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…)

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 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…)

For Teaching, For Learning – We Celebrate CIE!...

Founder, Prapanna Smith

For teaching and for learning, on it’s eleventh birthday, we celebrate the Center for Integral Education (CIE)!  On April 24, 1998, CIE was born, and since that time we have grown from just a big idea, to a small team who worked to open the Rainbow Kids Integral School in 2002 (growing from just five to over 100 children in a few years), to opening our Integral Elementary School in 2006.  Over these years we have:

• served nearly 600 children and their families;
• provided scholarships totaling about $130,000;
• employed around 30 teachers and aides and paid them over $1.7 million;
• developed a donor list of hundreds of supporters and well-wishers;
• raised nearly $460,000;
• and invested thousands of volunteer hours in our work.

(more…)