Stepping Stones: The First Five Years of Sant Bani School: 1973-1978

STEPPING STONES narrates the fascinating history of Sant Bani School and its rapid growth into a dynamic educational day program in central New Hampshire. With a focus on the early years (1973-1978) founding head Dr. Kent Bicknell offers an in-depth account of the spiritual/educational roots of the school as it developed a curriculum based on the understanding that all life is connected. Along with a description of the relation of the school to two spiritual teachers from India, Dr. Bicknell provides a link to the educational theories of the 19th century Transcendentalists, Henry Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Alcotts. Contemporary newspaper articles and photographs from the initial years help bring the story to life. Be prepared to wonder, to laugh, to learn – and to be drawn to visit the school's vibrant campus today (www.santbani.org).

REVIEWS

“Writing a school history is an effort to preserve the roots of an ongoing story that can easily get lost in the progress of time. It can also be an act of love, as Kent Bicknell beautifully demonstrates in this history of the early years of Sant Bani School. While Kent — an educator, scholar, and founding head of school — sets out to document the initial years of this purpose-driven school, he has also managed to reflect on what we need from schools today. STEPPING STONES offers both the early history of a unique and noteworthy school and valuable insights in what carefully constructed education for the mind, body, and spirit can look like. What fascinates me is the way SBS anticipated both what brain science now tells us about how we learn best and what schools everywhere are embracing in the name of 21st century education. From the start, SBS focused on curricular approaches now gaining attention everywhere: project-based learning, integrated curriculum, entrepreneurship, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, mindfulness, self-directed learning, community service, demonstration of learning, and a large dose of outdoor education… Through daily practice of improving the process of educating children for mind, body, spirit, and community, SBS has evolved, day-by-day, year-by-year, into a truly excellent school with much to offer our divided world.”

Michael Brosnan is an experienced author and editor, with a particular focus on education. From 1997 to 2017, he was editor-in-chief of the award-winning Independent School magazine, flagship of the National Association of Independent Schools.

“STEPPING STONES is a first-hand and engaging account of establishing what would become known as Sant Bani School in Sanbornton, NH. From the first elementary grades to the addition of a secondary school, from a living room to actual classroom buildings, from one dedicated and driven teacher to several qualified and enthusiastic instructors, from a handful of six students to a growing student body: this is a heart-warming and inspirational tour de force of a dream becoming a reality.”

Rev. John R. Fortin, O.S.B., Ph.D. is a professor of philosophy at Saint Anselm College who served for several years as superintendent of Catholic schools in NH.

“STEPPING STONES is so engaging I finished it in one sitting. In this valuable and fascinating book Kent Bicknell provides a snapshot of what the school and the times were like in the early years. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in: a) the history of Sant Mat in America and its working out in practical day-to-day experience; b) the educational philosophy of two great contemporary spiritual Masters; and c) the connections between the original American philosophy (Transcendentalism) and Indian thought in the realm of education.”

Russell Perkins, an independent scholar who has written a number of books including THE STRANGER OF GALILEE: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT AND THE UNIVERSAL SPIRITUAL TRADITION, holds an MTS from Harvard University and taught at Sant Bani School for many years.

Kent Bicknell grew up in central New Hampshire and resides there still. In 1973 Kent became founding head of Sant Bani School and stayed as a teaching head for 44 years, retiring in 2017. He was a Scholar of the House at Yale University, and holds a master's degree from Goddard College and a doctorate in curriculum from Boston University. Kent has been involved in education for five decades, including forty-three years on the Advisory Council of the New Hampshire Commissioner of Education and six years as a commissioner with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. He has served as a consultant to schools across the U.S. as well as in Bhutan, Canada, Colombia, Guatemala, India and Venezuela An independent scholar whose work has been published in a variety of journals, Kent's main interests are the New England Transcendentalists - Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the Alcott Family: their educational pedagogy and how they were inspired by the spiritual traditions of Asia. In 1995, he acquired, edited and published the manuscript of A LONG FATAL LOVE CHASE, a gothic thriller by Louisa May Alcott that became a New York Times best seller. Kent's spiritual quest in the '60s culminated in receiving initiation in 1968 from Master Kirpal Singh (1894-1974) of New Delhi, India. In 1976 he came close to Sant Ajaib Singh (1926-1997) of Rajasthan, India. After more than twenty-five visits to India as well as traveling extensively in Central and South America with Sant Ji, he published RAINBOW ON MY HEART: A MEMOIR OF THE EARLY YEARS OF THE MISSION OF SANT AJAIB SINGH (2002).