Grauer School Students Attend Religion Parliament in Australia

Feb. 12, 2010 - PRLog -- Encinitas, CA, February 10, 2010----Led by World Religion Teacher Bill Harman, Grauer School students traveled in to Melbourne, Australia, in December to attend the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions, the world’s largest interreligious gathering that convenes every five years and brings together participants from 80 countries.  The event invites spiritual leaders and followers to discuss peace, diversity and sustainability within the context of interfaith understanding and cooperation through cross-cultural dialog on global issues.  The Grauer School was the only high school delegation in attendance that included 14 students, three teachers and three parent chaperones, and attracted the attention of several Melbourne media outlets.

According to Harman, “The most extraordinary aspect of this expedition was the impact it had on the students embracing the world --- the kids really opened up and made many new connections.  The true genius of The Grauer School allows us to travel while continuing to educate the students in a multi-cultural environment; they kept up their lessons and didn’t lose any school work time.”  In between their lessons and attending Parliament sessions, the group participated in a bike tour of the city, a mountain top steam engine train trip, “coffee house nights” where they met and made new friends from other cultures and a visit to the Aboriginal Cultural Center.

Student Luke Ashworth (Class of 2012) commented, “The city of Melbourne is very diverse.  Everyone who lives there stands for peace and there is very little intolerance or controversy.  I got the impression that there are small sects of a great global community.”  Student Mathew Higgins (2012) added, “I found it interesting that ancient religions are still practiced and I didn’t realize that there was a such a large following of the Indigenous Religions.”  Student Malia Hanes-Stewart (2011) was impressed with a particular sect,  “Sikh morning prayers were very inspiring and the members were unique and welcoming --- they even projected scripture on a big screen.”  

The Grauer School is located at 1500 South El Camino Real in Encinitas and pioneered the concept of Expeditionary Learning.  For additional information, call (760) 944-6777 or visit www.grauerschool.com.

# # #

EMS Marketing manages projects in a wide variety of industries and multiple disciplines. Clients include The Grauer School, The Plastic Surgery Practice of Dr. John and Dr. Wendell Smoot, Claire's on Cedros Bakery and Café, and many others.