Read the original article here.
After the Happiness Curriculum, the Delhi government is now set to combine it with the Social Emotional and Ethical Learning curriculum. A programme which aims to bring compassion and ethics to the classrooms, the curriculum is developed by the Atlanta-based Emory University in association with the Dalai Lama Trust. The curriculum is set for a global launch in Delhi.
Geshe Lhakdor, Director of Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamshala. He is also among the key persons involved in putting together the curriculum said, “The Education Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Mr. Manish Sisodia who went through the SEE Learning Curriculum and was keen to adopt some of the learning practices in the SEE Learning Curriculum to enrich their existing curriculum.”
According to Lhakdor, “The education system at present primarily caters to the senses that is what we feel, what we see, what we hear, etc and not the mind. But inside we are hollow, there is inner poverty. What this curriculum aims to do is bring in at least four new features to the existing Social and Emotional Learning programme that is attention training, the cultivation of kindness and compassion for self and others, resilience skills for those who have gone through some kind of physical or emotional trauma and the awareness among students that we are all in some way dependent on each other”. He also added that the curriculum is not copyrighted and anyone is free to use it.
Although the curriculum aims to bring “secular ethics” to classrooms, starting from kindergarten all the way to class 12 and beyond, across geographies and religion, those associated with it, however, say that the curriculum can be moulded for situations and conditions unique top countries such as India.
Carol Beck, Associate Director of Communication at Emory University’s Compassionate Centre says, “The idea is not to preach or throw the book at teachers and tell them to teach ethics or compassion in a certain way. The online platform of the curriculum which will be launched on April 6, 2019, can be used to train teachers who will then adapt it in a way that suits their classroom.”
Lhakdor also mentioned that the curriculum also attempts to tackle the issue of violence in classrooms. As per media reports, besides Sisodia, Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, Piramal Group Chairman, Ajay Piramal, and Social and Emotional Learning expert Daniel Goleman are expected to be present at the launch.