Having attended a session with the International Teaching Centre Counselor Stephen Hall, thoughts related to the topic of the spiritual education of children and junior youth (CJY).have been with me.  I will begin with a paragraph from a previous entry that started out on the topic but then veered off on a tangent.

At the core of all this, I believe, is a passionate commitment within me to witness change in the Bahai Community where we move away from a quantitative analysis to one with a qualitative emphasis that sows the seeds of development. More specifically, the discourse needs to focus on the quality of experiences that CJY are having as a result of their participation in these programs & activities.  In order to approach the task in a methodical way, I will employ a tri-partite framework that explores:

• The education of CJY;
• The role of CJY in the 5 Year Plan;
• The International teaching Centre's vision regarding what we know and what we really don't know about this field.

The education of CJY has been the focus of several communications from the Supreme Institution.  In a recent letter (get the date) mention is made of the dislocation of the CJY worldwide and their involvement in slavery, pronography, war, victimization, physical, mental, spiritual and sexual abuse, and many more atrocities to which they are increasingly subjected.  This dark reality seems to be the perfect springboard for gaining an understanding of exactly why it is that we have been asked to invoke an outward looking orientation in our activities with this population where all the CJY in our neighborhood are our responsibility.  The only solution to the plight of the children of the world is, unmistakably, the vitality of the Plan in such wise that there is a synergy between this injustice that is addressed by the Plan and the process of growth in which the spiritual education of CJY is the first and most foundational activity.  In this milieu, both the Rulers and the Learned of Baha need to train new human resources to meet the needs of CJY.

A starting point for this initiative may be to conduct a survey to determine the needs of a given community with both imagination and courage.  In this way, we may effectively reach out and overcome older mindsets about the whole matter.  One notion that must be dispelled through this process is the false idea that by reahing out to the children of the wider community, we are somehow watering down classes for our children thereby harming the efficacy of them forming Bahai identities.  What is a true and lasting Bahai identity for our CJY if not that of acting as a "...throbbing artery pulsating in the body of the entire creation, that from the heat generated by this motion there may appear that which will quicken the hearts of those who hesitate?"  This is exactly what happens when our CJY are involved in a grass-roots community building outreach program where they are co-architects of the blueprint for the spiritual education of themselves and of others their own age and older.  We are asking our CJY to move away from being passive receptacles of virtues, religious stories and historical facts to that of heroes and heroins acting as agents of change in the age in which they live where their young lives are reverberating to the frequency of the Zeitgeist.  In fact, who the CJY are and how they see themselves in relation to their peers as Bahais will forever be transformed through tehir participation in this revolutionary process.  Furthermore, no serious attempt on our part at community building can ignore the moral and spiritual education of CJY because it serves as the best means for strengthening the roots of the Faith in the community. 

The Messages from the House and from the ITC are replete with instructions explaining that:

• CJY cannot be seen and treated as mere adjuncts;
• CJY must be trained to give speeches with clarity and eloquence;
• CJY ought to receive a training that empowers them to be devoted to the service of all humankind;
• CJY must become effective teachers of the Cause because the true source of purpose in this world is diffusing the divine fragrances;
• CJY play a key and unique role in the advancement of the Plan-one that is vastly different from adults.  We must find the means by which CJY can play their roles in this process.

1. The spiritual education of CJY should be open to all within a neighborhood context;
2. The spiritual education of CJY is an integrity-based portal to Entry by Troops in such wise that it is not a means to the end of converting the masses, but rather an end in itself by responding to the moral and spiritual needs of CJY.  The fact that entire families are attracted to and respond to the call of the Beloved after seeing the positive changes in their children is a natural by-product of the process and is neither controlled nor mediated by us;
3. The spiritual education of CJY is a sign of the maturation of our collective consciousness of our responsibility for the spiritual education of the children of the world;
4. The spiritual education of CJY invites mothers and children to move away from the periphery of community life by participating in a dynamic child-development centered community;
5. The spiritual education of CJY requires that teachers be in a perpetual state of transformation where they become co-learners with the children both spiritually and pedagogically.  One central question that emerges under this heading relates to how well the teachers are supported in this process. The teachers gain rich and significant insights continually and be cognizant of the fact that as educators involved in Bahai education, they stand at the forefront of the education of the world while drawing upon both the material and spiritual lines of knowledge. 
6. The spiritual education of CJY requires that the curriculum be founded upn the Word of God thereby transcending cultural bonds and ties, with service to humanity replaces knowledge as the foundational axis around which the curriculum revolves.  Knowledge and its acquisition become mere components of an educational system that seeks to change the world.;
7. The spiritual education of CJY bears, as a natural outcome, the fruit of CJY becoming teachers of the Faith where there is an intimate link between the growth of the Faith and the development of the community at large.

WHAT WE KNOW:

• That there is high receptivity to Baha’u’llah in any community where effective Bahai children’s classes have been conducted on a consistent basis;
• That our trained children’s class teachers are highly under-utilized;
• That Bahai children’s classes are being carried out as activities lacking joyfulness and deep meaning;
• That, as a result of not using supplemental materials along with the Ruhi books, children are being exposed to a repetition of the same materials over and over again;
• That children themselves aren’t engaged in a process of action and reflection as a capacity building endeavor;
• That the capacity of Bahai children as teachers of the Cause is under developed;
• That there is no real on-going development of Bahai class teachers within a process of action/reflection…along these lines, the House has asked that there be what they have termed “encounters” between these teachers where they come together in a climate of learning in order to sharpen their pedagogic and spiritual skills and tool sets.

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: 

•  The number of Book 3A graduates;
•  Whether those tutoring Books 3 & 3A are themselves practitioner children’s class teachers;
•  The age ranges of children participating in Bahai classes;
•  How widely the Bahai lesson plans are being used throughout the community at large;
•  The extent of supplemental materials being used;
•  The quality of experiences of the children in these classes;
•  The level and quality of teacher development;
•  The proportion of the classes that are actually neighborhood classes;
•  What percentage of children participating in Bahai children’s classes are actually graduating into the Jr. Youth classes;
•  The extent to which secular knowledge and methodology in being employed in Bahai children’s classes;
•  The extent to which early learners are being exposed to creative learning in play environments;
•  The extent to which children’s parents are being expected to be engaged in and participating in their children’s classes.

POINTS FOR CONSIDERATION:

• The fact is, that if we see children as agents of change, then their transformation will naturally impact the lives of their families;
• Teachers must have the boldness to provide their insights about the spiritual development of these people’s children through the identification and development of strengths;
• The service project/practical aspect of the neighborhood children’s classes involves the process of implementing the lessons in the upcoming week in their lives;
• We must move away from a narrow interpretation of what is valuable and must plug people’s passions into the core activities;
• Finally, each one of us must ask this question:
  • What targets am I setting for myself in my neighborhood and what strategies am I planning to create and follow to accomplish these goals?

Let's talk about identities.  What’s interesting is that I’ve operated in two different worlds very comfortably at different times. I think I get this from my dear father.  On the one hand, I’ve operated in a geometric, academic, structural world…seeking a sense of belonging in this kind of environment where I've become more of an intellectual creature. At times though, I’ve been at odds with this setting, finding that some of those people aren’t of my ilk. Conversely, there has been the business/sales world where I've come into constant contact with common folks. This has been a place where I’ve also lived, where I’ve been comfortable in, where my heart has been, where I have been vocal, casual and where I blended in. I didn’t think of myself as anything special in those places. I just blended in with the street scene here and felt good about it.    Being at my pioneering post in Portugal gave me the gift of experiencing the beautiful blending of both these realities in my work.   

This is the kind of a feeling I suppose everyone gets when they go back to a place and time that was a bastion of happiness…kind of a secure place in the world (even if for a short time)…a place of happiness…and you go back and you relive it. And of course, you look at the outside around you in the moment and realize you can never really recapture those moments again. There is a place of regret and loss. It is very hard for us to really move on from where we were raised, especially if we spent the greater part of those formative years in one place.  We are part of these memories, those buildings, those streets, those people, those sounds, those tastes, our heart and memories are here, we’re part of everything that transpired here.   Revisiting that place would be a kind of a day dream. It seems you can’t either hate the past or love it. Rather, we might do well to make amends with the past and achieve some form of reconciliation between these two extremes where we find a firm foothold in the future.  I feel this way as I think of Fargo, North Dakota.  I wonder if Zimbabewe is a place that evokes similiar feelings for mbt.

Difficulties & disappointments give texture to a soul. When two wounded souls come together, you feel as though a spark is being emitted from these two that can flame into something greater. They become nurturers who require people around them...in varying degrees and intensities at different times.  They become attracted to people that require attention…people who are hurting.   They try to bring out the best in others without feeling that they have to perform in any way. They can just be themselves. Empowering by bringing out the positive in people.  I see this tendency in myself and mbt when we are together.  

These are things I' ve been thinking about today. 

Ever since attending last Wednesday evening session with Counselor Hall, thoughts related to this topic have been incubating inside of me. I now feel compelled to jot down some thoughts that may serve as seeds for a project that will serve the needs of children and/or junior youth (CJY).

At the core of all this, I believe, is a passionate commitment within me to witness change in the Bahai Community where we move away from a quantitative analysis to one with a qualitative emphasis that sows the seeds of development. More specifically, the discourse needs to focus on the quality of experiences that CJY are having as a result of their participation in these programs & activities.

The interesting thing is, that this conversation has begun as a result of several encounters I've recently (the last couple of years)had with yong adults who had been in one of my CJY sessions over a decade ago at Green Acre. Time and again, they have spontaneously expressed to me how their interactions with me during those formative years shaped their Bahai identities and infused them with a deep love for Baha'u'llah and His Revelation. Needless to say, I've been both shocked and humbled by such sharings and suggestions. It is for this reason that I am compelled to write about the subject in an attempt at initiating an action-oriented refleciton on my CJY spiritual education experiences. 

This weekend a strange thing happened to me. I ran into Sharon with her 3 children in the lobby of a Hotel amidst several hundred Bahais. As I stood there talking to her and getting to know her lovely family, I recalled a deep wound that had cut into my heart some 10 years ago. It was a cold December night in Maine. I lived in a small room in a house on summer street in Summerville, Mass. Some months back, I had relocated myself to New England in the hopes of marrying the woman I loved so dearly. She lived in Concord New Hampshire and had also moved down to the Boston area in order to pursue a Master's Degree in teaching ESL. We were determined to go pioneering together to Portugal first and then to the rest of the world thereafter. Here I was at Green Acre, in a room filled with junior youth (JY). Robin Murphy was directing the week...I was a counselor and had just received a call from my employer telling me that I had to be back at work in Boston the following morning. Sharon and I were in a bad situation owing to the fact that we both knew my mother would never consent to us being together. But what could we do? We still loved each other and had tried everything...Premarital counseling, the LSA, the NSA, Auxiliary Board Members, the Counselor and I had even called the Universal House of Justice...to no avail. Mom would not budge. We both believed it was because somehow Sharon didn't measure up to mom's standard of the kind of woman I should be with...anyway, it was what it was. As we stood in the room with only 20 minutes more before I had to leave, in walked this Persian Bahai man that I had never met before. He could not get his eyes off of Sharon, and she was obviously embarrassed by this fact. I just stood and watched. Later, as I was washing dishes, Sharon came up to me and asked how I was. I explained that I was very hurt, but accepting of the fact that I could not give her what she wanted to badly, which was a Bahai marriage, knowing full well that she was so ready to start a life with a good Bahai man. I told her, moreover, that I felt this man was a good candidate for her...he seemed loving, kind, very attracted to her, and boyond all that, he had lost both his parents at a tender age. He needed a family and didn't bring the baggage of a complicated middle eastern family to the situation. Her very beautiful American family could take him in, he could love them, and the two of them could live together in felicity and love. I cried as I said this. She screamed that I am insane and that I should just leave now because I am way out of line. Fine. She was right. I left. Several months later, I was back at Green Acre sitting with a group of JY in front of the Sarah Farmer Inn talking about relationships, love, fidelity etc. And out of the front doors walked Sharon and Sabah hand in hand, having just come down from saying prayers in 'Abdul-Baha's room. My jaw dropped as did that of those JY because they all knew the story. I just sat there in shock because my worst nightmare and craziest suggestion had actually come to pass. One of the most hurtful things I have ever felt in my life was when, a few minutes after that, Robin Murphy (who had witnessed all this) came over to me, put his arm around my shoulder, and said: "isn't it just amazing that the very thing we men fear the most and make the most noise about with respect to the woman in our lives actually comes to pass in the field of love? Kind of makes you wish you had said nothing that day doesn't it?" I just sat there heartbroken...

Back in Stamford this last weekend...I had just walked out of a talk by Counselor Hall where he spoke about the importance of working with CJY...and I was wondering why I ever stopped this work that I love so much. What was it that put such an abrupt stop to this field of service? 

Then, I walked out playing with my phone so as to look busy and not invite contact with any human beings as I walked thought the sea of bodies...I ran into someone and dropped my phone...after picking it up, I looked up and apologized...and I stared at Sharon holding the hands of her two kids, at a conference that had actually been organized by Rebecca Murphy with her presence so omnipresent...I remembered Green Acre, Becky, Sharon, Myself, Robin, I recalled that moment some 10 years ago...staring at Sharon and hearing these words from Becky's husband...that situation, those words, those images all swirled inside of me as I stood there. Can you imagine what I felt? What I thought? What did all this mean? After sitting with Sharon and her family at lunch for some minutes...I repaired to a corner of the lobby, almost too weak to stand from the weight of the past and present bearing down on me at the same time...knowing full well that God is trying to tell me...or about to tell me something very significant. As I stood there in confusion with a body weakened by a case of the common cold, I got a call on my cell phone. It read: "unknown number". Great, I thought to myself...let's see what's next. Then I heard the voice of my sweet beloved, of my beautiful princess, of my loving and kind lover, of the woman in whose eyes I see my unborn children. She was just calling to say hi to me. She saved me from a situation of complete bewilderment. All at once, I found a foothold to grab onto and not be thrown into an abyss of undeciphered sadness, regret, guilt, anger and remorse. It was as if God was telling me: "look...you gave up on serving the needs of the spiritual education of CJY that day on the porch of the Sarah Farmer Inn because you thought so much had been taken away from you...and you had associated that pain with your path of service that you shine so brightly in. I have decreed that you travel the world for 10 years, being away from it all to see the deep hunger you have for working with this population...a yearning that has only been reawakened because I had those very children and youth come to you as adults to hold a mirror to your face of what you did for them. Now, here, at this moment, stand up and declare the words "HERE AM I, HERE AM I" before me...humble yourself and know that this leg of your journey has ended. You have consulted with an ITC Counselor about re-committing yourself to this most important work...and I have given you Tanja...this radiant woman who has no equal in the radiance of her heart and in her matchless beauty...and she just called me on the phone...another unknown number. Now I will speak to my love…