Baha'i Presentation to Uganda NCDC - 12 Oct 2012.ppt

A Baha'i Presentation to Uganda National Curriculum Development Center, to highlight the importance of moral education

1. Time for Universal Moral
Education
To National Curriculum Development Centre
Kyambogo, 12 October 2012
A presentation by the Bahá'í
Community of Uganda

2. The current initiative on
education reform through
reshaping of curriculum will
be very much rewarded as
present and future
generations become better
equipped for social peace,
progress and prosperity

3. The overarching importance of education
Education
can, alone,
reveal the
great
potential of
the human
race

4. Is the
foremost
agency that
can help
mankind carry
forward an
ever-
advancing
civilization
Education

5. The three
types of
education

6. Is concerned
with the
development
of the body
1. Material and physical Education

7. Human and social Education
Deals with the
elements of
human
inventions,
such as the
sciences and
the arts

8. Moral education
Focuses on
acquiring
human
virtues

9. The Importance of moral education
“A child that is cleanly,
agreeable, of good
character, well-behaved—
even though he be
ignorant—is preferable to
a child that is rude,
unwashed, ill-natured,
and yet becoming deeply
versed in all the sciences
and arts”

10. “A human
being with
good
behaviour is
of benefit to
mankind,
though he
may be
illiterate …”

11. Being a determining factor, moral
education must take precedence over
book-learning

12. However, education
systems worldwide
place greater
importance on book
learning and
academic training
over education for
moral values and
human virtues – yet
at a great cost …

13. Knowledge, in
the absence of
morals,
becomes a
frightful
danger

14. Today’s
educational
systems worldwide
are capable of
producing
professionals and
academicians who
easily place their
skills and
knowledge at
service of unethical
practices

15. When
morals
wane …

16. Crime goes rampage, ranging from
murder to arson, and armed
robbery to sexual assault …

17. Corruption
spreads in civil
service and
private
business on
expense of
people’s
welfare and
prosperity

18. The gap between the abjectly poor and the
extremely rich widens with no end in sight
…

19. Environmental degradation for
selfish material benefits deprives
future generations enjoy a healthy
Planet

20. Violence becomes the norm in family & society,
fuelled by drug and alcohol abuse,
unrestrained sexual appetites, and other
damaging pursuits …

21. What options
do we have?

22. The First
Option
Enact more
laws and
empower the
penal system
to enforce
them

23. But the situation on the ground shows
that the legal enforcement approach often
fails, notably with quite serious crimes,
examples …

24. When entire communities engage in
genocide to eliminate each other

25. And when
crafty
outlaws get
away with
their
crimes

26. And when the
victims of
domestic
violence are
either too
forgiving or too
helpless to
obtain redress

27. The second option
Empowering
generations
to develop
their human
conscience
through
moral
education

28. Moral empowerment
Enables people to make the “right” decision
and take the “right” course of action even at
the expense of personal interests

29. Moral Empowerment
Safeguards the dignity of all God’s creatures, and
builds on their inherent worth and capacity

30. Religion: the Source of Morals
•It is through religion that
humanity receives morals in
the form of Divine Teachings
revealed by God’s Messengers
down through the ages

31. •Is “the chief instrument for the
establishment of order in the world
and of tranquillity amongst its
peoples”
•"Should the lamp of religion be
obscured, chaos and confusion
will ensue, and the lights of
fairness and justice, of tranquillity
and peace cease to shine."
Religion

32. God’s Great Religions
Stimulated and
refined mankind’s
capacity to love,
understand reality,
and achieve social
progress

33. God’s Great Religions
Defined what is good and
what is bad

34. God’s Great Religions
Developed our inner
faculty to identify
and apply virtues

35. The two main parts of religion

The spiritual part
It “never changes” … it is
God’s “one code of
morality”

36. The two main parts of religion
The secondary (the practice)
part
It “deals with exterior forms and
ceremonies”
It differs from one religion to
another, from one sect to another

37. The changeless part of religion
Avoidance of
bad qualities
and
acquiring
human
virtues

38. In the spiritual
part of religion:
the human
virtues are
common to all
faith
Truthfulness
Trustworthiness
Justice
Equity
Courtesy
Wisdom
Patience
Forgiveness
Capacity to
serve
Sacrifice

39. Religion as
light and
darkness

40. Religion as
LightReligion
dramatically
influences
human
progress and
raises faith-
based
civilizations

41. Focuses on
morals and
emphasizes
the ‘The
Golden Rule’
Religion as Light
To treat others
the way you
would like
others to treat
you

42. “Let no man do to
another what would
be repugnant to
himself.”
[Krishna: Mahabharata,
5: 5 – 7]
The Golden Rule in Hinduism

43. “What is hurtful to
you, do not to your
fellow man, that is
the entire law; all the
rest is commentary.”
[Moses: Talmud: Shabbat
31a]
The Golden Rule in Judaism

44. “And as you wish that
men would do to you,
do so to them.”
[Jesus Christ: Luke
6:31
The Golden Rule in Christianity

45. “No one of you is a
believer until he
desires for his
brother that which
he desires for
himself.”
[Hadith Sharif]
The Golden Rule in Islam

46. The Golden Rule in The Bahá’í Faith
“Blessed is he
who preferreth
his brother
before himself.”
[Bahá'u'lláh: Tablets, p. 71]

47. Teaches standards of
behaviour that
creates social unity
Collaborates with
other faiths for
raising future
generations that
appreciate
universal peace
and harmony
Religion as Light

48. In order to
remain a
unifying force
religion needs
to be taught
free from
fanaticism

49. Religion as Darkness:
Fanaticism
Holding tenaciously to manmade
“superstitions and rituals which
are at complete variance” with
the essence of religion, and
“often prevent good results from
being obtained”

50. Religious fanaticism in history
Wiped out one-
third of
Europe’s
population in
the thirty-year
war ( 1618-
1648) between
Catholics &
Protestants

51. Religious fanaticism in history
Triggered two
centuries of
senseless wars
known as
‘The
Crusades’
between the
Christian and
Muslim
worlds

52. Religious fanaticism today
Stifles social
progress in
many parts
of the world,
whether
developed or
developing

53. Religious Fanaticism today
One of the
reasons
behind
Europe’s
most recent
genocide in
the Balkans

54. Religious fanaticism today
The world-
engulfing
plight of the
Twenty-First
Century, with
no end in
sight

55. Ideal religious education
•Should not indoctrinate
beliefs that differ from
one sect to another and
alienate a student from
the other

56. Ideal religious education
•Should focus on the
universal values that
are common in all
denominations and
faiths

57. Further
pedagogic
considerations

58. A successful attempt
at educational reform
must recognize the
nobility of mankind
and its capacity for
sublime
achievements

59. Our pedagogic
concept of
children should
reflect an
awareness that
what they need
most is the
rectitude of
conduct

60. The current
focus on pursuit
of personal
material
benefits shall be
replaced by an
emphasis on
putting oneself
to service of
others

61. Ideal pedagogic
approaches
Encourage diversity of thoughts and develop
the students’ inquiring mind and
independent search after truths

62. Education shall aim
at instilling a desire
for excellence into
the hearts of the
students and endow
them with a strong
volitional capacity

63. Since Uganda is a
part of an
interdependent world,
with many of our
problems requiring
international
solutions, we should
raise younger
generations that
appreciate diverse
cultures and interact
harmoniously with
various faiths & races

64.  Each
student must
be taught
that “he is
the brother
of the people
of all
religions and
nations”

65. Since the majority of students do not
continue schooling beyond the to
graduation levels
School leavers cannot
be of service to
society unless they are
sent with a useful skill
or craft, and taught
to value work in the
spirit of service

66. When teaching skills and crafts
We nurture
positive self
concept and
encourage
the child to
experiment
and be
creative.

67. Catering for diverse regional needs
Curricula should
cater for the
specific needs of
various regions
of Uganda, with
a special
emphasis on
agriculture &
environment

68. May God
Bless You
All!