August 31: “I discovered that the law of Love could be best understood and learned through little children.” –Gandhi (Speech at Montessori Training College, London, 1931) Gandhi and Maria Montessori were great admirers of one another. In her interview with Gandhi, around October 9, 1931, Gandhi told her that his friends in India say that… read more
Tag Archives: education
“The POWER of Knowledge”–Daily Metta
August 3: “[In the Ashram] Everyone is encouraged to acquire full knowledge of his own subject.” –Gandhi (Ashram Observances in Action) While imprisoned in the Aga Khan Palace with Gandhi and Kasturba (Gandhi’s wife) Sushila Nayar remembers a conversation that revealed to her an insight about the mind of the Mahatma. She and her… read more
“Teaching by example”–Daily Metta
May 23: “On Tolstoy Farm we made it a rule that the youngsters should not be asked to do what the teachers did not do.” –Gandhi (Autobiography) Gandhi felt that the best method of education for children (ok, for everyone) was through personal example. Hence, when children “misbehaved” at the ashram, instead of punishment, he… read more
Restorative Justice in Schools-A video
This video defines what restorative justice is, what it looks like in schools, and both students’ and teachers’ perspectives of restorative justice. When the principles or restorative justice are employed in a preventative manner across the school, we call these processes restorative practices. –Submitted by Joseph Gardella, Metta Center Strategic Advisory Council Member.… read more
My Life is My Message–Questionnaire
The following questionnaire draws upon Gandhian principles to help educators evaluate their starting point for developing nonviolence throughout the school year. (This was found in our files from an educators’ conference we hosted in 2008. The author is unknown.) View the PDF of the questionnaire at this link. *** ‘My life is my message’ Questionnaire… read more
Teaching Nonviolence by Building Community in the First Week of School
It’s time to go back to school! As Dr. Gabor Mate explains, “Educators should be in the emotional attachment business before they are in the academics business.” Before you can even think about teaching your students, you have to give them a reason to appreciate your class. In other words, students won’t care about what you teach until you… read more
Over 100 UC Berkeley Concerned Faculty Sign Open Letter To Chancellor
November 22, 2009 Open Letter from Concerned Members of the Faculty to Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau, We, the undersigned faculty, are writing to voice our strenuous objection to the use of unwarranted violence by the police forces enlisted by the University of California (UC) at Berkeley to patrol the student demonstration outside of Wheeler Hall… read more
Opening Public Spaces: Study-in at the Library
Pulling an All-Nighter to Transform the UC by some students, workers and faculty of UC Berkeley. On September 24th, called to direct action by university faculty, workers and students, thousands walked out of the classrooms, offices, and labs at the University of California, Berkeley. We stood shoulder-to-shoulder on Sproul Plaza, in numbers not seen for decades.… read more
Bringing Forward Wisdom in Adolescence
Bringing Forward Wisdom in Adolescence: A forum for parents, educators, and faith leaders Saturday, 21 Feb 2009, 10 am – 1 pm 1 Fort Mason (at Franklin & Bay) in San Francisco $10 family / $7 single / $5 before 7 February “What experiences will help young people develop the compassion and integrity that our… read more
