Aspiration – Synergy – Practice

Approximately 300 Auroville teachers working in schools and other educational initiatives under the SAIIER umbrella participated in at least one of two Integral Education Practitioner Gatherings held from October 4th – 6th and again from November 3rd – 5th. Having been requested by the Foundation Office to put together an Integral Education training programme for all teachers, SAIIER invited the lead individuals from all educational units to take part in designing “a gathering for practitioners to come together to share and learn”. A core group formed to organise the gatherings around aspiration, synergy and practice. The intention was for each participant to be able to deepen their aspiration about Integral Education and their understanding of it, feel a synergy with a community of practitioners, and to take something back for their respective practices to their classrooms and schools.

Although the daily format was meant to start with early morning yoga sessions, these were cancelled for the gathering in November due to rain. Each day, therefore, began with a plenary talk meant to offer inspiration. Over the course of the two gatherings, participants heard from a series of individuals who have explored Integral Education in depth in Auroville or at the Ashram: Dr. Alok Pandey, Jean Yves Lung in conversation with Lopa Mukherjee, Dr. Ananda Reddy, Shivakumar and Deepti Tewari. Participants then split into small study groups to read passages by The Mother and Sri Aurobindo on Integral Education. There was space to share and discuss participants’ own relevant experiences and practices. Afternoons were spent in a wide range of small group activities and interactions, featuring various forms of art, music, movement and more. On the last day, the participants offered their own activities. Many participants found the choice of activities at both gatherings interesting and worthwhile, but it was felt that the sessions were too short to achieve any real depth. 

The gatherings featured a team building and system thinking game to mixed reviews, and both wrapped up with feedback and reflection on next steps. Overall, the gatherings were felt to be well organised, even though many participants felt they were running a three-day marathon. 

Sanjeev Ranganathan elaborated on the experience. “It wasn’t teacher training. We were all practitioners getting together to learn from each other. None of us knows it all, but everyone may have experienced something that someone else has not experienced. We wanted teachers to experience a systems perspective, to think about the culture and environment they are creating in the classroom, in their team, and within the larger community of Integral Education practitioners.

“I think there was definitely a deepening of our understanding about the four aspects of physical, vital, mental and psychic; being able to distinguish between what comes from the physical and what comes from the vital; and how to address these in line with Integral Education. We were able to reflect on our classroom practices and the challenges we face and how we have or will address them. For example, many of the outreach school teachers were looking at the challenges of covering an exam syllabus with Integral Education.

“People appreciated the space, the coming together. We added strength to each other. And we had fun.”