INTRODUCTION TO VALUE EDUCATION - Unit-I

Value education

1. 20MC002 Universal Human Values 2: Understanding Harmony

2. UNIT-1 INTRODUCTION TO VALUE EDUCATION

3. VALUES: Values are individual beliefs that motivate people to act one way or another. They serve as a guide for human behaviour . Generally, people are predisposed to adopt the values that they are raised with . value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live, or to describe the significance of different actions. Values are essential to ethics.

4. Types of Values

5. Human Values: The basic human value ‘man in nature’ rather than ‘nature for man’ needs to be infused through the same.

6. Social Values: Love, compassion, tolerance and justice which are the basic teachings of most of our religions need to be woven into environmental education. These are the values to be nurtured so that all forms of life and the biodiversity on this earth are protected.

7. Cultural and Religious Values: These are the values enshrined in Vedas like “you give me and 1 give you” (Yajurveda) emphasize that man should not exploit nature without nurturing her. Our cultural customs and rituals in many ways teach us to perform such functions as would protect and nurture nature and respect every aspect of nature, treating them as sacred, are it rivers, earth, mountains or forests.

8. Ethical Values: Environmental education should encompass the ethical values of earth-centric rather than human-centric world-view. The educational system should promote the earth- citizenship thinking. Instead of considering human being as supreme we have to think of the welfare of the earth.

9. Global Values: The concept that the human civilization is a part of the planet as a whole and similarly nature and various natural phenomena over the earth are interconnected and inter-linked with special bonds of harmony. If we disturb this harmony anywhere there will be an ecological imbalance leading to catastrophic results.

10. Spiritual Values: Principles of self-restraint, self-discipline, contentment, reduction of wants, freedom from greed and austerity are some of the finest elements intricately woven into the traditional and religious fabric of our country.

11. VALUE EDUCATION Value Education is the education which enables to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human happiness. It is all about enabling a transformation in the human beings to help them move from Animal Consciousness to Human Consciousness. Value Education means teaching and learning of ideals. The aim is for students to understand moral values and show their good behavior and attitude towards society. They are namely sensitivity, punctuality, neatness, scientific attitude, dignity of labour , sportsmanship, equality, brotherhood, patriotism, secularism, cooperation, tolerance, respect for elder, non-violence, national integrity, universal brotherhood.

12. Importance of Value Education Value education shall always play a very crucial role in the development of the child and our society as our values are moral guides. Assimilating this value through education will invigorate an individual’s physical, mental, enthusiastic prosperity. Value education helps in the most extreme advancement of a youngster’s character, perspectives, propensity, development, and so forth.

13. Components of Value Education Character Education: Character or moral education is a very important component of value education. It helps an individual to become well mannered, well-behaved, and socially acceptable well beings. Health Education: This type of education is designed for individuals to gain knowledge and skills to maintain one’s or another person’s health. Environmental Education: This education enables individuals to explore environmental issues and take essential measures to solve them. It helps them to take responsible decisions to maintain environmental quality.

14. Human Rights and Value Education Human Rights Education (HRE) is discovering that builds up the KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and VALUES of human rights with the expansive objective of building a general human rights culture. As such, understudies ought to know about the issues, worried by the issues, and equipped for defending human rights.

15. Process of Value Education Universal – all time, all place, all individuals Rational – logical, appeals to human reasoning Natural – Naturally Acceptable to human being & there is provision in Nature for its fulfilment Verifiable – through one’s own Natural Acceptance as well as experience in Living All Encompassing – covering all aspects of human existence Leading to Harmony – among human beings and with nature.

16. There can be following four methods that can be adopted for value education:- Individualized Learning Group Learning Project Learning Open Learning

17. Objectives of Value Education To improve the integral growth of human begins. To create attitudes and improvement towards sustainable lifestyle. To increase awareness about our national history our cultural heritage, constitutional rights, national integration, community development and environment . To create and develop awareness about the values and their significance and role. To know about various living and non-living organisms and their interaction with environment.

18. Need for Value Education Correct identification of our aspirations Understanding universal human values to fulfill our aspirations in continuity Complementarity of values and skills Evaluation of our beliefs Technology and human values

19. Basic Guidelines for Value Education Universal: It needs to be applicable to all the human beings irrespective of cast, creed, nationalities, religion, etc., for all times and regions. Rational: It has to appeal to human reasoning. It has to be amenable to reasoning and not based on dogmas or blind beliefs. Natural and Verifiable: It has to be naturally acceptable to the human being who goes through the course and when we live on the basis of such values it leads to our happiness. All Encompassing: Value education is aimed at transforming our consciousness and living. Hence, it needs to cover all the dimensions (thought, behaviour , work and realization) and levels (individual, family, society, nature and existence) of human life and profession. Leading to Harmony: The value education ultimately is targeted to promote harmony within the individual, among human beings and with nature.

20. Scope of Value Education Covers all 4 dimensions as an Individual: Thought Behaviour Work Understanding/Realization Eg . In Thought – we want to have clarity (a state of resolution, solution) NOT confusion ( a state of problem) Covers all 4 levels as a Society: Individual Family Society Nature/Existence Eg . As a Family, Society – we want Fearlessness / Trust

21. Content of Value Education To understand myself, my aspirations, my happiness To understand the goal of human life To understand the other entities in nature, their inter- connectedness and co- existence and role of human being in nature To understand harmony at the four levels of human living

22. SELF-EXPLORATION: Exploration = Observing Outside, Self-Exploration = Observing Inside

23. SELF-EXPLORATION Self-exploration is a process of discovering that there is something innate, invariant and universal in all human beings. This enables us to look at the confusions and contradictions within us and resolve them by becoming aware of our natural acceptance. Self-exploration is the process to find out what is valuable to me by investigating within myself, what is right for me, true for me, has to be judged within myself. Through self-exploration we get the value of ourselves.

24. Purpose of Self-Exploration • It is a process of dialogue between ‘what you are’ and ‘what you really want to be’.

25. Self-organized and self-expression

26. Natural Acceptance: It is the process of seeing and observing attentively and then using your inner conscience to get the answer from within. It is a way to bring out the goodness in everything naturally. Natural acceptance implies unconditional and total acceptance of the self, people and environment.

27. Characteristics of Natural Acceptance: Natural Acceptance does not change with time/age Natural Acceptance doesn’t change with place Natural Acceptance is innate; we don’t need to create it. Natural Acceptance does not change with the individual. Natural Acceptance is uncorrupted by likes and dislikes or assumptions or beliefs. Natural Acceptance is definite.

28. Realization and Understanding : Self-exploration ultimately results in right understanding of the entire existence i.e “realization of .existence”, “understanding of harmony”. Once we have the right understanding and when our imagination is fully guided by it, we reach to a state of continuous harmony and happiness within.

29. This realization and understanding leads to the following answers – Assuring – We feel assured, we have no doubt about it. This is because it is based on our natural acceptance, which is intrinsic to us and inseparable from us. Satisfying – We all have the need to know, to understand. When we understand something, it is satisfying, it is fulfilling for us. Universal – We are able to see that right understanding is definite and invariant with respect to Time – It holds good in all time – past, present and future Space – It is the same at all places or locations Individual – It is the same for every human being

30. Realization and Understanding:

31. THE BASIC HUMAN ASPIRATIONS – CONTINUOUS HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY All human beings basically aspire for/ want the following in their life: Continuous Happiness Prosperity

32. Happiness: It’s a process of assemble circumstances which make a person feel happy.

33. Prosperity: The material things or what we say physical facilities is related to prosperity. It is conception that to acquire more physical facilities are prosperity. To know what prosperity is two things are essential. Correct assessment of need for physical facilities. The competence of making available more than required physical facilities.

34. Understanding Happiness, Prosperity and Wealth: Happiness: Happiness may be defined as being in harmony/ synergy in the states/ situations that we live in. Happiness is being in a state of liking. Prosperity: It is the feeling of having more physical facilities than required. Prosperity creates a desire to share what one possesses. Wealth: Wealth is a physical thing. It means having money, or having a lot of physical facilities, or having both.

35. Prevailing notions of Happiness and Prosperity: The false notions of happiness and Prosperity have affected human living at all four levels: At the level of Individual: Problems of depression, psychological disorders, suicides, stress, insecurity, psycho-somatic diseases, loneliness etc. At the level of family: Breaking of Joint families, mistrust, conflict between older and younger generations, insecurity in relationships, divorce, dowry tortures, family feuds, wasteful expenditures in family functions etc. At the level of Society: Terrorism, naxalism , communism, casteism , racial, ethnic struggles, wars between nations, genocide, nuclear genetic warfare. At the level of Nature: Global Warming, pollution, depletion of mineral resources, deforestation, loss of soil fertility.

36. THE PROGRAM TO FULFILL BASIC HUMAN ASPIRATIONS The basic requirements for fulfilling the aspirations of every human being are: Right Understanding: This refers to higher-order human skills – the need to learn and utilize our intelligence most effectively. Good Relationships: This refers to the interpersonal relationships that a person builds in his or her life – at home, at the workplace, and in society. Physical Facilities: This includes the physiological needs of individuals and indicates the necessities as well as the comforts of life.

37. Basic requirements to fulfil the aspirations

38. Physical facilities

39. Expectation vs Reality

40. Animal consciousness and Human consciousness

41. Priority Order: Hence for a continuous happy living, we need to work for all the three in the given order: Right Understanding Relationships Physical Facilities Right Understanding + Relationship = Mutual Fulfillment ( gives a feeling of satisfaction and happiness) Right Understanding + Physical Facilities = Mutual Prosperity ( leads to enrichment of our lives as well as enrichment of Nature)

42. Priority Order:

43. Living in Harmony at all levels of living with the help of Right Understanding: At the level of Myself At the level of Family At the level of Society At the level of Nature/ Existence