Young people today are totally oblivious to the importance of dedicating their lives to great ideals. It is up to the parents to endeavor to make their children lead purposeful lives.

--Sathya Sai Baba

As children grow, their characters and personalities develop in relationship to their families, friends, and society. The family is the foundation that shapes and moulds a child's character and personality. The family unit serves as a training ground for children to develop kinship, cooperation, sharing, empathy, and understanding. A firm foundation in these values established through family life, gives each individual the capacity to transcend the boundaries of the immediate family, culture, and ethnicity, to experience the oneness with the family of humankind.

The parents -- or guardians -- are the first and most powerful role models and teachers for the children. It is predominantly through their example and influence that children become who they are. Therefore, the role of parents is vital in bringing out the goodness of their children.

In order for the Sathya Sai Education Human Values program to have the greatest impact on children, it is important to involve parents in the process of the program. When parents understand the principles and components of the program and accept the responsibility to reinforce the values and objectives of the lessons at home, then the values and principles taught will become an integral part of the children's lives.

A unique aspect of this character development program is the focus on teachers as exemplars and how they implement the program. Whether youth service workers, caregivers, program directors, or schoolteachers, Sathya Sai Education in Human Values teachers hold the key to the effectiveness of this program. Their commitment to practicing the values in their own lives and their enthusiasm for this program will ensure the powerful impact this program can have on developing children's innate goodness, abilities, and love. In the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values teachers' hands, each lesson-plan component is a dynamic tool that plays an essential part in the process of fostering the development of the human values. Each lesson must prepare them for lives well-lived, and not only prepare them for successful careers in their present and future environments.

Parents, teachers, and students are greatly benefited by the use of this Program. Many have reported that the atmospheres in their homes and in their classrooms have become more peaceful, more loving, more cooperative, and more conducive to promoting the joy of effective learning. Disciplinary problems and the display of negative behaviors have been significantly reduced, while students' quest for deeper understanding and their satisfaction with learning have greatly increased.

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