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suitable conduct and interpersonal dealings lies with the teacher.
(b) Qualified Students:
Nonetheless, it also is imperative that students are sufficiently qualified - not merely in
terms of basic scriptural knowledge but in connection with possessing the right
characteristics (or at least a willingness to learn them). The teacher or course organiser
has the responsibility to establish a sound enrolment policy. Additionally, candidates
should be clear about what is expected of them during the course, i.e. expectations should
be established before enrolment.
The familiar principle of sadhu-sanga, and studying together in the association of
devotees, is extremely relevant here. To ensure potent sadhu-sanga, then interpersonal
dealings within the classroom should be exemplary.
Further guidelines are listed on the next page
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Further Tips on Attitude and Ethos
Besides this, the teacher can do the following:
" Invoke the blessings of the Lord and His representatives before starting any lesson.
Pray to be their servant.
" Place devotional pictures etc. within the classroom
" Use devotional music, both as students arrive and as appropriate during learning
exercises
" Establish clear norms of behaviour .
" Encourage respect for the individual (and avoid discriminating on the basis of
temporary designations).
" Be non-political. Don t take sides.
" Be honest with yourself and about your level of Krishna consciousness. Struggle to
be exemplary but don t torture yourself over your shortcomings. Modelling this
approach will likely be far more authentic and effective than trying to be someone you
aren t.
" Try to spend some time outside class with students.
" Be detached and flexible. Not all classes go well. You may need to change some as
you go along and in response to student contributions.
" Use assertiveness skills , e.g. separate the person from their behaviour.
" Trust and empower the student. (Remember Srila Prabhupada s example with his
disciples).
" Encourage use of initiative and risk-taking.
" Encourage students to see the philosophy from all angles of vision. In other words,
establish an ethos of open and honest enquiry.
" Consider yourself primarily as a learner, not as a teacher; a disciple or follower rather
than a guru or leader.
" Model appropriate thought and behaviour
" Be in the mood of an instrument, a servant without being attached to any perceived
position. We should be happy to see others equal or excel us.
" Be honest when you don t know the answer. Preferably model good learning by doing
the research and coming back with answers.
" Keep commitments. Be punctual. Start on time and finish on time (or even a little early)
" If you ve omitted something because of time constraints, relax and ask to students to
cover it in their self-study periods. Avoid creating a frenetic and rushed atmosphere.
On the following page, we attempt to show how we can deliver our Aims implicitly, i.e.
through behaviour that reflects and expresses suitable values. Some points previously
covered may be repeated, but we are specifically exploring how they are related to our Aims.
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Implicitly Delivering Aims and Objectives
Aims and Objectives are delivered not only through specific learning experiences/methods
but in more subtle ways related to the teacher s style, the mood he/she creates within the
classroom and modelling appropriate behaviour. This is specifically important for those
Objectives that are more difficult to explicitly teach and assess (e.g. Faith and Conviction).
Feel free to add further points under each category below:
1. Knowledge (Memory and Recall)
" recite from memory many slokas, including Sanskrit
2. Understanding
" promote a mood of open and honest enquiry
" value student contributions
3. Personal Application
" be exemplary in character and conduct
" relate personal stories of the challenges you met and how you overcome them
" reveal your own thought processes and model good thinking
4. Preaching Application
" be enthusiastic in relating preaching stories
5. Faith and Conviction
" encourage students to reveal doubts, realisations, etc.
" allow students to formulate and express their own opinions
" reveal incidents that have built your own faith
" create a happy, trusting mood in the classroom
" be exemplary
6. Authority
" ask students to do folio research to find authoritative statements on issues
" treat Srila Prabhupada s books with great respect
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7. Theological application
" refer regularly to the latest news (if appropriate) and to topical issues
8. Evaluation
" share with students difficult situations you ve recently faced
9. Mood and Mission
" personally demonstrate a strong sense of purpose and mission
" display within the classroom pictures of Srila Prabhupada and/or the Seven Purposes
of ISKCON
" in discussing social challenges, acknowledge them but address them constructively
10. Academic Integrity
" define academic integrity
" compare and contrast the results of using/not using academic integrity in quoting
scripture
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