“One small step for man, one large leap for mankind”
By Gopi Gita devi dasi - TKG Academy Vice-Principal.
TKG Academy Principal, Nrtya Kisori, and Early Childhood Director Kalindi, and I traveled to Florida this weekend to participate in the Montessori Annual Conference and meet with ISKCON educators and administrators from four schools in North America.
“Accepting Comfort”
The luxurious Sarasota Hyatt Regency was a perfect backdrop for this historic gathering of educators, as the comfort of the facility reminded us of the Vaishnava principles of providing warmth and emotional comfort to each and every child in our care.
“Reinforcing Teen Identities”
Bhaktivedanta Academy’s Middle Years (7th to 10th) students, prophetically began the conference Friday morning with a resounding presentation of the Hare Krishna mantra and other Vedic hymns. 400 participants responded with a standing ovation. The session on the Seven Gateways of Adolescence, and corresponding conversation with Jaya Sri Radhe, an expert in the field, was perfect for us as we support our own growing Middle School and High School program at TKG Academy, and as I mother my own two teenagers.
“Activating Higher Level Thinking”
The large mossy trees of Florida, with gnarly wide branches, whisked me away to the forests of the sages, where they discussed deep philosophical principles to support all of humankind. Similarly, brilliant Vaishnavi teachers collaborated on everything from supporting early readers in their comprehension skills, to delivering meaningful spoken Sanskrit instruction, to analyzing relevant scriptural connections on body image and bullying.
“Analyzing Language”
The tall palm trees reminded me of Sri Mayapur Dham, as I got to participate in a detailed session on grammar and sentence analysis. Subject, Verb, Direct Object. Was not our dear Nimai, Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu, a grammar teacher? He expertly immersed his students in Krishna’s names with every lesson. I’m excited to share what I learned with my kiddoes.
“Nurturing our Teachers”
The gentle “japa”/connection walks to the ocean and late night talks with teachers filled me with gratitude to be in their company. The round-table session on Recruiting and Retaining Teachers reinforced for the heads of schools the need to protect teachers whose natural tendency is to give, give, give, by creating a practical culture of care and setting healthy boundaries within our school communities.
“Practicing Inclusivity”
The many ethnicities represented, and loving acceptance of our faith-based bhakti schools, urged us to discuss increasing inclusivity in our ISKCON and school communities. We collectively decided to implement this now, by modeling this to our children through lingo (open language) and a non-judgemental attitude.
“Leadership, Self Care & Meditation”
And finally the birds of paradise and breezes, warm and light, really did make me feel like I was on vacation. Dr. Fred Luskins, from Stanford, gave a riveting Keynote Speech, and stressed the absolute necessity of spiritual self care through meditation. In addition, the last session we attended reminded us of one of Steven Covey’s quadrants, “Important/Not Urgent”, so often overlooked.
“Leadership means to completely fill yourself up so you can give to others.”
“Let go of things and let others step in.”
“Your personal happiness is the greatest gift you can give to your schools.”
I feel energized, I feel empowered, I feel so grateful and I felt Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji’s presence more powerful than ever before. Thank you dear Visvambara Prabhu David Aguilera and Vrinda Aguilera for organizing this and pushing us to join you.
If you are an educator and wish to fulfill your purpose with a Krishna connect, join our team of ISKCON educators. Krishna’s young boys and girls are calling us to usher them into a new generation of loving bhakti and Krishna consciousness, set in the contemporary 21st century. Hare Krishna.
More photos: https://is.gd/2Nyjam
Being a leader does not always mean leading from the front, it means being part of the team. It means working together through all the obstacles and focusing on the common goal. In ISKCON that goal is service to Guru and Krishna. This is a uniting factor that keeps our society strong, through the tough and the easy. 
By Yogesvara Gopinath das
Sadbhuja Das: Hare Krishna everyone!
Please have a look at this short video clip of a progress report of some exterior works, located at the front entrance at the temple. This is quite a monumental piece of embellishment, which I think you all will find very interesting.
