Reiki in the Curriculum
By Barbara McDaniel
Reiki Magazine International: April/May 2001

At Diablo Valley School real life is the curriculum, and Reiki is integral to the program, pervading the environment in which students and staff learn, live, and learn to live. Amy Erez, with her husband, Ofer, founded the school on behalf of their son, Yo'el, now eight. Reiki has been a part of the process from inspiration to inception until the present. Amy and some of the Diablo Valley School students share their story of how Reiki came to be a part of their education.

"The school was built on Reiki energy," Amy begins. About seven years ago, Amy was visiting her Reiki Master when she picked up a book that changed her life. Entitled _Free At Last_, it details the philosophy behind Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts, a successful "alternative school" founded in 1968. "It's built on the idea that kids - actually, all people - know what they need," Amy says. She was in tears as she read it.

What moved her? "The freedom, the respect," she replies. "That there are people in the world who truly respect children's knowledge and allow them the freedom to follow that inner guidance that we all naturally possess."

"There was a sadness, too," she adds, "that I hadn't had that experience as a child. But these people gave me hope that I could create this kind of school environment for my own child."

Yo'el was eleven months old at the time, and Amy and Ofer Erez went to work to find out more about this remarkable educational concept. The fundamental premises of the Sudbury Valley School, they learned, are simple: that all people are curious by nature; that the most efficient, long-lasting, and profound learning takes place when started and pursued by the learner; that all people are creative if they are allowed to develop their unique talents; that age-mixing among students promotes growth in all members of the group; and that freedom is essential to the development of personal responsibility.

The Erez' found that students in this type of school are generally relaxed, happy, confident and responsible while pursuing their educational goals. Eighty percent of the Sudbury Valley School students go on to higher education, and eighty-nine percent of those are accepted into the college of their first choice. Today, more than twenty other schools throughout the world follow the Sudbury model. Amy and Ofer determined to create one for their community.

Reiki Founders

One spring night the following year, Amy and Ofer were exchanging Reiki treatments in their home with five of their students. Over the Reiki table, the conversation turned to the concept of the Sudbury Valley School and the Erez' dream to found such a school in California. "These people got really excited about it," Amy recalls. "None of them had children. But in that moment, right in the middle of group treatments, they all committed. 'We want to do this with you, to make it happen for you and for Yo'el.'"

These original Reiki founders began to meet regularly, visioning, and planning. They invested in a Sudbury start-up kit which outlines the steps for establishing such a school, and began to promote the idea, named the Diablo Valley School, in the community. Slowly, their initial tasks completed, members of the group began to drift away from the project, but they were replaced by a new group of people, parents who were looking for a place for their kids.

In October 1996, Diablo Valley School (DVS) registered its first student, Gareth Berrow. His mom, Patti, is now on the school's staff, but it was Gareth's grandmother, Floy, a long-time Reiki student, who encouraged his enrollment. "Reiki is guiding this," she told her daughter.

The school opened in January 1997 with three students, including Yo'el, holding "classes" in the homes of staff members. By summer, however, they had found their permanent space in Concord, California where the school exists today. Now with twenty students, aged five to nineteen, and four staff people, Diablo Valley School is well established.

How Does It Work?

At DVS, the traditional, structured school curriculum is replaced by an environment which supports students to learn by following their interests. Each person is responsible for deciding how to use his or her time all day, every day, and students are free to concentrate on what they choose for as long as they desire.

The staff believe that "play" and "learning" can be synonymous. Through play, students learn to concentrate, imagine, and communicate; they recognize their aptitudes and affinities, and they acquire the skills they need to be successful. Classes are only held by request of a students or group of students. And the student may request anyone she wants to teach the class, including staff members, other students, or an outside person skilled in that discipline.

Students have a lot of responsibility in this school. Individual students and staff members each have an equal vote in how the school functions, and they run the school together through school meetings. A Judicial School Meeting is a forum for solving disagreements, and participation is mandatory. By practicing democracy on a regular basis, the philosophy goes, students learn to be articulate, persuasive, considerate, and fair.

And do kids actually learn the basic necessary life skills in this environment? Yes, says Amy, but these skills develop organically. The school provides a setting in which knowledge is useful. For example, the written word is everywhere: in books lining the walls, on rules posted for computer and kitchen equipment, and on agendas and minutes relating to the school democracy. Sooner or later, every student recognizes the usefulness of learning to read. All skills are learned in the same fashion.

Reiki in the Environment

Some students are attracted to the school by their interest in Reiki. Others come because of the school philosophy, but the two complement each other. "The school environment allows children to follow their inner knowledge," Amy explains, "and Reiki helps make that clearer."

All the staff people and one-quarter of the students have Reiki. "It's just in the consciousness," Amy says. "It's a part of our everyday, normal lives, so we talk about it, and we use it. Whenever I - or anyone on the staff - is nurturing a child who's upset or who's been hurt, he's getting Reiki, even when it's not intentional. Our four oldest teenagers all have Reiki too, and they're the ones who help the little kids."

Kids Practice Reiki

Camelia Hail will be sixteen in April. She has thrived at Diablo Valley School and says that she "fell in love with Reiki." How does Reiki influence her school experience?

"It makes things a lot calmer," she answers. "When somebody is practicing Reiki, it brings us all closer together. When I exchange treatments with my friend, Kristen, the other kids come around a little bit more and kind of hang out nearby. And we always offer it to friends who are hurting."

"I used to have a lot of friends who were into dope," she adds. "When I do Reiki, I don't want that around me. The temptation to join them isn't so great anymore."

Eight-year-old Yo'el was born and raised with Reiki. Can he imagine going to a school where there is no Reiki? "I can imagine it," he replies, "but I don't imagine it would be very 'lightening.' If there's Reiki, it's like the mail getting to the computer. But if there's no Reiki, the mail just can't get there. There's no way it can get there."

"Reiki is sorta like the cord," he continues. "Just like a telephone needs a cord to be able to reach." And who is he reaching with that cord? "I'm reaching my life," he muses. "I'm reaching that I can be strong, and I can live a good life, live a good environment in my life, and be confident that I can heal myself."

Brett Warren is seventeen and hopes to graduate this year. He contrasts his years in public school with his experience at DVS. "Students and staff here are a lot more mature and responsible," he says. "They're not trying to start fights or beat up on each other. You learn what you need to learn at DVS...things like responsibility, trust, honor, respect - the basic things in life that you need to know."

Brett got his first Reiki treatment from Camelia at school. "When she was done, I felt so refreshed," he recalls. "I kept getting treatments, and then I thought maybe it was time for me to give back. So I went and took the class."

Brett admits, "I've changed quite a bit since I've taken Reiki. I've gotten a lot more mature, I'm more adult. If you're gonna take Reiki, you have to be mature, you have to be sober. I used to be a druggie, but I've been sober for almost five months. Reiki has really helped with that."

Confidence

Listening to these kids, one wonders why anyone would want to live without Reiki. "Either they don't know about it," Yo'el suggests, "or they have no sensibility. The Reiki itself has self-confidence; it has its own confidence, its own reliability."

The students at Diablo Valley School definitely have confidence. Camelia has identified the college she wants to attend, and is mapping out a course of study to meet all the entrance requirements. Brett plans to work for a while after graduation, then pick a college. The combination of the Sudbury model and Reiki seems to really work. "With all that freedom," Camelia explains, "you want to be the best person you can be."

With vision, determination, and, yes, the confidence of Reiki, Amy Erez created the school she dreamed of, a place where children are respected and where their knowledge and perspectives are valued. She set out to establish a "Sudbury school," not a Reiki school. But Reiki is integral to her being and central to the Erez' lives. She couldn't help but bring that part of herself to the mission. At Diablo Valley School, they say, real life is the curriculum. For Amy, Ofer, Yo'el and all the kids and staff, "real life" is steeped in Reiki.

Published by permission of Reiki Magazine International, www.reikimagazine.com.

Diablo Valley School admits students of any race, color, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin to all rights and privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students and staff at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan program, and athletic and other school administered programs.

Our school has enrolled students from: Antioch, Berkeley, Clayton, Concord, Danville, El Cerrito, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Oakland, Oakley, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, San Francisco, San Leandro, Vallejo, Walnut Creek and other communities in the Bay Area.