 
See
the most recent
photos.
 
Co-Founder,
Debora Prieto,
teaching
3-2-1 Shadow to
the
Philosophy Classes.
 

 
 
Michael
'Mugaku' Zimmerman
skypes
in for a class on Zen
with
one of our classes here
in
Guatemala.
Articles
on Integral Theory:
(1)
(2)

Other
related articles:
Spiral
Dynamics
The
Big Mind Process
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Parents
who do not see the value
of
education let their kids work...
An
aspect of education here in
Guatemala is
to show parents
the value
of education.
When
education is valued, then
the girl in
the photo above could
go to
school instead of just
collecting
firewood to sell.

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Critical-Thinking
Program
Since
its inception in 2012, our
Critical-Thinking classes have
been attended
by over 4,000 sponsored and
non-sponsored students aged
between
13 and 21 years old from
impoverished towns and villages
in Guatemala.
The Isa Fund provided us with a
3-year grant (2014-2016) to place
six of our top students in
a fulltime Teacher-Training
Program. Some of these students
have been attending our
Critical-Thinking Program since
2010.
Education is the heart of our
work. The Critical-Thinking /
Advanced Functioning
Skills Program for teenagers is
about changing culture from the
inside out. We
are working towards this goal,
not by teaching our students what
to think, but
by teaching them how to
think for themselves.
While
the concept of critical-thinking
may seem simple to someone in a
developed
country, in Guatemala children
are taught by their parents that
their futures will be
a carbon copy of all previous
generations; a life of hardship
full of tough manual
labor and physical, emotional,
and psychological suffering. IHF
teaches them that
this is simply not true, and that
they are capable of rising above
this insidious cycle.
 
See the
most recent
photos.
As part of this program, we
also host guest lecturers,
in-person and by video-Skype
to work with our classes. See
photos and video and read more; Wisdom
Speakers

   
Click to see the most recent
photos of this program.
Research shows that children who
are taught morals, ethics, and
philosophy retain these valuable
beliefs and ideas through
adulthood, leading to a life of
greater awareness, tolerance, and
overall success. In Guatemala,
most teenagers are not given the
opportunity to learn about these
mind-expanding concepts, as the
circumstances they were born into
force them into a life of menial
labor and extreme hardship.
The Integral
Heart Foundation offers an
opportunity for children to
expand their minds and greatly
increase their chances of
breaking free from the cycle of
poverty. The goal of this
program, which began in 2010, is
to create conscious leaders
through an advanced educational
program, which includes the
development of mind, body,
spirit, and emotions to deliver
long-term sustainable solutions
in the resource-poor environments
in which they work.
The Topics:
In this program each adolescent
will be introduced to the
following:
- Emotional
Management / Concepts in Empathy
- Concepts of classic
philosophy, such as Plato &
Descartes
- Meditation, both the
posture, practice, and
application
- Awareness and
appreciation of world religions
- Sexuality and
appreciation of sexual
preferences
- Ego and Shadow and anger
management
- Potential,
self-esteem and self-love
- Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy to reduce depression
- Morals and ethics
- Human evolution and
evolution of consciousness
- Existentialism,
Pragmatism, and Fallibilism
- Values, value
hierarchies, and decision making
- Integral Theory / AQAL
and the ability to take multiple
perspectives
- The Big Mind Process
and Zen
IHF founders, teachers, and
authors Mick Quinn and Debora
Prieto teach multiple Integral
Philosophy / Critical-Thinking
classes several times per week to
boys and girls ages 13-20, many
of whom are also sponsored
through the IHF Sponsorship
Program. In addition to these
children receiving an education
of this kind (many
for the first time in their
lives), they are simultaneously
learning how to think
about the world and their
experiences in completely new
ways.
Measuring
Impact:
In order to measure the impact of
the Integral Education Program,
they collect data at three
different levels; student,
classroom and management, all of
whom operate in a resource-poor
context. In addition to the
positive feedback Mick and Debora
receive during these classes
themselves, they have also tested
the teenagers on how they think
about the world and their place
in it before the classes have
begun,
and again once they have
completed each year of classes.
For more on how we measure
results please
visit our impact page.
The Basis:
The classes at the
Integral School Guatemala are
based on the lifework of
Ken Wilber, American author and
philosopher whose work
formulates Integral
Theory. Ken Wilber has
written over 25 books that have
been translated into about 57
languages.
Integral Theory shows the
students how to deal with
challenges in a fresh and new
way, how to be open minded
to different cultures and
religions, and also alternative
strategies to violence and
crime.
Integral Theory begins
with the current level of
understanding of the class and
then supplements current
beliefs and understandings. It
builds upon that which already
exists, without denying or
degrading any of the systems of
thought or belief that have taken
the students to where they are
today.
Integral Theory teaches
individual competency and social
skills, and encourages taking
responsibility, not only for the
self but also for other
people.
The goal of the Integral
Education Program is to end
poverty through advanced
education. By using Integral
Theory we are broadening the
perspective of the individual to
embrace the global issues that
are facing all of us.
Program
Objectives:
Strategic Objective 1: Increase
and improve value, moral and
ethical knowledge amongst young
people aged between 13 and 20
years living in 4 communities in
the department of Sacatepéquez.
Strategic Objective 2: Increase
and improve knowledge of holistic
concepts of tolerance,
conscientiousness and compassion
amongst young people aged between
13 and 20 years living in 3
communities in the department of
Sacatepéquez.
Strategic
Objective 3: Increase and
improve the emotional control
abilities amongst young people
aged between 13 and 20 years
living in 4 communities in the
department of Sacatepéquez.
On-Going Program
Goals:
Development
of a curriculum suitable for the
Guatemalan culture, based on the
Integral Theory developed by the
American philosopher, Ken Wilber.
Introduction and
implementation of first quadrant
of curriculum (Individual
Interior the I) which
covers the concepts of Big Mind,
Philosophy, Spiral Dynamics, Zen
Meditation, Shadow, Morals,
Perspectives, and Values.
Teaching methods is very
interactive, including dynamic
exercises and group work, with a
focus on sharing experiences,
ideas and thoughts.
Review of first
quadrant of curriculum before
implementation of second quadrant
of curriculum.
Introduction and
implementation of second quadrant
of curriculum (Collective
Interior, the We)
which covers the concepts
of Ethics, Religions, Sexual
Relationships, Integral
Parenting, Work
Relationships, and our
Relationships with different
Species. Teaching methods is very
interactive, including dynamic
exercises and group work, with a
focus on sharing experiences,
ideas and thoughts.
Review of second
quadrant of curriculum before
implementation of third quadrant
of curriculum.
Introduction and
implementation of third quadrant
of curriculum (Individual
Exterior, the It)
which covers the concepts of
Martial Arts, Diet, Dreams,
Sciences, Energy, Exercise,
and Behaviors. Teaching methods
is very interactive, including
dynamic exercises and group work,
with a focus on sharing
experiences, ideas and thoughts.
Review of third
quadrant of curriculum before
implementation of fourth quadrant
of curriculum.
Introduction and
implementation of fourth quadrant
of curriculum (Collective
Exterior, the Its)
which covers the concepts of
Economics/Money, Law,
Family, Social Structures,
Health Systems, Governments,
Education, and
Anthropology. Teaching
methods is very interactive,
including dynamic exercises and
group work, with a focus on
sharing experiences, ideas and
thoughts.
Review of all
curriculum.
Projected
Results:
Overall leads
young people to learn about their
self worth and value to society,
based on morals, values and
ethics and the implementation of
these in their daily lives, and
through their own actions
encourage and teach others within
their family, community and
society.
Short term result:
provision of the opportunity for
young people participating in the
Philosophical and Critical
Thinking Program to learn about
critical life changing concepts.
Midterm result:
development of young peoples
abilities to identify, assess,
and control their own emotions,
and manage their responses to the
shifting emotional states of
other individuals and groups.
Long term result:
implementation of the
Philosophical and Critical
Thinking concepts learned as part
of daily activities in all stages
of life, therefore giving others
the opportunity to develop and
learn the same concepts.
More
about Integral:
You can see
Curriculum Maps here.
About Guatemala:
Guatemala
is a republic. It is 108,890
square kilometers (42,042 square
miles),
that is about the size of
Virginia, half the size of the UK
and a little bigger than
Ireland. Guatemala is the next
country south of Mexico and with
a population
of 14 million people, it is the
second most densely populated
country in
Central America.
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