To all
National Spiritual Assemblies
Dearly
loved Friends,
1. Across the globe
Baha'i communities are intently engaged in executing the provisions of the Five
Year Plan. Its opening months now
behind us, there is every indication that the study of recent guidance and
deliberations on the nature and extent of capacity developed thus far are
bearing fruit in focused, highly unified action at the grassroots. Principally through the efforts of homefront pioneers, in several hundred newly opened
clusters, the first stirrings of a programme for the
sustained expansion and consolidation of the Faith can already be felt, while
in several hundred more, further along the continuum of growth, a pattern of
rigorous activity is taking hold.
Meanwhile the friends in those clusters in the forefront of learning are
gaining mastery over the dynamics that characterize rapidly expanding,
relatively large communities.
2. In this connection, we
are particularly happy to note the degree of effort being exerted in every
country to lend an added measure of vitality to the institute process, so
critical if increasing numbers are to participate actively in the work required
to bring into reality a new World Order.
The operation of the institute board; the functioning of coordinators at
different levels; the capabilities of friends serving as tutors of study
circles, animators of junior youth groups, teachers of children's classes; and
the promotion of an environment conducive at once to universal participation
and mutual support and assistance--nowhere is the centrality of these to the fulfilment of the community's God-given mission lost on the
friends. What has been especially
heartening to observe in this respect is the widespread mobilization of
resources dedicated to the junior youth spiritual empowerment programme. No
less encouraging is the zeal with which institutes have greeted the challenge
of preparing teachers for successive grades of Baha'i children's classes as
additional materials for this purpose have been made available. It seems timely, then, to offer National
Spiritual Assemblies and their training institutes
further guidance on the implementation of the main sequence of courses and
those that branch off from it.
"The
path of service"
3. A number of years ago,
to aid the believers in thinking about the process of growth at the level of
the cluster, we introduced the concept of two complementary movements. The progress of a steady, ever-widening
stream of individuals through the courses of the institute represents one of
these. It is not only responsible
for giving impetus to the other--the development of the cluster, discernable in
the collective capacity to manifest a pattern of life in conformity with the
teachings of the Faith--but also dependent on it for its own perpetuation. It was in view of mounting evidence of
the effects of the Ruhi Institute curriculum on these
two mutually reinforcing movements that we recommended its adoption worldwide
six years ago. At the time, we did
not comment specifically on the pedagogical principles governing the curriculum;
nevertheless, it should be apparent to the friends that the curriculum
possesses desirable characteristics, some of which have been described in broad
terms in our messages regarding the current series of global Plans. Of particular significance is its
organizing principle: developing
capacity to serve the Cause and humanity in a process likened to walking a path
of service. This conception shapes
both content and structure.
4. The main sequence of
courses is organized so as to set the individual, whether Baha'i or not, on a
path being defined by the accumulating experience of the community in its endeavour to open before humanity the vision of
Baha'u'llah's World Order. The very
notion of a path is, itself, indicative of the nature
and purpose of the courses, for a path invites participation, it beckons to new
horizons, it demands effort and movement, it accommodates different paces and
strides, it is structured and defined.
A path can be experienced and known, not only by one or two but by
scores upon scores; it belongs to the community. To walk a path is a concept equally
expressive. It requires of the
individual volition and choice; it calls for a set of skills and abilities but
also elicits certain qualities and attitudes; it necessitates a logical
progression but admits, when needed, related lines of exploration; it may seem
easy at the outset but becomes more challenging further along. And crucially, one walks the path in the
company of others.
5. At present the main
sequence consists of eight courses, though it is understood there may
eventually be as many as eighteen that will address acts of service related to
such requirements as coordination and administration, social action and
involvement in the discourses of society.
There are currently two points along the sequence at which an individual
may choose to follow a specialized path of service. The first appears at Book 3. From among the friends who complete it
and begin to offer a relatively simple class for children in the first grade of
a programme for their spiritual education, a
percentage will want to dedicate themselves to this field of service, pursuing
in time a series of progressively more complex branch courses for teaching
Grades 2 to 6. This does not mean
that they will abandon study of the main sequence. Indeed, courses that make up a
specialized path of service anticipate that participants are continuing to
progress, each at a pace suitable to his or her situation, along the path
traced out by the main sequence.
Book 5, which seeks to raise up animators of junior youth groups,
constitutes the second point at which a series of courses branch out.
6. Additional avenues of
exploration will no doubt appear along the main sequence in due time. Some may be of universal interest, such
as the two mentioned above, while others may be limited to specific local
needs. As with the main sequence
itself, content and structure must emerge out of continued collective experience
in the field, an experience that is not haphazard or subject to the forces of
personal preference but is guided by the institutions of the Faith. The generation of such an experience
will call for a still greater infusion of energy from a much larger portion of
the population, and it would be premature, in all but a few places, for
institutes to give attention to the creation or implementation of other branch
courses at this juncture in the unfoldment of the
current series of global Plans.
"Coordination"
7. Clearly, the approach
to capacity building described above represents an attempt to achieve a certain
dynamics within a population that brings together service and the generation of
knowledge and its diffusion, a subject which we discussed, albeit briefly, in
our Ridvan 2010 message. Here we address a few practical
considerations, which the emergence of the two aforementioned specialized paths
of service has made all the more relevant.
8. At any given moment it
is possible to view from one of two perspectives what occurs in a cluster as
the pattern of action promoted by the Five Year Plan, through which is woven
the fabric of a vibrant community life, gathers in strength. Both perspectives are equally valid;
each offers a particular way of thinking and speaking about what is taking
place. From one perspective an
educational process with three distinct stages appears in sharp relief: the first for the youngest members of
the community, the second for those in the challenging transitional years, and
the third for youth and adults. In
this context, one speaks of three educational imperatives, each distinguished
by its own methods and materials, each claiming a share of resources, and each
served by mechanisms to systematize experience and to generate knowledge based
on insights gained in the field.
Quite naturally, then, three discussions take shape around the
implementation of the programme for the spiritual
education of children, the junior youth spiritual empowerment programme, and the main sequence of courses.
9. From another
perspective one thinks in terms of the three-month cycles of activity through
which a community grows--the burst of expansion experienced as a result of
intense action; the necessary period of consolidation during which increases in
ranks are fortified as they, for example, participate in devotional gatherings
and the Nineteen Day Feast and receive visits at their homes; and the
opportunities designated for all to reflect and plan. The question of teaching among receptive
populations moves to the foreground in this light, and the challenge of seeking
out souls who are willing to engage in a conversation about the world around
them and participate in a collective effort to transform it comes into focus.
10. It is especially at
the level of coordination that it proves indispensable to step back and view
from these two vantage points what is essentially one reality. Doing so makes it possible to analyse accurately, to assess strategically, to allocate
wisely, and to avoid fragmentation.
At this point, then, early in the execution of the Plan, it seems more
vital than ever for attention to be devoted to the issue of coordination. Though the basic elements of an
effective organizational scheme are already well understood, the form it should
assume under diverse circumstances is in need of articulation. We have asked the International Teaching
Centre to follow efforts made in this direction, particularly in the several
hundred furthest advanced clusters worldwide, in order to effect the rapid
systematization of lessons learned.
11. In all such clusters,
where the demands of large-scale growth are asserting themselves, each stage of
the educational process promoted by the training institute must receive added
support. The work of the
coordinator should be reinforced by assistance from a growing number of
experienced individuals, and meetings for the exchange of information and
insights become regular and more systematic in approach. So, too, must periodic occasions be
created for the three coordinators appointed by the institute--or, where applicable,
teams of coordinators concerned with study circles, junior youth groups and
children's classes respectively--to examine together the strength of the
educational process as a whole. And
they, in turn, should meet on a regular basis with the Area Teaching
Committee. Further, if an adequate
flow of information, guidance and much-needed funds is to reach the cluster, a
parallel set of steps will have to be taken by the board of the institute to
enhance the functioning of that agency at the regional level. Where such a mature scheme of
coordination is brought into place, the Auxiliary Board members and their
assistants will be able to provide support across all areas of action with even
greater effectiveness.
12. One final point merits
reflection in this respect. Nearly
all of the several hundred clusters under consideration are associated with one
or another of some forty sites for the dissemination of learning established by
the Office of Social and Economic Development at the World Centre in response
to the overwhelming demand for the junior youth programme
experienced throughout the world.
Institutes operating in these clusters have already benefited over the past
year from knowledge gained through the sites, particularly in relation to
coordination of the programme. Without question, the capacity to
sustain scores of junior youth groups lent a powerful impetus to the progress
of all such clusters and contributed decisively to the subsequent development
of study circles and children's classes.
Sites supported by the Office of Social and Economic Development will
continue to assist training institutes in addressing the complex set of
questions arising out of the implementation of a programme
for an age group whose enormous potential must remain the object of ongoing
exploration. We look to the
institutes themselves, however, to foster the learning process necessary to
manage large numbers of children's classes and study circles, to put in place a
scheme at the cluster level that will strengthen coordination across their
three defined areas of action, and to open the flow of resources from the
regional level into the grassroots--this, to ensure the seamless progression of
sizeable contingents from one stage of the educational process to the next and
to facilitate the steady unfoldment of cycles of
activity so essential to systematic growth.
"Classes
for children"
13. Among the range of
questions now before every training institute one
stands out as particularly pressing:
how to mobilize sufficient numbers of children's class teachers for
successive grades and, by extension, tutors who can form groups to study the
requisite courses. The units that
comprise the three books currently available contain both materials for study
by teachers and lessons for children, allowing institutes to establish without
delay the first three grades of a six-year programme. To raise up an
initial corps of teachers for these grades, they may well have to employ
temporary measures. A good scheme
of coordination, built incrementally in keeping with demands on the ground,
should make it possible to respond to exigencies with a degree of flexibility
while maintaining the integrity of the overall educational process in the long
term.
14. Besides the systematic
training of teachers for successive grades, institutes will need to learn about
the formation of classes for distinct age groups in villages and neighbourhoods; the provision of teachers for various
classes; the retention of students year after year, grade after grade; and the
continued progress of children from a wide variety of households and
backgrounds--in short, the establishment of an expanding, sustainable system for
child education that will keep pace with both the growing concern among parents
for their youngsters to develop sound moral structures and the rise in human
resources in the community. The
task, while immense, is relatively straightforward, and we urge institutes
everywhere to give it the attention which it so clearly deserves, focusing
especially on the implementation of the first three grades of the programme and remembering that the quality of the
teaching-learning experience depends, to a great extent, on the capabilities of
the teacher.
15 A word of caution
seems to be in order. It is
certainly not incorrect to speak of "training" children's class
teachers or, for that matter, animators of junior youth groups. Institutes, however, ought to take care,
lest they begin to perceive their work as training in
techniques, losing sight of the conception of capacity building at the heart of
the institute process that entails a profound understanding of Baha'u'llah's
Revelation.
"Educational
materials"
16. In light of the
foregoing paragraphs, the question of educational materials specifically as
they pertain to children's classes and to junior youth groups has to be
considered. With regard to the
former, we explained in our Ridvan 2010 message that
the lessons prepared by the Ruhi Institute would
constitute the core of a programme for the spiritual
education of children, around which secondary elements could be organized. Whether or not any additional elements
are required to reinforce the educational process for each grade would
generally be determined by teachers themselves, on the basis of specific
circumstances, not infrequently in consultation with the institute coordinator
at the cluster level. It is assumed
that, if found to be appropriate, any additional items would be selected from
resources readily available. There
will seldom be cause to formalize the use of such items, whether directly
through their adoption by training institutes or indirectly through their
widespread systematic promotion.
17. In the case of junior
youth groups, a similar approach is encouraged by the Office of Social and
Economic Development. The core of
the programme consists of a series of textbooks
studied by the groups. We
understand that, at present, seven of a projected eighteen textbooks, exploring
a range of themes from a Baha'i perspective, though not in the mode of
religious instruction, are available.
These form the major component of a three-year programme. Another nine textbooks will provide a
distinctly Baha'i component, and two of these are currently in use. Animators are advised to complement
study with artistic activities and service projects. As with children's class teachers, the
institute coordinator at the cluster level can offer animators assistance in
determining how to proceed. Yet,
most often, such projects and activities are selected by the junior youth
themselves, in light of their own circumstances and inclinations, in
consultation with the group's animator.
18. In all such matters,
those serving as teachers and animators alike are called upon to exercise
discretion. Education is a vast
field, and educational theories abound.
Surely many have considerable merit, but it should be remembered that
none is free of assumptions about the nature of the human being and
society. An educational process
should, for example, create in a child awareness of his or her potentialities,
but the glorification of self has to be scrupulously avoided. So often in the name of building confidence
the ego is bolstered. Similarly,
play has its place in the education of the young.
Children
and junior youth, however, have proven time and again their capacity to engage
in discussions on abstract subjects, undertaken at a level appropriate to their
age, and derive great joy from the serious pursuit of understanding. An educational process that dilutes
content in a mesmerizing sea of entertainment does them no service. We trust that, in studying the institute
courses, teachers and animators will find themselves increasingly equipped to
make judicious decisions in selecting any materials or activities necessary,
whether from traditional educational sources or from the wealth of items, such
as songs, stories, and games, that are sure to be developed for the young in
the Baha'i community in the years to come.
19. Propelled by forces generated
both within and outside the Baha'i community, the peoples of the earth can be
seen to be moving from divergent directions, closer and closer to one another,
towards what will be a world civilization so stupendous in character that it
would be futile for us to attempt to imagine it today. As this centripetal movement of
populations accelerates across the globe, some elements in every culture, not
in accord with the teachings of the Faith, will gradually fall away, while
others will be reinforced. By the
same token, new elements of culture will evolve over time as people hailing
from every human group, inspired by the Revelation of Baha'u'llah, give
expression to patterns of thought and action engendered by His teachings, in
part through artistic and literary works.
It is with such considerations in mind that we welcome the decision of
the Ruhi Institute, in formulating its courses, to
leave for the friends to address locally issues related to artistic
activity. What we ask at this
stage, then, when energies are to be invested in the extension of children's
classes and junior youth groups, is that the multiplication of supplementary
items for this purpose be allowed to occur naturally, as an outgrowth of the
process of community building gathering momentum in villages and neighbourhoods.
We long to see, for instance, the emergence of captivating songs from
every part of the world, in every language, that will impress upon the
consciousness of the young the profound concepts enshrined in the Baha'i teachings. Yet such an efflorescence of creative
thought will fail to materialize, should the friends fall, however
inadvertently, into patterns prevalent in the world that give licence to those with financial resources to impose their
cultural perspective on others, inundating them with materials and products
aggressively promoted. Further,
every effort should be made to protect spiritual education from the perils of
commercialization. The Ruhi Institute itself has explicitly discouraged the
proliferation of products and items that treat its identity as a brand to be
marketed. We hope that the friends
will respect its diligence in this matter.
20. In this connection, it
gives us pleasure to inform you that we have created an International Advisory
Board to assist the Ruhi Institute in overseeing its
system for the preparation, production, and distribution of materials, the
content and structure of which now draw extensively on Baha'i experience
worldwide in applying the teachings and principles of the Faith to the life of
humanity. As it gradually takes up
its work, the Board will be able to respond to related issues and follow the
development of supplementary materials that are aligned with the direction set
by the global Plans.
*
21. In closing, we feel
compelled to address a few words to training institutes throughout the
world: It should be remembered that
the Baha'i children's class teacher and the junior youth group animator,
entrusted with so much responsibility for strengthening the moral foundations
of the community, will, in most places, be a young person in his or her
teens. Increasingly these young
people will emerge, it can be expected, from the junior
youth spiritual empowerment programme imbued with a
strong twofold purpose, both to develop their inherent potentialities and to
contribute to the transformation of society. But they may also come from any one of a
number of educational backgrounds with all the hope in their hearts that, through
strenuous concerted effort, the world will change. Irrespective of particulars, they will,
one and all, share in the desire to dedicate their time and energy, talents and
abilities, to service to their communities. Many, when given the opportunity, will
gladly devote a few years of their lives to the provision of spiritual
education to the rising generations.
In the young people of the world, then, lies a reservoir of capacity to
transform society waiting to be tapped.
And the release of this capacity should be regarded by every institute
as a sacred charge.
[signed: The
Universal House of Justice]
cc: International Teaching Centre
Boards of Counsellors
Counsellors