The document discusses improving education in ISKCON by focusing on character development, teaching students to apply what they learn, and using inquiry-based learning. Key points include training students to teach each other, using questioning to facilitate understanding, and providing follow-up support to help students implement lessons in their lives through personal coaching and mutual teaching arrangements. The goal is to produce devotees who are leaders, preachers and spiritual guides through an education system that holistically develops intelligence as well as heartfelt devotion.

2. PLAN
 Sastric references
 Beyond academics
 Ideas
 Implementation tools
 Importance of Inquiry in Education
 The Choice Map, Q-Storming
 Proposals

3. SRILA PRABHUPADA
 “Real education means solving all life's problems.”
- Teachings of Lord Kapila
 “Education means one becomes a gentleman.”
- Lecture BG 4.14-19 New York 3 August 1966
 “Education means one is very gentle and learned. “
- Lecture SB 1.2.6 Mauritius 5 October 1975

4. WHO IS LEARNED?
 matrvat para-daresu para-dravyesu lostra-vat
atmavat sarva-bhutesu yah pasyati sa panditah
"One who considers another's wife as his mother, another's
possessions as a lump of dirt and treats all other living
beings as he would himself, is considered to be learned.”
- Canakya Pandita
SB 9.10.27 Purport

5. STUDENTS SHOULD TEACH
 That is the way of Indian teaching, that there is one teacher, and how
he's managing hundreds? That means there are groups. One who is
elderly student, he's taking some beginners: "Write a or A like this."
That he can teach. What he has learned, he can teach. Similarly, next
group, next group.
 So in this way, one teacher can manage hundreds of students of
different categories. This is organization. Not that everything I have to
do. I cannot teach anybody to do it. That is not intelligence.
Intelligence is that employ others to help you.
 Train assistant so that in your absence things can be done. So the
elderly students, they could be ...
 Everyone should be teacher and student.
 Room Conversation -- July 31, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm)

6. MEEK AND HUMBLE
 As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, a person who is
actually a brahmana and is very learned must
automatically become very gentle also.
 If a person does not become meek and humble, all his
studies of the Vedas and Puranas and his vast
knowledge of the sastras are simply outward dress, like
the costume of a theatrical artist dancing on the stage.
 Krsna Book 78

7. We learn ... 95%
100 Teach
80%
90 Experi-
80 ence
70%
70 Discuss
50%
60 See &
50 Hear
30%
40 20% See
10% Hear
20 Read
0
William Glasser Institute

8. IDEAS
 Goals Beyond Academics
 Educating intelligence plus change of heart
 Character and competence
 Coaching and mentoring for students
 GITA Model (Goals – Ideas – Tests – Action)
 Students’ Mutual Coaching (Personal Questions,
Feedforward, GITA Model)
 Learn by teaching (William Glasser Institute)
 Teach less for more
 Misuse of sastra for misbehavior

9. IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS
 Prepare – Perticipate - Perform
 Weekly Life Organizer (for goals and daily action)
 Personal Coaching (for personal empowerment and
performance)
 The Learner/Teacher Approach and Three-Person
Teaching (students should teach, “Eeach one teach
one while being taught by one”)
 Win-Win-Win Agreements
 Inquiry

10. PREPARE
 Personal study and pre-work
 Establishing learning and service goals
 Identifying helpful resources and support systems
 Linking course content to your and ISKCON’s goals

11. PARTICIPATE
Participation in a course or a workshop can be a tremendous
catalyst for change. Such an experience provides:
 Focused concentration and immersion in a learning
experience.
 Sharing among participants that facilitates
implementation and service improvement.
 The creation of ongoing learning relationships among
participants.
 A safe place to experiment and practice new behaviors.
 Exposure to other perspectives and active dialogue.
 Inspiration, motivation, and vision to change behavior.

12. PERFORM
 Weekly Life Organizer
 Personal Coaching
 Self-paced learning
 Web-based tools
 Renewal workshops
 Online learning networks
 Three-Person Teaching (“Each one teach one ... “)
 Follow Up Agreements

13. FOLLOW UP RESULTS
 Clear, written results
 How much knowledge has been converted into
improved Vaisnava behavior and service?
 Vaisnava behavior and service is actively supported
through effective tools, follow-up events, coaching,
and other assistance.

14. FOLLOW UP AGREEMENTS
 Desired Results
 Guidelines
 Resources
 Accountability
 Consequences

15. IMPORTANCE OF INQUIRY
IN EDUCATION
 Athato brahma jijnasa
 SB 1.2.5
 Better questions – better answers
 Intelligent student – intelligent questions

16. INQUIRY
 Great results begin with great questions
 A question not asked is a door not opened
 Better questions bring better answers
 Self-questions and interpersonal questions
 Problem-oriented or solution-oriented
 Negative Questions or Success Questions

17. ALBERT EINSTEIN
 “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life
depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55
minutes determining the proper question to ask, for
once I know the proper question, I could solve the
problem in less than five minutes.”

19. Q-STORMING
 Rather than seeking new answers and solutions, create as
many new questions as possible.
 Get the best answers and solutions by asking the best
questions first.
 Questions open thinking.
 Empowers collaborative, creative and strategic thinking.
 A tool for moving beyond limitations in perception and
thinking and advancing to new, extraordinary solutions
and answers.
 Used to greatly improve decision making, problem solving,
strategic planning, and innovation.

20. Q-STORMING
 Based on three premises:
1) Great results begin with great questions
2) Most problems can be solved with enough of the
right questions
3) The questions we ask ourselves often provide the most
fruitful openings for new thinking and possibilities

21. Q-STORMING
 Done with a group or team of devotees, when exploring
ideas and possibilities.
 In goal-oriented conversations between two devotees, for
example, in coaching, leadership, management, or other
departments.
 Can be done in person or online, with a global devotee
team or a devotee in a different geographic location.
 Sharpens intelligence and memory

22. NEGATIVE QUESTIONS
1. What’s wrong (with me/others)?
2. Whose fault is it?
3. How can I prove I’m right?
4. Why is that person so stupid and frustrating?
5. Haven’t we already been there, done that?
6. How will this make things worse?
7. How can I be in control?
8. Why bother?

23. SUCCESS QUESTIONS
1. What do I want? 8. What can I learn:
2. What assumptions am I …from this person or
making and what are the situation?
facts? …from this mistake or
3. What am I responsible for? failure?
4. What am I missing or …from this success?
avoiding? 9. How else can I think about
this?
5. What is the other person
10. How can I make this a win-
thinking, feeling, wanting?
win?
6. What’s there to accept and 11. What’s possible?
forgive in myself/others?
12. What action steps make the
7. What questions should I most sense?
ask myself and/or others?

24. KRSNA CONSCIOUS QUESTIONS
 What is the most Krsna conscious thing to do in this
situation?
 How can I see this through the eyes of sastra?
 What would please Krsna here?
 What would Prabhupada do in this situation?
 What would I do now if Prabhupada was watching?
 What is the spiritual test that I have to pass here?
 What can I learn from this that will help me be more Krsna
conscious?
 How is this an opportunity to surrender to Krsna?

25. SUMMARY
 Education is meant to improve character and competence
of devotees
 Better to learn less but learn it, teach it and apply it well
 Skilled Inquiry could vastly improve learning and
application
 Education is meant to create leaders, preachers and
spiritual guides for devotees and other people
 Education with a Follow Up in the form of Personal
Coaching, Inquiry, Mutual Coaching, Personal Planning
and Three-Person Teaching could bring much greater
results for all concerned

26. PROPOSALS
 Work to broaden our vision of education, based on Srila
Prabhupada’s teachings
 Educational team makes a plan how to add Follow Up to
education and take better, holistic care of the students
 Helping students succeed as devotees, family members and
citizens become an important goal of education
 Involve devotees who could help with the enrichment of
the educational programs
 How? (More details available)

27. THANK YOU KINDLY!
http://gitacoaching.blogspot.com
akrura@gmail.com