This first principle is five fold. (1) The facilitator needs to recognize that children reflect who we are, and be ready to learn along side the child. (2) The facilitator also needs to become aware of the true transformational qualities of learning and understand learning is growth. (3) It is also important that the facilitator experience the duality of the teacher/student relationship and (4) the partnership that can be nurtured between the teacher and student. And lastly, (5) the facilitator ought to see how authentic experience strengthens this partnership.

Creating a space for Growth is one of the most integral aspects of the Satya Method. The facilitator is a catalyst for growth for herself as well as the child. Facilitators experience transformation and learning while teaching when they notice what the child is mirroring to them. Children reflect who we are. When facilitators experience mental, emotional and spiritual growth, a stage will be set for the child’s learning. Furthermore, after the facilitator opens to her own transformation by seeing herself in the mirror of her students, she can easily experience the duality she lives as both teacher and student.

This duality naturally offers a strong partnership between facilitators and children. Like any strong partnership, this relationship calls for honesty, sincerity and respect. Teaching is empowering when we are honest with ourselves, sincere with our students and respectful of the qualities our students reflect back to us. Lastly, the child’s respect for his facilitator is essential and is earned when the facilitator has authentic experience with the techniques being shared.

Principle #2
Setting a Tone for Fun
Students learn more when fears are overcome and exciting activities are used to inspire learning.

A primary factor in determining a child’s openness to experiencing new ideas is the climate of the learning space. Whether you refer to this as the tone, atmosphere, vibe, or mood, the facilitator makes choices that create this environment and lay the foundation for the child’s learning experience. First the facilitator makes choices about the class space. Is it inside or outside, light or dim, colorful or simple, large or small?

The facilitator must also make decisions about the non-physical atmosphere. Qualities that children and adults both crave while learning include safety, variety, stimulation, challenge, and inspiration. There is one atmosphere a facilitator can create that fulfills all of these cravings. Fun. Setting a joyful mood will help the child feel safe about venturing into new realms of understanding. Moreover, fun activities are stimulating and inspire the child to take a step in a new direction. Joyful games are challenging because they encourage a child to be spontaneous. And lastly, since games and fun are unpredictable, any number of outcomes takes place, offering variety. Simply stated, fun makes learning easy.

Principle #3
Teaching Through Experiential Learning
Facilitators introduce activities first and then lead a discussion about the abstract meaning of the lesson after the students have fully experienced the concepts.

No matter what is being taught, the facilitator can create a way for the child to personally experience the concept. To accomplish this, the facilitator enters into the mind of the child and looks through his eyes. While, vicariously experiencing a child’s world, facilitators imagine when a child would come in contact with the concept she is teaching. The Satya Method includes a specific meditation for this process. After the meditation, facilitators are clear about how to best introduce the child to the topic being taught.

The Satya Method is based on the facilitation of experience and learning, while traditional teachers focus on instruction. Instruction often involves a verbal explanation of the material being covered, while facilitating is dedicated to personal experience. Although the Satya Method emphasizes experience it does not exclude verbal elements. The difference is, the Satya Method encourages facilitators to use verbal explanations after most of the learning has taken place as a means of offering closure to what is being taught.

Principle #4
Sharing Personal Experiences with One Another
Facilitators encourage each student to tell the group what he or she experienced during the activity. In doing this, students learn from their peers and facilitators better understand how students experienced the lesson, guiding the facilitator to new depths.

When students listen to the experiences of their peers, they become aware of perspectives not considered before, including new interpretations of what was taught and alternative ways of applying these techniques. Most of all, listening to peers’ personal experiences introduces realms of experience to explore later. You might have enjoyed these benefits during journaling. Verbalizing our experience offers another chance for us to process the experience. The more we process our experience the more we understand new ideas and integrate them into our current beliefs.

When children speak to others, they hold their experience in our consciousness longer, which helps them remember parts of their experience they might have otherwise forgotten.

Principle #5
Addressing the Practical Use of Each Lesson
Facilitators show students how to choose a specific situation in their lives when the lesson learned will be useful. Facilitators and students explore together What did we do that for? and When can I use this?

After the child has personally experienced the technique or lesson the facilitator is sharing, the child then needs to intellectually understand the true purpose of the lesson. Asking the simple question, What did we do that for? is an excellent way to prompt the child to explore the practical use of the information and experience he has gained. The child’s ability to come up with a personal reason is imperative. He is the most qualified person to decide when he will most benefit from the technique. He knows his life experience better than anyone else.

Principle #6
Using Art, Music and Writing to Reinforce Ideas
Facilitators offer art projects, creative writing ideas and music activities to create a space for students to explore their lesson further. When we participate in these activities we are able to hold our experience in our consciousness for additional time, which helps us remember the aspects of the lesson.

It is human nature to create after experience. Throughout history artists have created masterpieces following personal or public events. The art, whether it is music, writing or craft, has helped us as a human race heal from tragedy and celebrate beauty. A child using a crayon to draw a picture of something he experienced is just as momentous as Michael Angelo painting the Creation of Man with plaster and paint on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Both are examples of man celebrating his experience upon earth.

Creative projects reinforce the learning experience. While the child sits and stares at a blank piece of paper, he accesses memories of his experience. During this time he remembers aspects of his experience he might not have become consciously aware of otherwise. Accessing and processing these memories helps him see the beauty in the lesson and allows him to own his experience. While he transforms his experience into an expression of art, he empowers himself by making it even more personal. In a sense, he physically touches his experience when he creates a physical piece of art. A written poem, dance or song also helps him feel like the master of his experience.

Principle #7
Including Parents
Facilitators give students enough space to feel they are having an independent experience, while creating a space near by for parents to observe.

Parents enjoy advantages when they observe their child experiencing learning with the Satya Method. When parents witness their child's facilitator creating space for growth and partnership with their child, they are inspired to use these leadership techniques on their own.

Moreover, when Satya Method facilitators have perfected the art of being the duality of both teacher and student, those observing can easily see the partnership between the facilitator and the child. Parents can see the dance between their child and her teacher and begin to dance a similar number at home. Furthermore, the children experience consistency between home and their outside learning environments, promoting feelings of safety, security and trust.