Heart of the Matter: Educating the Innovation Generation, Part II

Heart of the Matter: Educating the Innovation Generation, Part II

Heart of the Matter – Innovation Generation Part IIRCS-values-triangle

In this issue, Executive Director Renee’s article is titled “Educating the Innovation Generation Part II: What Encourages Innovation?”

Most people assume that creativity and innovation are qualities that a person is born with – that there are an extremely small percentage of people, perhaps, 1 in 1,000,000 who are creative geniuses.

These creative individuals are the inventors and visionaries, but only if they are also given the proper circumstances and have the courage to buck a system that may do everything it can to squash creativity. The rest of us move throughout our mediocre lives which are interrupted occasionally by an invention or new paradigm that radically changes the way we function or think.

Download the rest of Part II here

Innovation Generation Part III

 

 

Heart of the Matter: Educating the Innovation Generation, Part III

Heart of the Matter: Educating the Innovation Generation, Part III

RCS-values-triangleEducating the Innovation Generation, Part 3

an article by Rainbow Community School Director, Renee Owen

In the first of this three part series, we defined innovation as creative problem solving that is useful.  We gained perspective on the new generation of students, and learned that innovation will be required of 21st Century students entering the work force.  In fact, some posit that innovation will be required to save the human race, given the grave circumstances we find ourselves in, with issues such as global warming, diminishing natural resources, and the growing divide between the rich and poor.

In Part II we explored Tony Wagner’s concepts in his book Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World, in which he defines Play, Passion, and Purpose as the three qualities people, schools, and work place environments need to have in order to encourage innovation.  In this third part, we will discuss barriers to innovation, and then in Part IV we will look at one particular school, Rainbow Community School, which has designed an educational program that encourages innovation.

Download the rest of part III here.

 

Invisible and Untouchable

Invisible and Untouchable

photo“Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable.” -Buckminster Fuller.
Thanks, David Novak, for visiting Rainbow today (seen here with Nitarra, one of the fabulous 8th grade scholars). David, who is a Buckminster Fuller expert (and plays Bucky in plays around the world), centered with the 7/8th grade and pondered the above quote.  They talked about pattern integrity, atoms, dendrites, and the meaning of life.

Rainbow at Asheville Mardis Gras Parade

Rainbow was a fantastic Mardi Gras Krewe at the front of the whole parade with our Rainbow Goddess, the big blue bird, the sun and moon, and lots of sweet children flying around as butterflies.

bird and goddess line up 2 justin bird and clouds marching 2 renee sun line up marching