Letter to the educators coming to the ISKCON Pune conference.
AGTSP paoho I talked with Radha-Krsna Das for 34-minutes today. He is one of our greatest inspirations for work in Sastric Education in North America. We have a team of about five people now and are identifying our situation and how to go ahead.
Reviewing:
1) I think a simple, short answer, test from a good Question Bank of many, many, practical questions from the books is an essential for evaluation eg. what are the three mode, three levels of devotees, three types of suffering.
2) Short closed and open book essay questions oriented to practical application and preaching challenges that test for citations from the books.
3) Association with authorized teachers and fellow Students. This can be on-line in various degrees. With visiting scholars and required attendance in residential programs eg. RKD and I et al are planning a Retreat in Houston at the end of March that would require applicants for Bh. Sastri etc to all attend. Teachers and Students can associate. Students can be properly evaluated.
4) Certain number of hours.
5) Parallel lines of authority. Temples have to keep a standard of Deity worship in terms of the Ministry of Deity Worship, so there should be a standard of hearing and chanting to be certified as a Temple. Other side diplomas should not be granted without Temple perspective.
6) The BOEX at the current moment should be doing 70% academic evaluation and 30% character evaluation unless it is a case where the Teacher is also a part of the relevant Temple.
Offer variety of curriculum for different types of students.
7)All this will take time, my commitment, group work, to implement but we were the first to read one letter from Srila Prabhupada where he responded to Sriman Jayatirtha Das comments that we have discovered that preaching is good in Berkeley by saying "you have discovered that preaching is good in Berkeley because you have made the endeavor there. Anywhere you that you make the endeavor you will discover that preaching is good".
Is this in general line with everyone else's thinking?
Thank you.
HpS - ASA