DON BOSCO SENIOR SECONDARY – NERUL: Teachers’ Value
Orientation Seminar
March 27, 2012: Nearly forty teachers
of Don Bosco Senior Secondary, Nerul were given a one-day Value Orientation
Seminar by Fr. Glenford Lowe in the school computer room. The day’s program
began with welcome words by Fr. Anthony Fonseca, Principal of the School and a
brief introduction to the sessions ahead. Fr. Lowe then took over with an
opening prayer song and a hymn to Don Bosco.
The entire program had three
sessions: Clarifying our Assumptions and Setting the Foundations, A deeper
Understanding on Value Education in the light of ‘Value Shift’ by Tonna-Hall
and, finally, the Practical Applications for Value Clarification in the context
of a School Assembly.
Using a PowerPoint Presentation and various
handouts, the Teachers were involved in a reflective discussion that challenged
them to have a perspective change on their Vocation as Value Educators of the
Young. Value education is an Education to Becoming. Through the use of ‘Value
Shift’, Fr. Lowe invited the teachers to Manage By Values (MBV) and to have a
deeper sense of Value Alignment to one’s Job satisfaction with Organization’s Job
performance
In the afternoon, the teachers
were asked to get into smaller groups and to prepare a ‘school assembly
outline, based on one of the Diamond Values. The teachers were guided in their preparations
based on the Value Clarification method as proposed by Louis Rath, Merrill
Harmin, and Sidney Simon in Values and
Teaching
At the end, on behalf of the school’s management
and teaching staff, Mrs. Joyce proposed the vote of thanks. Fr. Fonseca too
thanked Fr. Lowe for his insights and for enabling the teachers to a committed Value
Education in the entire school. Fr. Lowe took the opportunity to thanks the school management and the teachers for their very active participation in the Diamond Values Competition for the year 2011-12.
"Enriching and Learning Experience through different perspectives, through a child's mind and to help them to choose Values from various alternatives" Kiran Mhatre
The seminar on Value Based Education conducted by Fr. Glenford Lowe, was an eye-opener. It broadened my vision and changed my perception of how we should concentrate on the 'Education of Becoming' rather than just 'being'. The activity with the jigsaw puzzle, made us realize that we often need to deconstruct in order to construct something new and larger. The seminar gave me 'hope' to help be a catalyst of change in a 'hopeless' situation.
