New school opening in Woodstock, NY

[Punya]

A new school opening in Woodstock, NY, this September will offer a primary school education based on the Buddhist understanding of wisdom and compassion. The Middle Way School will be nondenominational and aims for high academic achievement while teaching Buddhist ethical frameworks and contemplative practices. It will begin offering kindergarten and first and second grade classes in the fall and will grow by one grade a year through the twelfth grade.

Made possible by a grant from the nonprofit Khyentse Foundation and guided by the teachings of Bhutanese teacher and filmmaker Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, the Middle Way School intends to build a model for Buddhist education that can be replicated around the world.

https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/buddhis ... ry-school/

[Mantrik]

Good luck to them.

The last venture I came across, run admittedly by dippy Buddhists who failed to understand the UK's requirements for a school curriculum, safety etc. , closed before the Govt could actually shut it down as as putting children at risk.

If there are local legal, staffing, welfare and curriculum requirements this new school may find it is unable to spend much time at all on the sort of teaching it would like to give.

[Könchok Thrinley]

Good luck would be nice if it worked, but honestly I think religion should stay out of schools.

[kirtu]

Good luck to them.

The last venture I came across, run admittedly by dippy Buddhists who failed to understand the UK's requirements for a school curriculum, safety etc. , closed before the Govt could actually shut it down as as putting children at risk.

If there are local legal, staffing, welfare and curriculum requirements this new school may find it is unable to spend much time at all on the sort of teaching it would like to give.

This is not the first Buddhist school to open in the United States. There have been two Buddhist schools in Honolulu sponsored by the Honpa Hongwanji, a Jodo Shinshua organization: the Hongwanji Mission school, an elementary school has been operating from 1949 and at the hs level, the Pacific Buddhist Academy since 2003. In California there are at least two Buddhist schhools operated through the City of 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. Then there are a few Buddhist affliated schools operated by people associated with various Buddhist groups.

In this case Woodstock has some major advantages starting with a highly educated but unfortunately upper class clientele in the Buddhist communities in the area.

Kirt

[Malcolm]

In this case Woodstock has some major advantages starting with a highly educated but unfortunately upper class clientele in the Buddhist communities in the area.

Bit of unnecessary editorializing there, friend.

"Student, beings are owners of kammas, heirs of kammas, they have kammas as their progenitor, kammas as their kin, kammas as their homing-place. It is kammas that differentiate beings according to inferiority and superiority."

[Virgo]

https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/buddhis ... ry-school/

I think it is technically in Saugerties.

Kevin

[Punya]

Good luck to them.

The last venture I came across, run admittedly by dippy Buddhists who failed to understand the UK's requirements for a school curriculum, safety etc. , closed before the Govt could actually shut it down as as putting children at risk.

If there are local legal, staffing, welfare and curriculum requirements this new school may find it is unable to spend much time at all on the sort of teaching it would like to give.

Having heard Noa speak about the school before, I am aware that a great deal of thought and planning has gone into its establishment and it has a lot of behind the scenes support.

[Punya]

Good luck would be nice if it worked, but honestly I think religion should stay out of schools.

Yes, this is the conventional view these days. As if public schools do not impart any kind of philosophy, conformity or stifling of creativity.

[Punya]

Good luck to them.

The last venture I came across, run admittedly by dippy Buddhists who failed to understand the UK's requirements for a school curriculum, safety etc. , closed before the Govt could actually shut it down as as putting children at risk.

If there are local legal, staffing, welfare and curriculum requirements this new school may find it is unable to spend much time at all on the sort of teaching it would like to give.

This is not the first Buddhist school to open in the United States. There have been two Buddhist schools in Honolulu sponsored by the Honpa Hongwanji, a Jodo Shinshua organization: the Hongwanji Mission school, an elementary school has been operating from 1949 and at the hs level, the Pacific Buddhist Academy since 2003. In California there are at least two Buddhist schhools operated through the City of 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. Then there are a few Buddhist affliated schools operated by people associated with various Buddhist groups.

Kirt

Agreed. There are Buddhist schools successfully operating in Australia too.

In this case Woodstock has some major advantages starting with a highly educated but unfortunately upper class clientele in the Buddhist communities in the area.

Well, I guess you have to start somewhere if you are trying to create a prototype. Flexibility and adaption will surely be required in different settings.

[Könchok Thrinley]

Good luck would be nice if it worked, but honestly I think religion should stay out of schools.

Yes, this is the conventional view these days. As if public schools do not impart any kind of philosophy, conformity or stifling of creativity.

Naturally they do, just like every state does, but it is better to have a state that is separated from religion. Why? Because then we can have laws that do not care about what is a sin or not. The same way with schools. I do believe it is way better to give kids information about the world without any sort of religious or philosophical colouring as possible. Is it possible to do it completely? No, teachers are just humans too. But lets be honest, religion in schools so often comes with weird things, like creationism being better than evolution, sex education is often only about abstinence and the important methods that work too are shunned, etc. Kids are quite capable of doing the information colouring themselves, they know how to handle information and put it into their own worldview.

[Punya]

Good luck would be nice if it worked, but honestly I think religion should stay out of schools.

Yes, this is the conventional view these days. As if public schools do not impart any kind of philosophy, conformity or stifling of creativity.

Naturally they do, just like every state does, but it is better to have a state that is separated from religion. Why? Because then we can have laws that do not care about what is a sin or not.

I'd have to cautiously agree with you there. As much as I'd like to see an enlightened Buddhist State operating, I can't think of a single good example. Even Bhutan, with its much-lauded gross national happiness, has its flaws.

The same way with schools. I do believe it is way better to give kids information about the world without any sort of religious or philosophical colouring as possible. Is it possible to do it completely? No, teachers are just humans too. But lets be honest, religion in schools so often comes with weird things, like creationism being better than evolution, sex education is often only about abstinence and the important methods that work too are shunned, etc. Kids are quite capable of doing the information colouring themselves, they know how to handle information and put it into their own worldview.

I don't know about the USA, but in Australia religious (mostly Christian) schools are not going to go away anytime soon. They are subsidised by the state. So I'd like to see a range of alternative schooling options for parents to consider.

You haven't defined what "the important methods that work" are, but I can't see how modern learning methods couldn't be Incorporated successfully into a Buddhist ethical framework.

Also, teachers may only being human, but what about the flaws of a curriculum based on scientific materialism. There is no such thing as "information" that is not biased in some way or other, especially in the case of what information you do or don't provide.

[Könchok Thrinley]

Yes, this is the conventional view these days. As if public schools do not impart any kind of philosophy, conformity or stifling of creativity.

Naturally they do, just like every state does, but it is better to have a state that is separated from religion. Why? Because then we can have laws that do not care about what is a sin or not.

I'd have to cautiously agree with you there. As much as I'd like to see an enlightened Buddhist State operating, I can't think of a single good example. Even Bhutan, with its much-lauded gross national happiness, has its flaws.

The same way with schools. I do believe it is way better to give kids information about the world without any sort of religious or philosophical colouring as possible. Is it possible to do it completely? No, teachers are just humans too. But lets be honest, religion in schools so often comes with weird things, like creationism being better than evolution, sex education is often only about abstinence and the important methods that work too are shunned, etc. Kids are quite capable of doing the information colouring themselves, they know how to handle information and put it into their own worldview.

I don't know about the USA, but in Australia religious (mostly Christian) schools are not going to go away anytime soon. They are subsidised by the state. So I'd like to see a range of alternative schooling options for parents to consider.

You haven't defined what "the important methods that work" are, but I can't see how modern learning methods couldn't be Incorporated successfully into a Buddhist ethical framework.

Also, teachers may only being human, but what about the flaws of a curriculum based on scientific materialism.

Well the methods are bad choice of wording but I meant condoms for example.

I am from Czechia so as a European I have a totally different view of such institutions, plus given the fact that communism has reigned in my country for almost 50 years we are quite well seperated from the church. So that is why I carry so much suspicion towards religion in schools and at a state level.

I do not want to praise traditional schools here, but in Czechia they worked so far, however thigns are changing and seems like at least here there is huge need for more alternative methods in schools but also for money.

In ideal world I would love to see buddhist schools around the globe. After all I do believe that buddhism carries some values and methods that can help everyone. But given the fact what has happened in all those catholic schools, hare krishna schools, hell even in "normal" schools. I do think it would be better to stick with western pedagogical theories here and stay away from mixing religion into education.