Whangai Programme

The ‘Whangai Programme’ (To nurture to support) is a programme designed to make the Sathya Sai Educare Programme readily available to schools throughout Aotearoa.

Some seven schools are currently successfully using the programme in our country and it is widely used overseas. As we have seen the positive effects on the character and well being of children participating, we would like to share the programme with as many schools as possible.

The programme is introduced in the following way:

Step 1

•  An explanation of the Programme, the benefits, and the steps of implementing it are made to the administrators of the school. If they are happy to participate in a trial class at their school a lesson is conducted once a week. This is a Direct Method Lesson which takes an hour to an hour and a half. The lesson can be modified to the time available.
• Trained Sathya Sai Educare teachers take the class once a week using the ‘Direct Teaching method’. This is a self-contained lesson, using the five teaching techniques of: Thought for the Day, Story, Song, Activity, and Quiet Time.

Step 2

• Teachers at the school, and others interested, are encouraged to observe the class and the teaching techniques used.
•  If there is sufficient interest in expanding the lessons to other classes free training is offered.
•  Once teachers and others are confident in delivering the programme, the ownership is passed to the school. Ideally the whole school becomes an Educare school, where all teachers and administrators are aware of, and practice the human values. Human values are ‘caught, not taught’, and example is the best method of imparting them. The chancellor of the Institute of Higher learning once gave two pieces of advice on how to be a good teacher. The first was: ‘Be a good example, the second was the same as the first.’

Step 3

• As teachers learn the programme, it can expand from one class per week, to one lesson a week in each class.
• The teaching delivery is transferred from our teachers to the teachers, parents or whanau of the school, with continuing support and materials from the Sathya Sai Educare Team.

Step 4

• Once the school experiences the benefit of the programme, values teaching can be integrated into all the all subjects of the curriculum.
• Training on integration of the values in the subjects of the curriculum can be made available.
• Sai Educare teachers will be made available for this training.
• Books from the Sathya Sai Institute will be available to the school. If English is not the medium of instruction, the content can be translated.
• It is recommended that all those involved in caring for students at the school take part in the programme.

Step 5

• The child is part of a triangle. At the base of that triangle are the teacher and the parent. The apex is the child. The nurturing of the child is the responsibility of both the parent and the teacher. The ancient call of the Vedas declares: ‘Mother, Father, Teacher, and God. Meaning Mother first, father second, teacher third, and God fourth. This acknowledges the enormous emphasis on the role of the mother, who carried the child in the womb, nurturing it with her own blood, went through the pain to bring it into the world, and nurtured it in its early years. Next it acknowledges the father, then the teacher, then the creator, who made it all possible, as no one can claim to have assembled the trillions of cells, each performing its specific function.
• The welfare and future of the child is dependent on all, and all should work together to allow the child to fulfill its inherent potential. The Sai Educare programme includes a parenting component, which introduces the parent to the universal aspect of the Human Values, so that the child is supported in both the school and the home.

As the Institute of Sathya Sai Education - N.Z. is in its formative period of growth, it is important that it does not take on more schools than it can adequately manage. We do have trained teachers, and workshop facilitators in many towns and cities throughout the country, we also welcome others to join this group to network both the Educare programme and the Dynamic Parenting Programme, so that both are readily available.

We invite enquiries to the contacts listed on this web site.

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