‘Value Education’ is a recipe for positivity. And in the present times, when the society is challenged by multitude of social problems, an onslaught of technology ‘bad effects’ and environmental degradation, values of harmony, peace, compassion and humility, which have for centuries been a part of the discourse of every society of the world, need to be reinforced. In this context, the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 was particular to promote peace education among children.
Taking a cue from the prevalent narrative and a need to act on adolescent minds, Oxford University Press (OUP), one of the globally respected textbook publishers, has come out with ‘Living in Harmony’ book series for class IX and X to provide study material on value education for these classes. OUP had already introduced this series for class I-VIII earlier and now the series is available in a revised version.
Authored by Mini Krishnan, a consulting editor with OUP and Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, ‘Living in Harmony’ book is a ten-part Ethics & Life Skills Education programme for Indian schools.
The books are very engaging and contain value-based stories that lead to discussions and insights, stimulating exercises to help children relate peace and values to real-life situations, experiential activities that help children improve their cognitive and social skills, Peace Posters—a blend of evocative visuals and interesting activities—which are designed to evoke interaction, comments and opinions from children with teachers acting as facilitators, etc. Teacher’s notes are available at the end of each book with lesson plans and topics for classroom interaction. Also, the books contain lessons on Life Skills to help children deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.
The series is specifically designed to sensitize students to the need for harmony and mutual respect among individuals and communities. It aims to help the young learners recognize their own responsibilities towards their environment and to instill in them the values that are vital to a meaningful and socially productive life.
