KPBS radio features story about IES...

On Tuesday February 9th, 2010, KPBS Radio featured a story about Integral Elementary School. The story broadcasted 4 times during the day.

Click here to listen to the story

Unconventional school focuses on students’ ‘Inner Being’.

By Ana Tintocalis

SAN DIEGO — A group of enlightened San Diego youngsters are practicing ancient disciplines that most people don’t discover until later in life. They’re doing yoga and meditation at a private school in La Jolla. They study traditional subjects but they also focus on their “inner being.”

Fifteen precocious kids sit cross-legged. They’re in a circle inside a bare classroom. Some fidget. Others remain still. Teacher Wendy Cotton guides them through their group meditation.

“See yourself outside on a beautiful path,” Cotton said. “Take a look at this path. Is it dirt? Is it grass? Is it rocks? This is your special journey you get to create it however you’d like.”

This ritual begins each morning at the Integral School in La Jolla. The teachers at the school strive to help kids discover their life purpose by getting in-touch with themselves.

Carla Gerstein is a mother and the school’s co-founder. She didn’t like what traditional and charter schools had to offer.

“I was actually in this meditation and it kind of hit me,” Gerstein said. “I wanted something different for my kids, and I don’t see it out there. So it looks like I am going to have to do this.”

That’s when Gerstein partnered with Dr. Prapanna Smith to open the school.

“I don’t think there is any school that (more…)

Being True to Yourself...

Being True to Yourself

I would like to relate a little story about a small boy who made a promise, kept it as an adult, and received a gift during a tragic time.  This young fellow used to go visit with his grandmother a friend of hers who was living in a convalescent hospital.  After one such visit grandmother explained that she never wanted to live the last years of her life in such a place. She asked her grandson, “If our family ever tried to put me into an old-folks home, what will you do?”  The boy replied, “Grandma, I promise you that I will never let anyone put you into a place like that.”  Years later, this boy was living in India and learned that after his grandfather’s death, his family was considering to put grandma into a nursing home.  Though he had not planned to go the USA at the time, he decided he had to make good on his promise to his grandmother, and quickly made arrangements to return to the States to do so.  As it turned out, by the time he got there, the issue was (more…)

Are You and Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?...

Are You and Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?

The year is coming to an end and parents everywhere with children who will be turning five in 2010 are or should be thinking about Kindergarten. This can be a daunting task, especially for families where it is their first child entering elementary school. As parents consider registering their child in Kindergarten, what questions should they consider?

1. Is our child ready both socially and intellectually ready for Kindergarten?
2. What are our expectations for our child’s experiences in Kindergarten?
3. Is public or private education the right option for our child?
4. What type of teacher would we like our child’s Kindergarten teacher to be?
5. What is the class size for Kindergarten or what is the Student-Teacher ratio?

When contemplating these and, I’m sure many other questions, about their child going to Kindergarten, parents will get a variety of answers from the experts on Kindergarten Readiness. All of these answers should be weighed equally and used to determine what is in the best interest of the child.

The first place to start in the investigation of Kindergarten Readiness is parent observations. How would you as the parent answer the first question as to socially and intellectually being ready for Kindergarten? Most children who are 4 or older have had playgroup experiences, maybe taken swimming or dance lessons, and experienced a variety of family activities. All of these will have provided the parents with opportunities to observe social and intellectual behaviors.
Another consideration for parents is the date their child turns 5. Will the child be one of the oldest or one of the youngest in the class? The decision as to being the oldest or youngest may be a purely simple one for some parents but yet, again, can have its challenges.

The second place in the investigation is, if a child is currently (more…)

Art and the Preschool Child...

Art and the Preschool Child

The saying “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder” can be applied to Art and the Preschool Child. Children love expressing themselves through art. Many times parents and adults have difficulty accepting that a Preschooler’s artwork is beautiful because it may not meet their definition of art or beauty. Parents may become frustrated that their child is not “coloring within the lines” or “coloring properly”.

But, I would ask the questions: “What is coloring properly?” “What do the lines mean when it comes to the final product?” Each of us has a definition of what proper coloring is. Each of us has a perspective of what within the lines means. Does this mean that my definition of what is proper takes precedent over another individual’s, including a preschooler?

I say, “No!!” Children are beautiful individuals whose primary purpose is to explore the world around them, to discover their path in life, what works for them and what doesn’t. As individuals, preschoolers have the right to express themselves through art the way that works best for them. It may not be “within the lines”, but to the preschooler it is his/her artwork and he/she is always proud of it. We, as the adults in the preschooler’s life, need to (more…)

What is life about? The Aims of Integral Education...

What is life about?  While there are many goals in Integral Education related to development of the whole being – body, vital (emotions and character), mind, psychic (soul), and spiritual – there is an important overall aim in this philosophy of education. This is the aim to help children discover for themselves their life-purpose and develop the skills, knowledge, and self-discipline they will need to manifest that purpose. Life purpose is much more than the choice of a job or career in life. Rather, it represents the deeper reason for those choices. If you want to become something, why do want to do so? Do you want to earn money, obtain security and comfort, develop your highest potential, serve your family or community or humanity, or seek and serve a higher truth?

In Integral Education this self-discovery is of supreme importance. The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Mirra Alfassa, who first pioneered (more…)

For Elementary and preschools; a great interview!...

For elementary and preschools, this is Fascinating!

On May 6, 2009, Prapanna Smith and Carla Gerstein, Educational Leaders of Integral Elementary School and Rainbow Kids Integral Preschool, in San Diego, California, shared their vision and strategies for creating unique schools that includes academics, the arts, daily meditation, yoga and meeting the needs of each individual child. For elementary and preschool families, take a listen…

click HERE to listen to the interview.

For Math, How do we Know our Students are Learning...

One of the most common questions all educators are asked is, “How do you know your students are learning?”

At Integral Elementary we conduct individual assessments on a continuous basis throughout the school year. However, at the beginning of each school year we conduct individualized assessments of all our students in order to determine where they are at, what their needs are, and how best (more…)

What is Integral Education?...

Integral Education is a philosophy and practice of education for the whole child: body, emotions, mind, soul, and spirit. The modern practice of education for utility or for productivity is not enough for the children of the 21st century. It ignores the highest and truest parts of their being. Too often it ignores the physical and emotional development of the child as well.

Integral Education unites the ancient educational goal of self-knowledge with the modern goal of world-knowledge. Both of these goals are admirable, and the two of them must go hand-in-hand in any educational system that is integral.

Integral Education assists the child to discover for himself/herself out of his/her own temperament and (more…)