Value-Oriented Education - Value-Oriented Research Material

Value-Oriented Research Material

The resource materials that could be suggested may consist of certain specific topics, among many others, which have been identified in view of several considerations. These include:

1. The idea that value-oriented education should be exploratory in character and the teaching-learning materials should provide to the learners a growing experience of exploration.
2. Powerful inspiration to turn to value-orientation is provided by biographies, autobiographical accounts, personal anecdotes, epistles, short poems, stories of humour, interest, brief passages filled with pregnant meanings, reflective short essays written in well-chiselled language, plays, powerful accounts of historical events, statements of personal experiences of values in actual situations of life, and similar other forms of scientific, philosophical, artistic and literary expression.
   Even a random collection of such material, if presented to students could be very useful and even inspiring.
3. As we all learn best by experience, personal or historical, it would be advisable to collect what can be called “lessons of history” or “lessons of culture”, and some kind of systematic presentation of these lessons could constitute a useful collection of resource materials.   
4. As the entire world is moving rapidly towards the synthesis of the East and the West, it seems obvious that our teaching-learning materials should foster gradual familiarisation of students with global themes of themes of universal significance, and materials should bring the students nearer to their own cultural heritage, but also to the highest that is available in the cultural experiences of all parts of the world.
5. It appears that there are three major powers that uplift human life to higher and higher normative levels, and these powers, if well illustrated through stories or real accounts of life or historical biographies or events, could be effectively conveyed to the learners for their upliftment. These powers are those of illumination, heroism and harmony.
6. An attempt should be made to select from Indian and World History such examples that could illustrate how these or some of them have a personality or an event and uplifted individuals or groups or even a certain historical epoch and contributed to the upward progress of humankind.
7. This upliftment could be one or many fields of human culture, physical, vital intellectual, ethical, aesthetic or spiritual. Thus the selected resource material could be multisided or even integral, and teachers can make use of this material in the manner and in the context which they need it in specific situations that might obtain or that can be created in respect of their students from day-to-day or from stage-to stage.

In view of the above, it is suggested that the general title of the scenes of resource materials that can be proposed to be prepared could be:

Illumination, Heroism and Harmony

And sub-title could be:

Explorations in Value-Oriented Education

Certain selected topics are listed below:

1.  Life of Angirasa: Exploration of Life and Discovery of the Truth.
2. Legend of Shunahashepa: Human Bondage, Liberation and Perfection
3. Legend of Savitri: Life, Death and Immortality; — Powers of Love and Truth-Consciousness
4. The Rishi and the Brahmacharin
   Vasishtha and Vishwamitra: The Ideal of Forgiveness
5. Shakuntala: Beauty in Bloom and Victory over Catastrophe.
6. Science and Art of Divine Life: The Message of the Ishopanishad
7. Harishchandra: Tests of the Truth in LIfe
8. Janaka: Liberated Kinghood
9. Yajnavalkya: The Militant Yogi

• Debate with Gargi
• Dialogue with Maitreyi

10. Nala and Damayanti: Chequered Experiences of Human Life
11. Rama: Ideal of Humanhood

• Virtues of Rama
• Rama and Sita
• Rama and Bharat
• Rama as King

12. Hanumana – Surrender of Life-Force to the Highest
13. Krishna in Brindaban: Life of Divine Play
14. Arjuna: Crisis in the Battlefield of Life
    • The Human Disiciple
15. Draupadi
16. Gods and the World: Selected Stories (Eastern and Western)
17. Alcestis: Savitri of the West     
18. Perseus the Deliverer
19. Siege of Troy and Birth of Hellenism
20. Legends of Odysseus: Adventures of Courage
21. Search for Utter Transcendence:
    • Life of the Buddha:
    • Buddha as a Student
    • Buddha as a Teacher
    • Buddha as the Greatest Personality of the World History

22. Life of Confucius - Instructions and New Awareness
23. Life of Lao Tse  - Instructions and New Awareness
24. Mahavira: Universal Love of Life and Peace
25. Socrates: Courageous Pursuit of Truth
    1. (Apology: the Great Platonic Dialogue)
    2. Crito, the Platonic Dialogue describing Death of Socrates
26. Socrates: Virtue is Knowledge & Plato:
    1. Learning is Recollection
    2. Knower of Reality
    3. Utopia of Collective Life and Justice
27. What Did He Really Achieve?
    1. Adventure and Ambition of Alexander the Great
28. Ashoka: Horror of War and Path of Peace
29. Augustus: The Great Experiment in Human Unity
30. Christ: Sermon on the Mount
    1. Crucifixion of Christ
31. Kalidasa: The Hero and the Nymph
    1. Tapasya of Parvati (Kumarsambhavam)
32. Vasvadutta
33. Varahamihira
34. Achievements of Ancient Indian Science: Charaka, Sushruta, Aryabhatt, Vedic Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrology, Agriculture, Archery, Grammar, Metallurgy, Physics, Chemistry, Biology.
35. Pursuit of Goodness: Nitishatakam of Bhartrihari
36. Life and Work of Shankara:
    1. à Brahman is Real, World is a Lie
37. Prophet Mohammed:
    1. Submission to the Will of the Supreme
38. Charlemegme
39. Haroun al Rashid – Viziers of Bassora
40. A story of Initiation: Sufi Wisdom
41. Search for Excellence and Perfection: Life and Work of Leonardo da Vinci.
42. Elizabeth - I
43. Shakespeare: The Poet of Life-Force
44. Akbar
45. Guru Nanak
46. Communion with Nature: Wordsworth
47. Rana Pratap
48. Joan of Arc
49. Martin Luther
50. Ecstasy of Divine Love: Life and Work of Sri Chaitanya
51. Proofs of the Existence of God and of the Human Soul
52. The Would-Be Gentleman: Life and Work of Moliere
53. Crusades
54. Shivaji
55. Spinoza’s Definitions of Virtues
56. Holding the Hand of the Pupil: Life and Work of Rousseau
57. Washington and the American War of Independence
58. Danton and French Revolution
59. Catherine of Russia
60. Napoleon
61. Kant and the Discovery of the Categorical Imperfection
62. A Lover of the Children: Life and Work of Pestolozzi
63. An Illumined Teacher and a Brilliant Pupil
    1. Have you seen God?
    2. Life and Work of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda
64. Discovery of the Child
    1. Life and Work of Montessori
65. Piercing the Veils of Darkness: Sullivan and Helen Keller
66. Queen of Jhansi
67. Industrial Revolution
68. Scientific Discoveries of Matter, Life and Mind
69. Life and Work of Rabindra Nath Tagore
    1. The Parrot’s Training
    2. Post Office
    3. Stories from Lipika
70. Lenin and the Russian Revolution
71. Rimbeau
72. Selections of Olivier
73. The Little Prince
74. Magister Ludi
75. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull: An Allegory
76. A Few Litters from a Father to a Daughter:
    1. Life’s Philosophy
77. The World as I see it.
78. A Freeman’s Worship
    1. What the Educator Needs and What His Pupils should Acquire?
79. Teacher-Student Relationship
80. War and Peace: The issue of our Age
    Man and Superman: The Issue of our Age
    Science and Spirituality: The Issue of our Age
    Can Human Nature be changed? The Issue of our Age  
81. A Message to Parents, Teachers and Pupils
    1. Ascent to the Truth