R-E-S-P-E-C-T in the B-E-C

I've just arrived home from my second day of classroom BEC training and even though technically I'm supposed to remain a passive onlooker for the next fortnight, somehow I've landed the gig of planning and teaching the next class!

Okay. Pause. Rewind.

If you've just started reading this blog, you may not be aware that I'm currently learning the ropes as a Baha'i Education Class (BEC) teacher and have just started the class-room observation stint of my training with my Baha’i sisters Cora and Fariba as facilitators. So far it's been pretty straightforward. As far as I can see, the kids are gorgeous, lessons follow a simple routine structure and the students thrive under the consistency. Here's a breakdown of a typical BEC:

First, students enter and get settled down by selecting a star sticker, their gift upon arrival. Then they sit down at their tables, get organised, colour their folders or catch up with friends. After about 10 minutes, when everyone has the playground out of their system, we ring a bell - less Pavlov, more Buddhist - signifying that it's time for Devotions.

What does this look like in a Baha'i class? Well, we all form a big circle on the floor and start by singing songs based on Baha’i Scripture or principles. Then we share prayers from Christian, Buddhist, Indigenous, Hindu, Jewish, Baha'i, Muslim and other Holy Writings. I can't tell you how sweet it is to see a 5 year old earnestly dedicate a Native American prayer to the Great Earth Spirit, a 7 year old affirm the Hindu concept that God is "my Father and my Mother," and an 11 year old honour Christ by reciting the Golden Rule. Though the songs and the prayers vary every week, each class starts in this way, reflecting the Baha'i concept of fostering harmony among the World's religions:

“The religion of God is for love and unity; make it not the cause of enmity or dissention.” - Tablets of Baha’u’llah Revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 220

Then we have activities. Today for example, saw the kids writing their own prayers to God. They ranged from heart-warming: "Thank you God, for keeping my family safe." to heart-felt: "God, please help me to be a better person.” to heart-burn: "Dear God, please give me a Play Station 3." Hmmm - they are kids after all. (Actually, it got my cogs turning about the deification of Santa Claus...and the Santa-fication of God...but that post can wait until December!)

The point is, in terms of structure, BEC couldn't be more simple.

Anyway, when the children had left this morning and we were packing up, Cora and Fariba started discussing next week’s lesson. They had planned to introduce the virtue of ‘respect’ and were bouncing around ideas of how to go about it. Broadly speaking, our job as Baha'i Educators is to encourage children to manifest and develop their innate spiritual qualities, or 'virtues.'

And that’s when I decided to go and open my big mouth:

“Hey, maybe we should play the song for them.”
The two women looked at me, question marks for pupils.
"You know. Respect. By Aretha Franklin?"
Continued blank stares.
"Ummm, The Blues Brothers? Soul music? Sock it to me...?"
They shrugged their shoulders.

In the hope of jogging their memories, I even belted out a few bars - as best a skinny white girl can. Now, these women may be in their 40's and sure, they were born in the Phillipines and Iran respectively, but I'd assumed Aretha crossed every cultural divide. Evidently not. That'll learn me for assuming.

“Well anyway, I'm positive the kids would know it. And love it; they'd be dancing in their seats. Hey, maybe they could even make up a dance...we could put them into groups... mixed ages... mixed genders....yeah...that'd teach them about respect... "

I was just thinking out loud. Talking to myself, really. But when I looked up, Cora had this wicked glint in her eye.

"Per-earl*...?" she cooed, (*not my real name) "How would you feel about taking the next class?"
That shut me up. “Me? Take the class? Really? I mean…are you sure?”
She nodded vigorously. I looked to Fariba for help. She was beaming in agreement. The traitor.

So, after some consultation about structure and a brief look at The Virtues Project Educator’s Guide, (an amazing resource written by fellow Baha'i, Linda Kavelin Popov) I acquiesced.

Okay, if I'm totally honest, they didn't have to twist my arm that much.

Next week, I take my first, very premature BEC lesson. The moral education of precious, priceless children. Future caretakers of the planet. It's definitely a mission from God – Jake and Elwood style.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lesson to plan!

Miner in Training

"Among the greatest of all services that can possibly be rendered by man to Almighty God is the education and training of children, young plants of the Abha Paradise, so that these children, fostered by grace in the way of salvation, growing like pearls of divine bounty in the shell of education, will one day bejewel the crown of abiding glory." -Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 133

I recently completed my second day of training for my future as a volunteer Baha'i Education Class (BEC - formerly known as BESS) teacher in Australian elementary schools. It was a excellent day, replete with games, prayers, songs, consultation and hands-on learning. We had some fruitful discussions, fondly reflecting on what qualities our favourite teachers from our own school days possessed. By the end of the day, all of us had presented a lesson plan to the rest of the group and received helpful feedback and suggestions from our facilitators, both of whom have a wealth of experience as teachers themselves.

The main thing I took away from this installment of the training is that my job is not to indoctrinate the children with my own ideas, but rather to identify and then nurture the unique spiritual qualities - or to use Baha'i parlance, 'virtues' - that each child inherently possesses. The Baha'i Teachings encourage us to think of ourselves as midwives and miners, drawing out the potential of our students, rather than imposing our beliefs upon them. My prediction is that that these kids will end up teaching me more about virtues than I could ever hope to teach them. I'm thinking patience, tolerance, honesty, listening, humility and ensuring classroom unity will be at the top of my personal 'to learn' list!

Within the Baha'i Dispensation, a period where humanity has the opportunity and means to build a globally unified society, the importance of teaching children cannot be overstated. Each child who fulfills her potential enriches the lives of everyone around her, as well as those of generations to come. In a world where greed, inequality, poverty and injustice are duking it out with our collective desire for something nobler, the moral education of children quite literally becomes the foundation of the Formative Age:

"Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal it's treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom." - Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 260

Next week I start sitting in on Baha'i classes at the local elementary school as an observer. I'm so grateful for the well thought out training sequence, which is supportive, systematic and spiritually centred. For the next four weeks I'll get to listen and learn in a non-active role while I soak up the experience from the back of the class. It's a time for me to ask questions, consider my strengths and weaknesses - and gather tips about crowd control. The class I'm entering consists of 29 kids ranging from 5-11 years of age. That's alot of little souls, all at very different stages of intellectual, physical and spiritual development. There are going to be challenging moments, no doubt. Praise be that there's a wealth of Baha'i Writings to offer inspiration and encouragement. The fact that The Master Himself is supplicating to God on my behalf that I may succeed in this endeavour gives me such comfort and strength:

"As to thy question regarding the education of children: it behoveth thee to nurture them at the breast of the love of God, and urge them onward to the things of the spirit, that they may turn their faces unto God; that their ways may conform to the rules of good conduct and their character be second to none; that they make their own all the graces and praiseworthy qualities of humankind; acquire a sound knowledge of the various branches of learning, so that from the very beginning of life they may become spiritual beings, dwellers in the Kingdom, enamoured of the sweet breaths of holiness, and may receive an education religious, spiritual, and of the Heavenly Realm. Verily will I call upon God to grant them a happy outcome in this." - Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 142

I will keep you posted.

Switching on the Light of the World

"Oh Thou kind Lord! These lovely children are the handiwork of the fingers of Thy might and the wondrous signs of Thy greatness. O God! Protect these children, graciously assist them to be educated and enable them to render service to the world of humanity. O God! These children are pearls, cause them to be nurtured within the shell of Thy loving-kindness. Thou art the Bountiful, the All-Loving." - 'Abdul-Baha

Yesterday I had the absolute privilege of attending the first in a series of courses designed to qualify me as a BESS (Baha'i Education in State Schools) teacher. For those not familiar with the BESS Program, it's an initiative of the Australian Baha'i community whereby everyday people like me enter the public elementary school system to offer children moral and spiritual education from a Baha'i perspective.. Taking into account the Baha'i law that explicitly forbids preaching or proselytising, this will neccessarily involve a focus on teaching principles universal to all religions, rather than imposing the idea that there is a singular, 'correct' path to God.

On the agenda for Day 1 was the crucial matter of attaining our certificate in Child Protection. The Australian National Spiritual Assembly has devised a stellar policy designed to raise awareness about how to protect our most precious resource. Along with my fellow trainees, I learnt about the definition and scope of child abuse, explored what kinds of attitudes can promote and justify child abuse and enjoyed some excellent, albeit confronting consultation on how to deal with specific scenarios of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. I came away from the day feeling empowered with knowledge of how to identify signs of abuse as well as the protective procedure I'm responsible for following if a child - any child, not just my future students or fellow Baha'i's - ever disclosed to me that they were being harmed.

Perhaps the most moving part of the training was gaining a deeper understanding of how unspeakably valuable children are considered within the context of Baha'u'llah's Revelation. Our responsibility for nurturing their development has massive implications for the entire planet. According to ‘Abdu’l-Baha, every single child is "potentially the light of the world and at the same time its darkness: wherefore must the question of education be accounted as of primary importance." This matter of education concerns not only the training of the intellect, but also the training of the soul. Without moral guidance, loving protection and powers of example from adults around them, children risk becoming detractors from the solution to Earth’s ills, rather than agents of its execution.

I can't wait to start engaging with these precious gems and learning more about how they see the world and their place in it. While there are often several Baha'i children in each BESS classroom, they are the vast minority. So, the really stimulating thing for me is the opportunity to discuss the Faith with kids who, just like myself back in the day, may never have been exposed to any religious teachings. It's the kind of class I would have loved to experience in my own childhood. I wish I'd been privy to the idea that there was a religion that treated other major religions as respected partners working towards shared goals, or taught that God has asserted men and women are categorically equal. Truly, these two ideas alone might have saved me from almost 20 years of painful alienation from a God I'd (mis)understood as a competitive misogynist! Offering children an alternative to that genuinely excites me. Though I'm yet to see it, apparently the BESS syllabus is profoundly inspiring. I'm so looking forward to the rest of my training over the next two months. Expect regular updates.