Spirituality DefinedThe meaning of spirit or spiritual development, as advocated in this article, differs from the religious definitions. It also differs from principles and ethical development. It does, however, relate to philosophical thinking, particularly as such thinking focuses on eventual questions about life.
Spirituality in EducationSpirituality, when used in the perspective of education, is sometimes presented in two mutually compatible ways: 1) as a worldview that includes a belief in the reality of the holy or transcendent and 2) as a part of human development that endeavor for self-realization, including "the realization of the sacred as our essential nature".
Spiritual Development SuppressedUnluckily, our society, including the culture of our schools, does little to promote the spiritual dimension of our humanness. Some, in fact, have concluded, "Our culture is systematically depriving the human soul". The result is that many children remain constantly undernourished in their spiritual development.
1. Adults tend to think about human development in terms of phases or stages. This view suggests that developmental growth involves the movement "up from" earlier stages of childhood and babyhood. With this model, children are not viewed as having strength or capability on their own, other than as precursor to more mature forms. Their capability to experience the spiritual dimensions of the world and themselves is considered to be something that they will possibly grow into versus already having in place. This view of progress is deeply well-established, and has nearly conquered modern educational and psychological research
2. Spirituality is often equated with the "higher" mental functions such as language and abstract thought. Because young children tend to have poorly developed higher-order linguistic and cognitive skills, it is understood that they cannot experience a spiritual life until these higher functions develop, generally in later childhood and adolescence. This view strongly suggests that spirituality is primarily about thinking - a suggestion that teacher training Mumbai finds of special concern.
3. Spirituality is often equated with religion. The individual may take days, months, years, even an entire lifetime to develop appropriate language and concepts that will enable him to begin to move toward and understand the experience". The pairing of spirituality with the skill to talk about religious concepts, then, fails to identify the true nature of spirituality. This is true whether we're talking about children or adults.
4. Many adults have repressed their own childhood spirituality, and thus find it difficult to recognize it in young children. If we agree that there is a spiritual dimension to our humanness, then educational programs which fail to address this aspect of human development cannot serve the holistic needs of the young child. The idea of bringing a spiritual dimension to early childhood education, however, can be intimidating. We find that, even as adults, we are on a continuous search for the meaning of spirituality in our own lives and are afraid that we will be inadequate in nurturing such development in children. Bringing a spiritual dimension to the classroom, however, doesn't require an "absolute truth" in hand.
Fostering Spiritual Development in the ClassroomCreating beauty in the classroom also promotes spiritual development. While children's artwork is one of the most beautiful ways to improve the aesthetic environment of the classroom, other sources of beauty should be considered as well. These might comprise fresh flower arrangements and carefully chosen artwork. Beauty can also be introduced through music, sunlight, potted plants, and creatively crafted banners.
ConclusionWhile spirituality and education are hardly ever linked in discussions about the role of schools in our society, the failure to include the spiritual development of children as an educational goal does a great disservice to our children.
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