Learning about cc - pxl9.com about Bahai Childrens Classes.pdf · Page 6 In studying the Writings...

Learning about Bahá’í Children’s Classes

Spiritual and Moral Education for the Next

Generation

THE BETTERMENT OF THE WORLD

“The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct.”

―Bahá’u’lláh

EARLY DRAFT Revised 4 Apr 2009

Page 2

The purpose of this booklet is to share with you information and concepts about Bahá’í children’s classes. You may be wondering who are Bahá’ís? The Bahá’í Faith is a world religion whose purpose is to unite all the races and peoples in one universal Cause and one common Faith. Bahá’ís are the followers of Bahá’u’lláh, Who they believe is the Promised One of all Ages. As you know, the traditions of almost every people include the promise of a future when peace and harmony will be established on earth and humankind will live in prosperity. Bahá’ís believe that the promised hour has come and that Bahá’u’lláh is the great Personage Whose Teachings will enable humanity to build a new world. One of the important teachings of Bahá’u’lláh concerns the education of children. We are taught that children are the most precious treasure a community can possess, for in them are the promise and guarantee of the future. Providing classes for the moral and spiritual education of children is a service that Bahá’ís around the world happily provide for their communities. In addition to providing classes for children we also offer training and opportunities for youth and adults wishing to learn how to help with these classes. Spiritual and moral education for the next generation provides a valuable service to the community and can help to improve the world that we live in. In regards to service and its impact on the betterment of the world, Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, wrote that: “The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct.”

WALKING TOGETHER ON A PATH OF SERVICE

All human beings “have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.”

―Bahá’u’lláh

It is important for you to know that the Bahá’í community’s commitment to working towards the betterment of the world is rooted in its sacred scriptures, which state that all human beings “have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.” Bahá’u’lláh taught that we should be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age we live in and that we should center our deliberations on its exigencies and requirements. Fundamental to Bahá’í belief is the conviction that every person, every people, every nation has a part to play in building a peaceful and prosperous global society. As such, our approach to forming children’s classes is to ensure that the parents, the youth, and the residents of a neighborhood have ownership of the process of the children’s spiritual and moral education and that we assist with the initiation of the process. As you can see, Bahá’í children’s classes are not a form of aid package that is delivered and sustained by resources that live outside of the community—they are a process of education that the parents and residents of a local neighborhood can take ownership of to assist with the spiritual, moral and intellectual development of their children and to stimulate the betterment of the overall neighborhood and community. We can help to initiate the process, but we’ll need to work early on with persons motivated in sustaining the process—persons who are closest to the children and with them on a regular basis. Spiritual education of the children of this neighborhood is a path of service that we’ll want to walk together. Question for discussion: Perhaps we can stop here and talk for a moment about the goals that you have for the spiritual and moral education of your children?

HUMAN BEINGS ARE CREATED NOBLE

“Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.” ―Bahá’u’lláh

In studying the Writings of the Baha’i Faith, we find counsels and teachings which show us how to offer true education. An important concept to understand about Bahá’í children’s classes is regarding the nobility of man. Baha’u’llah taught us that all human beings are created noble: “Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.” This principle provides the foundation for the attitude of love and understanding that teachers should show to all their students. Through it we realize that each student is a unique creation of God, endowed with his or her own talents and capacities. No child is incorrigible. All can be good and all can develop spiritual qualities. Question for listener to think about and discuss: What kinds of “gems” might the children have in their hearts? These “gems”—the spiritual qualities in the heart of every child—cannot appear without effort and training; education is required.

THE NEED FOR EDUCATION

“It is education that produces wonderful industries; it is education that spreads great sciences and arts; it is education that makes manifest new discoveries and institutions. If there were no educator, there would be no such things as comforts, civilization or humanity.” ―‘Abdu’l-Bahá

An example may help illustrate the concept of the need for education. The mind of a child has the capacity for learning things such as language, mathematics and sciences. But can a child develop and use this capacity without education? Can it acquire knowledge and understanding without a teacher? I am sure that you will agree that education is required to help a child begin and maintain the life-long process of learning. From the Bahá’í teachings we learn that: “It is education that produces wonderful industries; it is education that spreads great sciences and arts; it is education that makes manifest new discoveries and institutions. If there were no educator, there would be no such things as comforts, civilization or humanity.” The same principle holds true for spiritual education. A child’s soul has the capacity for love, truthfulness, generosity, obedience and this capacity can be developed through spiritual education.

15 LESSONS

1. Unity 2. A pure, kindly and radiant heart 3. Justice 4. Love 5. Service 6. Truthfulness 7. Steadfastness 8. Humility 9. Preferring others before ourselves 10. Honesty and truthfulness 11. Generosity 12. Kindness 13. Obedience 14. Love for God 15. Trust in God

It is important to understand that Bahá’í classes are not classes of indoctrination. The emphasis of the classes is on learning to think, to reflect and to apply spiritual laws to the life of the individual and society. Great attention is given to the development of spiritual qualities and to those beliefs, habits and behaviors that constitute the essential attributes of a spiritual being. There are 15 lessons, and each lesson helps the children learn a spiritual quality:

1. Unity 2. A pure, kindly and radiant heart 3. Justice 4. Love 5. Service 6. Truthfulness 7. Steadfastness 8. Humility 9. Preferring others before ourselves 10. Honesty and truthfulness 11. Generosity 12. Kindness 13. Obedience 14. Love for God 15. Trust in God

Each lesson is repeated about two to three times, to help the children learn the spiritual qualities, and so teaching all 15 lessons takes about 45 weeks or so.

FIVE COMPONENTS OF CHILDREN’S CLASSES

1. Memorizing prayers and quotations 2. Songs 3. Stories 4. Cooperative games 5. Coloring

Each lesson has five simple and effective components that help the children learn:

1. Memorizing prayers and quotations 2. Songs 3. Stories 4. Cooperative games 5. Coloring

LESSON 11: GENEROSITY

PRAYER “O My Lord! O my Lord! I am a child of tender years. Nourish me from the breast of Thy mercy, train me in the bosom of Thy love, educate me in the school of Thy guidance and develop me under the shadow of Thy bounty. Deliver me from darkness, make me a brilliant light; free me from unhappiness, make me a flower of the rose garden; suffer me to become a servant of Thy threshold and confer upon me the disposition and nature of the righteous; make me a cause of bounty to the human world, and crown my head with the diadem of eternal life. Verily, Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty, the Seer, the Hearer.” 1 – SONG: “FOUNTAIN OF GENEROSITY”

Be a fountain, Be a spring,

Be an ever-flowing thing. It is true that if you do,

Happiness will come to you. CHORUS

Search your heart every day.

Is there something you can give away? Happiness should be your goal,

Give your heart And give your soul.

It is true that if you do, God will always be with you. (Repeat 2)

CHORUS 2 - MEMORIZATION God is very generous with His creation. He looks after all of us. He gives daily nourishment to everyone. He has given us many gifts, such as hearing, sight and intelligence. In the same way that God is generous with us, He wants us to be generous with each other. We should give of what we have to those who need our help. In order to remember to be generous, let us memorize this quotation of Bahá’u’lláh:

Prayers The period of prayers at the beginning of each class is very important. In the first place, prayers bring the blessings and assistance of God to the children. Their intelligence is awakened and their capacity for understanding is increased. Prayers also help create an atmosphere of devotion towards God which favors the process of learning. Songs In general, children love to sing, and teaching songs is one of the easiest things to do in a Bahá’í children’s class. Songs can fill the hearts of the children with happiness. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says: “The art of music is divine and effective. It is the food of the soul and spirit. Through the power and charm of music the spirit of man is uplifted. It has wonderful sway and effect in the hearts of children, for their hearts are pure, and melodies have great influence in them.” Memorization The Word of God revealed by His Manifestation has far-reaching effects on the heart of a child. Imagine the effects in the lives of the children when the Words of God, with all their power, are engraved in their hearts.

LESSON 11: GENEROSITY “To give and to be generous are attributes of Mine; well is it with him that adorneth himself with My virtues”. Generous

1. Ram and Rajish had saved a little money. They decided to buy some books for their younger brothers and sisters. Ram and Rajish are generous.

2. Mrs. Murphy spent the whole morning baking cakes. Before taking them to town to sell, she gave two large cakes to the neighbors. Mrs. Murphy is generous.

Attribute

1. Joel took a beautiful rose to the teacher. Beauty is an attribute of the rose. 2. The stone is very hard. Hardness is an attribute of stones. 3. “One of your attributes is that you are willing to work hard,” the teacher said to

Charlene. Adorn

1. Tonight is the Nineteen Day Feast. The children picked flowers to place in the meeting room. The children adorned the meeting room with flowers.

2. Ta Jen has a beautiful smile. Most of the time a smile adorns his face. 3 – STORY One day, Bahá’u’lláh sent ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to inspect the work of the shepherds who were taking care of His sheep. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was a small child at the time, and the persecutions against Baha’u’llah and His family had not yet started. Bahá’u’lláh then had a good deal of land in the mountains and owned large herds of sheep. When the inspection was finished and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was ready to leave, the man who had accompanied Him said, “It is your father’s custom to leave a gift for each shepherd.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá became silent for a while, because He did not have anything to give them. The man, however, instituted that the shepherds were expecting something. Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had an idea that made Him very happy! He would give the shepherds the sheep they were taking care of! Bahá’u’lláh was very much pleased when He heard about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s generous thoughts towards the shepherds. He humorously remarked that everyone had better take good care of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá because someday He would give Himself away. Of course, this is exactly what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did for the rest of His life. He gave everything He had, each and every moment of His life, to humanity and to unite us and bring us true happiness. 4 – COOPERATIVE GAME: “THE TWINS” Two, three or four children stand back to back and squat down. Then they hook elbows and try to stand up.

Memorization cont. In order to help the children learn a prayer or quotation by heart, we must first explain its meaning to them. Story Another very important activity that can be carried out in a children’s class is storytelling. What importance can stories have in children’s education? Many stories and narratives illustrate principles and spiritual qualities and show us how to apply them. Other stories show clearly the rewards for good deeds and the consequences of bad behavior. Cooperative games Someone once said that the work of children is to play. In fact, games help children learn and practice skills and concepts. For example, through games children learn to cooperate, to pay attention, to obey rules, and to coordinate their movements. Cooperative games help develop in children the attitudes which are necessary for cooperation:

1. The object of the game provides a common goal. 2. To achieve this goal, the children learn to cooperate and coordinate their efforts.

LESSON 11: GENEROSITY

The last activity of the class will be coloring pictures. Actually, this will be one of the children’s favorite activities, and they will always be looking forward to it. Maybe what attracts their attention is the opportunity to test their artistic capacities and develop their concepts of beauty. Artistic development is very important in children’s education.

LEARNING HOW TO TEACH CHILDREN’S CLASSES

1. Attitudes and qualities of a teacher.

2. Skills and methods for effectively conducting classes.

It is highly desirable to establish classes for children in every neighborhood. In order to do this, it is imperative that more and more people dedicate themselves to the teaching of children. When a person beings to teach it is not very important that he or she knows a great deal about theories of education. What matters is desire and dedication. Teaching is a science and an art which can gradually be learned through study and experience. A simple, effective and free training course is available to youth and adults who wish to learn to offer the highly meritorious service of teaching classes for children. The training covers: (1) attitudes and spiritual qualities and (2) skills and methods for effectively conducting classes. Attitudes and spiritual qualities 1. Understanding the Bahá’í Writings 2. Prayer 3. The spiritual nature of human beings 4. Basic principles of Bahá’í education Skills and methods 5. Effectively conducting classes 6. 15 Simple lessons Training and accompaniment plan 1. Materials for the training course provided free of cost. 2. Volunteers help you complete the training. 3. An opportunity to help teach a children’s class, while you study the training

materials. 4. Accompaniment to start your own children’s class, when you are ready.

PRAYER FOR CHILDREN

O 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.

―‘Abdu’l-Bahá

A prayer that we can offer for the children of this neighborhood: “O 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.”

BAHÁ’Í CHILDREN’S CLASSES Spiritual Education for Children

“Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.”

These “gems” are the spiritual qualities that are latent in the soul of every person. Children’s classes help the children to discover and polish these gems from an early age and apply what they learn to everyday life. Spiritual Qualities (Gems)

Lesson 1 – Unity Lesson 2 – A pure, kindly and radiant heart Lesson 3 – Justice Lesson 4 – Love Lesson 5 – Service Lesson 6 – Truthfulness Lesson 7 – Steadfastness Lesson 8 – Humility Lesson 9 – Preferring others before ourselves Lesson 10 – Honesty and truthfulness Lesson 11 – Generosity Lesson 12 – Kindness Lesson 13 – Obedience Lesson 14 – Love for God Lesson 15 – Trust in God

Elements Used to Teach the Children

Memorizing prayers and quotations Songs Stories Cooperative games Coloring

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