Sai Baba says:
"From the most impressionable years the children should be taught to cultivate love for all. Love leads to unity. Unity promotes purity. Purity leads to Divinity."
"To instill in the minds of the young the values of prayer, humility, and loving service to others, the homes where they have grown should be the first schools. The parents have to be imbued with faith in the basic truths of this Universal Religion."
"Children's minds are innocent and pure. Each child is like a white marble for the teacher and the parents to sculpt the image of God, a bud to be helped to blossom in all its Divine glory so that it becomes a worthy offering to God."
The SSE program was formulated by Sri Sathya Sai Baba to inculcate Human Values in the young, growing minds. It is a 12-year program for children ages 6-18 (Grades 1 - 12). The basis and definition of the SSE program is as follows:
- SSE is the spiritual heart of Sai Education.
- The Five Values, the essential Unity of Faiths, and the Life and Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and the application of these values in one’s daily life comprise the substance of the Sai Spiritual Education program.
- These ideals are demonstrated to be the essence of all faiths.
- SSE is the vehicle through which the children of Sri Sathya Sai devotees nurture and express their devotion to God.
- The program is based on the precept that true education is spiritual education and culminates in character development.
- Spiritual education ennobles life through the realization of one’s divinity.
- The realization of Divinity is expressed through one’s thought, word, and deed.
- SSE nurtures the innate goodness of the child by creating an environment that is devotional, loving, and experiential.
- The Ten Guiding Principles from Sri Sathya Sai Baba are used as a guide for students, teachers, and parents, and support all aspects of the curriculum.
SSE Curriculum consists of:
- Five Human Values
- Truth
- Right Action
- Peace
- Love
- Nonviolence
- Brotherhood of Man, Fatherhood of God
- Ceiling on Desires Program
- Significance of National and Religious Holidays
- Stories and accompanying lesson plans from the childhood of Sri Sathya Sai Baba
- Stories of Saints and role models of heroes and unsung heroes/biographies
Currently, there are four age groups in the Sai Spiritual Education Program:
Group I (Ages 6, 7, 8; Grades/Standards 1, 2, 3)
Group II (Ages 9, 10, 11; Grades/Standards 4, 5, 6)
Group III (Ages 12, 13, 14; Grades/Standards 7, 8, 9)
Group IV (Ages 15, 16, 17; Grades/Standards 10, 11, 12)
The teaching techniques and lesson plans are targeted to suit the ages of each group. The objective of all lessons is to nourish the Spiritual Principle within the child. The ideal lesson provides direct experience of the spiritual principle through group activities, and not just through moralizing and memorizing. The practicing of the values in daily life is essential to the manifesting of Divinity from inside. Service activities and field trips are recommended to enhance experiential learning.
In a very true sense all these Spiritual Objectives carry through from level to level and cannot be treated separately. Each Spiritual Objective can be considered a building block for lifelong practice of Spiritual Principles. At the younger ages, the ideas are presented in a simpler form in ways appropriate to the age group. As a child matures the concepts are applied and practiced in increasing depth.
Class Enrolment:
Please speak with the Center President or the SSE Coordinator if you wish to enrol your child in the SSE program.
Classes typically begin on the third Sunday in August and end in May of the following year.
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