ST. ANNE'S HIGH SCHOOL - BORIVILI: TEACHERS' VALUE ORIENTATION
July 17, 2013: Back after three years, the AVEC team once again were invited to St. Anne's High School for an Orientation program in Value Education for Seventy Seven teachers. Sr. Gracelin Rose Mary, Principal of the school, welcomed all the teachers of the secondary and primary to the Orientation program and thanked the AVEC resource personnel - Fr. Glenford Lowe and Mr. Rochwyn Fernandes, for having accepted the invitation to animate the school teachers on "Management By Values" (MBV). On behalf of the school Management and Staff, Mrs. Malvina Vertes, officially gave the words of welcome.
The first part of the session, Mr. Rochwyn Fernandes thanked the management for the warm welcome. A prayer song, 'Sarweshaam, Swastir Bhavatu' was a prayer of blessing for one and all. He then took the teachers through a fantasy meditation and invited the teachers to slow down, through a rhythmic breathing process, and to focus on their life's journey so far. They were invited to inhale all that was good and positive and exhale everything that was toxic and negative. A brief report of AVEC activities and achievements were presented to the participants. He also introduced Fr. Glenford Lowe to them.
Fr. Glenford Lowe, at the start of the session, invited the teachers to be ready for a new perspective change. Citing examples from 26/11 and differentiating between a 'career' and ' vocation', he started the ball rolling towards making a VALUE SHIFT. The world of the young, with its new problems and situations, were something of an eye opener and the teachers were invited to recognize what was happening in their world. "Once you become a 'Value guru', then your students too will make the necessary 'Value Shift' in their lives", he said.
Using a PowerPoint Presentation, coupled with examples from everyday situations and challenges, the teachers were able to check on their own lifestyles and to identify the power of their words. The importance of alignment of Personal and Institutional values were also explained to them. "No one is called to live merely on the level of survival. We are all invited to move higher up the scale, make the necessary shifts in our Values and live a better lifestyle", he added. Plotting one's Values on the Brian Hall - Benjamin Tonna Value map, the teachers were able to gauge their value consciousness. He then took some time to give some insights on the Value map.
It was a four hour session, time well spent. At the end of the session, Mrs. Josephine La Rive proposed the vote of thanks and invited the teachers to do their 'home work' too!
A few teachers wrote their comments in the AVEC appreciation log book:
"A very good session. Made me change from my comfort zone and to be more willing to be more better" - Cynthia
