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At A Glance The Curriculum and Its GoalTeachers Disciplined, Blissful Routine Comments from Students, Teachers, and Parents History and Legal Status Building and Other Facilities Tuition and Fees “Being here is the best opportunity to live an ideal life. Everything is structured for our benefit, leading us on the path to enlightenment. It is so wonderful, so nurturing, so blissful.” — Ideal Girls School student “Everything goes so smoothly at this school, you don’t even notice that you’re learning; but when we do the Review of the Day and Review of the Week, I realize how much I’ve learned. It’s all so enjoyable.” — Ideal Girls School student “I do more and more things that I never thought I could do. I’m realizing that I can do so much. I feel comfortable because people are so accepting of who I am. I feel at home in the surroundings.” — Ideal Girls School student The Ideal Girls School was founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to offer Consciousness-Based education for girls, education that systematically unfolds their inner intelligence, happiness, and organizing power. The School integrates a college preparatory curriculum with technologies of consciousness, including Maharishi Transcendental Meditation program. Because more than 80% of its graduates have been accepted to accredited colleges and universities, the School has been accorded the status of a specially accredited college preparatory school. The School is open to all girls entering grades 7 through 12, who regularly practice the Maharishi Transcendental Meditation program. The School admits both day and boarding students. Boarding students must be at least 14 years old.  The Curriculum and Its Goal Subjects of Study—Academic Year 2003–2004 Once a week the girls go on a field trip, meeting women who have special talents in arts, crafts, sports, homemaking, science or technology, enjoying a short class from them in their area of expertise. At least once a year they take an extended school trip. Every week the teachers relate the main idea of the week from their subject to a theme of the week from Maharishi Vedic Science, the science of full development of human consciousness. This enables the girls to continuously relate the study of the disciplines with the full development of their own creative intelligence. Instead of homework, students review what they have learned during the day with a teacher. At the end of the week, they review with a teacher the main ideas from each subject for the entire week. Then they put these together into an original skit, with songs, poems, or art, which they perform every Saturday night for parents, school leaders, and friends. Maharishi Vedic Science and the Transcendental Meditation Program for full brain development The technology of Transcendental Meditation is a simple, natural technique practiced for a few minutes at the beginning and end of the academic day while sitting easily with eyes closed. By enlivening the total inner intelligence of the student, the field of Transcendental Consciousness, Transcendental Meditation develops more alertness each day, and with it, greater wisdom, happiness, and confidence. The goal is full brain development in higher states of consciousness, in which life is lived in permanent fulfillment, free from mistakes and problems, with an all-nourishing effect on everything and everyone, spontaneously in harmony with Natural Law. The Transcendental Meditation program is thus the foundation of the curriculum of the Ideal Girls School. Scientifically validated benefits Research findings include increased intelligence, increased learning ability, greater use of the brain’s potential, reduced anxiety, reduced stress, healthier habits, and increased self-actualization. These outcomes are enhanced in an all-girls educational environment, the benefits of which are well documented by research. The TM-Sidhi Program Teachers The teachers are experts in their fields, with previous experience in Consciousness-Based education. They are dedicated to the girls, and as one student said, “They keep helping you if you don’t understand it at first, so you can really learn everything.” The teachers become dear to the students as they communicate their enthusiasm for their subjects and their care for the students’ progress. The teachers are with the students every day and evening, teaching them during the day, helping them to review their work in the evening, and taking them on enriching, delightful field trips.Disciplined, Blissful Routine Because the emphasis of the Ideal Girls School is on the students themselves — on the full development of their knowledge, power, and bliss — we take care that the girls do not get tired. A regular daily routine is maintained. As the students move gracefully through the day in a set routine, their progress is easy, natural, comfortable, and joyful. Since they are always well rested, they have deeper and clearer experiences of Transcendental Consciousness — the field of their own full potential — and a s a result, they blossom day by day in all that they are really are.All classes are attended by all girls; classes are held six days per week. In the evenings, there are no new assignments; a teacher reviews with them what they have learned during the day in a relaxed way, giving them the opportunity to synthesize the knowledge they’ve gained. Everyone retires early. Boarders are cared for by an experienced and loving housemother. In light of the profound purpose of the School, which is achieved through the daily routine, socializing with other young people outside the school is to be enjoyed on vacations rather than during the times when school is in session. With its education for unfolding the students’ inner happiness, wisdom, self-confidence, and strength, the Ideal Girls School is designed to give the best preparation possible for the students’ future years, no matter where their life leads them. Comments from Students, Teachers, and Parents From Students at Ideal Girls School: “Here you never have to think about an idea or inspiration because there’s always something flowing from your heart to your pencil or brush.” — Ideal Girls School senior “When I’m here I feel so strong and clear and organized. It’s a beautiful feeling to know that I am doing something so good for myself and the world. I’ve gone to many different schools, from public, to parochial, to home schooling, trying to find the one that will be truly evolutionary and the best for me, and this is the one that meets the criteria.” — Ideal Girls School sophomore “So many girls our age are unsure of themselves and lack confidence. But by attending the Ideal Girls School I have realized that any task I take on in life, whether great or small, will be accomplished successfully, simply because I have established that level of myself which is immovable. This school offers such precious knowledge, such pure knowledge. Once you are established in yourself, there is nothing that can stop you.” From Teachers at Ideal Girls School: “I’ve noticed a deep sense of individual purpose in these girls, and commitment to the values of developing consciousness. They sincerely want to discover beauty and truth, and be able to express it themselves.” “I’ve noticed in teaching all girls’ Consciousness-Based education that the students are more settled within themselves, and more open and receptive to knowledge. They give back so much of what they’ve learned without restraint. Their awareness is lively, free from distraction; having all girls together produces a special quality of focus. It’s a joy to teach them.” “I find that the students at the Ideal Girls School ask such good, penetrating questions that in researching the answers, I am often led to go more deeply into an area than I have ever gone before.” “I’ve taught in co-educational institutions and in other Consciousness-Based schools with separate boys and girls classes. But the Ideal Girls School has a sweetness that is unparalleled anywhere. This is a function of the mission of the school, and the environment girls and ladies create together.” From Parents: “I saw marvelous results in my daughter’s daily life, even from the very first days of the Ideal Girls School. I saw the display of pure consciousness expressing itself through the girls — no fear, no shyness, no trying to behave in one way or another, just light in their eyes, entertaining life with immense joy, beauty, and delight. They were not restricted by the usual concerns of girls their age. They seemed to be fundamentally happy all the time, happiness from within bubbling and ready to spread to everyone.” — Parent of a 14-year-old “Maharishi’s system takes these precious few years that we dedicate to education and uses every moment of it to cultivate enlightenment, so that by the time a young woman is old enough to consider what her path in life will be — whether she chooses to raise a family or lead a self-sufficient life caring for the whole world — she will be able to do it with fulfillment and bliss. Then everything she does will be nourishing to life.” — Parent of a 13-year-old History and Legal Status In January 2003 Ideal Girls School was granted the status of specially accredited college preparatory school by the Iowa Department of Education. This accreditation may only be conferred when over 80% of the school’s graduates have been accepted to accredited colleges and universities, and the Ideal Girls School meets this criterion. The School was originally chartered by the New York State Board of Regents in 1996. In 1998, when its new campus was completed, the School relocated to Boone, North Carolina. The School is approved by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. Department of Justice to admit international students. The School’s graduates have been accepted to colleges and universities that include Wellesley College, Smith College, Colorado College, Maharishi University of Management, and Maharishi Spiritual University of America. In November 2001 the Board of Trustees decided to relocate the school from North Carolina to Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, where it believes the School will be able to expand more quickly. Building and Other Facilities The lovely buildings that are being used for Ideal Girls School were built according to the principles of architecture in harmony with Natural Law from Maharishi Vedic Science. Such buildings provide an influence of health and well-being to the inhabitants. The School also uses sports and dance facilities of Maharishi University of Management and the nearby town of Fairfield. The building is surrounded by expansive land and trails, and is situated in the environmentally pure and peaceful Maharishi Vedic City. Tuition and Fees, 2003-04 School Year Boarders: (14 years old and up)
Day students
The tuition payment for each semester is due two weeks prior to the beginning of the semester. Ideal Girls School does not offer financial aid at this time. Additional costs Ideal Girls School accepts girls without distinction as to race, religion, color, national origin, or disability. Admission decisions are within the sole discretion of the School. We will be happy to provide the names of professional teachers of Transcendental Meditation in your area. For more information, to receive an application, to schedule a visit, or to talk to a leader or teacher at the school, please write or call: Email: IGS@Maharishi.net Ideal Girls School |