular project and other similar

ideas, in the hope that other teachers may be able to use them and

expand upon them to introduce the dual goals of water education and

education in human values.Figure 1 gives an overview of some of the

ways in which existing water-related topics can be utilized for this

purpose.The important thing to keep in mind is that while the water

education aspect is being emphasized, it is also important to be

reminding children constantly about the moral, ethical and spiritual

issues that underpin what they are learning.The examples given below

have been specifically chosen because they are supplementary

activities that fit in with existing topics about water education

but enable this emphasis on the values education (Figure 2) and

water education aspects.

 

Figure 2: Five universal values and sub-values:

 

Truth:

accuracy, curiosity, discrimination, honesty, human understanding,

integrity, self-reflection, sincerity

 

Right Action:

courage, dependability, determination, efficiency, endurance,

healthy living, independence,initiative, perseverance

 

Peace:

calmness, concentration, contentment, equanimity, optimism, self-

acceptance, self-discipline, self-esteem

 

Love:

compassion, consideration, forgiveness, humaneness,

interdependence, selflessness, tolerance.

 

Non-violence:

benevolence, co-operation, concern for ecological balance, respect

for diversity, respect for life, respect for property.

 

[...]

 

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