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INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE

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©2011 Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge


Brief description of current ISHK Programs

This is a representative description of some of the programs ISHK is currently running.

ALL ABOUT ME – ISHK has developed a series of books for middle- and high-school students and teachers on what we know about who we are. We have books on Memory, Feelings, and Influence, and are currently working on a book on Perception. Read More...

AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIAL – CD, DVDS AND VIDEOS – We have a goal to make Hoopoe Books and ancillary materials available in multi-media for greater exposure. Volunteers who are video professionals initiated this project. They have donated their time, abilities and all facilities, from start to finish. At this time, we have audio versions of all current Hoopoe titles available. We have produced a DVD called The Magic of Reading which is an informative and entertaining presentation on the value of reading Teaching-Stories (our Hoopoe Books) to children. It includes a full reading of The Boy Without a Name.
 

BOOKS FOR AFGHANISTAN PROJECT– The stories depicted in Hoopoe Books, collected and adapted for children by Afghan author Idries Shah, can be traced to the rich cultural and literary traditions of Afghanistan and surrounding regions.
    Dari-Pashto Editions: We have received official permission from Afghanistan's Minister of Education in Kabul authorizing us to provide Hoopoe books and complementary teaching materials to schools and children in Afghanistan.
    Many of these remarkable Teaching-Stories have been told by campfire and candlelight in this part of the world for more than 1,000 years. We plan to provide bilingual Dari and Pashto Hoopoe titles for distribution to schools, orphanages and libraries throughout Afghanistan.
    The need there is desperate. Our aim is to provide as many children as possible with their very own books. Certainly, for at least 95% of them, these will be the first books they own, and they may well be tales that their grandparents recognize from their own childhood. For the older, more conservative Afghans, we hope that repatriating these stories in book form will be a comforting bridge to literacy and the development of skills that the younger generations will need in order to survive and contribute in the modern world.
    So far, we have raised funds to cover the translation and layout of four titles as bilingual Dari-Pashto editions. We need funds now to print them and to add three more Hoopoe titles to the list of books we provide to these children.
    We are in communication with a number of schools and orphanages inside Afghanistan. By the end of this year, we hope to establish the quantity of books and ancillary materials (Teaching Guides, etc.) required for the first shipment. Our aim is to provide at least 250,000 copies of each title. Read More...
You Can Help:
By making a tax-deductible donation to this effort, please click here.
By purchasing Hoopoe Books online, see Hoopoekids.
In Addition, We Are Looking For:
* Organizations (schools, orphanages, libraries, etc.) in Afghanistan that might need these books
* Nonprofit organizations serving the Afghan community that might wish to purchase Dari-Pashto translations of these books for use in the USA and Canada
    Please write to hoopoebooks@aol.com or by fax at 650-948-9546 if you can help with the above.

THE BOOK SERVICE OFFICE plays a variety of roles in the operation of ISHK. While the principal function of the office is to receive and process all orders for the company, it also manages inventory and numerous special projects associated with publishing, literacy and other ongoing ISHK programs. This office is handled by one full-time administrative position and one part-time position with the aid of several volunteers.

CANADA – INSTITUTE FOR CROSS-CULTURAL EXCHANGE (ICE) – The goal of ICE is to get Teaching-Stories to literacy programs in Canada for at-risk children. This new nonprofit has been established by volunteers associated with ISHK in Canada. ICE is already distributing Hoopoe Books and has procedures in place to enable it to raise funds to provide more Hoopoe titles in both French and English editions to children in need. If you live in Canada and can help, please contact ICE.

CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS – This is a large program that has assembled almost 300 courses for psychologists, introducing them to the most advanced ideas in the field. It takes professionals to select the books for the courses, writers to produce the needed tests, editors, and a lot of brochure production work. ISHK mails some 250,000 brochures and processes about 2000 orders per year. Read More...

EDUCATION CURRICULA – This program's goal is to get Teaching-Stories into mainstream education for grades pre-K – 8. Volunteers have been developing this material over the last ten years. The Hoopoe Books Curricula for Grades K-8 have been aligned with Common Core State Standards for Language Arts and California Content Standards in ELL, History & Social Science, and Visual and Performing Arts. In addition, the All About Me books are being aligned with high school standards for Common Core State Standards for Language Arts and the WIDA standards for English Language Proficiency (ELL). Once these standards are in place, we will continue our efforts to have all these books adopted in school systems around the country.

FUNDRAISING – Our goal is to develop grant proposals and seek funding for our projects from outside corporate and/or foundation sources. Volunteers are helping to develop a professional proposal with all accompanying statistical, financial and factual information, initially for the Share Literacy and All About Me programs, but eventually for all the work of ISHK.

GRAPHIC WORK – This project involves creating manuals, newsletters, teacher and parent guides, brochures and flyers, publicity and informational material on our programs. ISHK is constantly looking for professionals in this area because of the growing need in our programs.

HUMAN JOURNEY WEBSITE – ISHK has developed a comprehensive and unique website dedicated to collecting and presenting historical, current recent research and findings, and essays on our journey from origins to now. We are updating the site regularly. Please visit the site for new updates: www.humanjourney.us

ISHK IMPRINTS
    Hoopoe Books: We have 11 Hoopoe titles by Idries Shah, many available in English-Spanish bilingual editions, and other languages. We also have 3 All About Me books, and Dende Maro: The Golden Prince written and illustrated by Sally Mallam. Read More...
    Malor Books: Books on important subjects that ISHK keeps in print – For over twenty years, ISHK's Malor Books has aimed to publish and re-publish in high-quality paperback important works in the human sciences. Read More...

LIBRARY PROJECT – The goal is to ensure that the work of Idries Shah becomes part of as many permanent collections as possible in school, public and university libraries throughout the country. Thanks to a grant from the Will J. Reid Foundation and our supporters, we have been able to donate the works of Idries Shah, including the Hoopoe Books, to hundreds of libraries.

LOS ALTOS OFFICE – The Los Altos staff consists of 1 full-time and 2 part-time office staff members and 2 corporate supervisory personnel. Every aspect of ISHK projects is overseen and administered in the Los Altos office.

OCTAGON PRESS – ISHK is the sole importer for Octagon in the US and Canada. We promote and provide these books to retail customers and to major distributors. Our goal is to make Octagon titles easily available in both countries. This requires a lot of liaison with distributors and booksellers as well as meeting the requirements of the online companies. See Octagon Press.

PUBLIC RELATIONS – Our goal is to promote the work of ISHK and all its programs. ISHK volunteers help to provide expert advice and technical skills toward this goal.

RIGHTS – Our goal is to research and sell the right to publish foreign editions of Hoopoe Books to reputable publishing companies.

SHARE LITERACY – The major goals of this project are to get Teaching-Stories into the hands of at-risk children through established centers and to provide measurable and qualitative statistics on the benefits of our curricula through pilot programs at these centers. Volunteers contact programs serving this community. We provide complete curricula with Home Literacy Kits and Early Literacy Teachers Guides and Training Workshops, or only the books, as required. Some of the supporters who help us with the costs of this plan are:
    Share Literacy Chapters which have the goal to facilitate local Share Literacy Programs through the involvement and support of local communities. The hope is to get more and more people involved in this humanitarian effort, whether or not they have an interest in ISHK and what we do. There are currently 8 U.S. chapters with dozens of volunteers involved. Go to www.shareliteracy.org to sign up to be a part of a chapter in your area.
    Learning Resource Associates (Chicago): This partner educational organization has helped us fund many of our programs in the Chicago area and elsewhere. They have contributed to the curriculum development, hold book shows and conferences, and do fundraising.
Read More...

SYMPOSIA – In April 2006, ISHK presented a new symposium in Boston linking Shah's work with larger issues in society and religion. The title of the symposium was The Core of Early Christian Spirituality: Its Relevance to the World Today and featured speakers Elaine Pagels, Bart Ehrman, Marvin Meyer and Robert Ornstein. This effort involved many months of preparation, and we hope it will be the first of many in the coming years. Read More...

UK DISTRIBUTION OF HOOPOE BOOKS – Volunteers help us work with our current UK distributors. The Boston staff helps with the shipment of books and Los Altos staff help with ads, catalog listings, and website updates.

WEBSITES – Our staff and over 6 volunteers design, maintain and update all our websites: the main ISHK website, the MalorBooks and Hoopoekids websites, as well as the RobertOrnstein.com website, the Shareliteracy.org, the ishk-ce.com and the Human Journey websites.

WORKSHOPS – Our goal is to inform the public through hands-on workshops of the value of Teaching-Stories for child and adult development. (see also Audio-Visual, Early Education Curricula, and Share Literacy)

ISHK Affiliates

CANADA – INSTITUTE FOR CROSS-CULTURAL EXCHANGE (ICE) – The goal of ICE is to get Teaching-Stories to literacy programs in Canada for at-risk children. This new nonprofit has been established by volunteers associated with ISHK in Canada. ICE is already distributing Hoopoe Books and has procedures in place to enable it to raise funds to provide more Hoopoe titles in both French and English editions to children in need. If you live in Canada and can help, please contact ICE.

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These are only our main projects which are dependent on the help of volunteers and supporters of all kinds. If you see a project you are interested in, please contact our volunteer/support hotline at 1-800-366-2696 and let us know! Or, you can volunteer or donate directly via our secure website.

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