Director's Blog
— Renee Owen, Executive Director
Kaleidoscope: May 2017
Happy end of year, everyone! You did it! If you are a parent, you did it all. Through sickness, crankiness, bad weather, and whatever particular trials your family endured, you got your precious ones to school…and most of you got them here on time, with lunch in hand....
Kaleidoscope: March 2017
Welcome to spring at Rainbow Community School! It’s a time of joyful activity, like overnight field trips and lots of celebrations and feasts. For teachers this can be a bitter sweet time. Last night, one teacher reflected that by this time of year her class is so...
The Times: Yes, They Are A-Changing
The Times: Yes, They Are A-Changing What is Postmodernism and What Skills will our Children Need in the New Era? Looking back over history, the transition from one era to another seems like it happened overnight, but in reality, each transition takes lifetimes, and...
Kaleidoscope, November 2016
Kaleidoscope, November 2016 Unfortunately, it has been too long since I have written you. I meant to release an edition of Kaleidoscope in early November, but, frankly, the election put me off-kilter. And with all the smoke in the air, it felt like the world...
Educating for Social Justice
Harvard Grad Delivers Powerfully Poetic Speech On Overcoming Injustice by Taryn Finley of The Huffington Post Last month, Rainbow added "social justice" to our mission statement. Now, more than ever, education needs to be a force for empowerment, rather than...
Kaleidoscope – April 2016
Kaleidoscope, April 2016 The Maypole gets wrapped on Monday at the annual Rainbow May Day Celebration – a quintessential Rainbow event. Fairies, elves, ancient dances, strawberries and cream – anyone who can slip away for the morning from 10:30 to about 11:30 will be...
Mwe: You, Me, and All Our Relations
https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/blog/getting-next-generation-fall-love-planet/ Check out this interview with Dan Siegel on the psychology and sociology of our environment. At Rainbow I often stress that helping students cultivate a deep and personal...
I have made a terrible mistake…
...is how this teacher begins her article, after being a student for two days and finding out what the experience is really like. Teacher Spends Two Days as a Student and is Shocked at What She Learns by Valerie Strauss of The Washington Post
Kaleidoscope – March 2016
Kaleidoscope: The many colorful things happening at Rainbow, from the Executive Director Hello beautiful Rainbow Community. I am so happy spring is here! It was a mild winter in terms of weather, but emotionally speaking, I found it hard to keep the ol’ disposition...
Blended learning sounds great….or does it?
With the intense budget cuts and challenges in public schools, get ready to hear the term "blended learning" more and more. Blended learning is simply a mix of face-to-face classroom time with the added use of technology. The hype and selling point of blended learning...
Does this sound like you?
What type of parent are you? Read this checklist to see if you help your child build resilience. My favorite is "Make the adage that there are at least two sides to every story a mantra in your home." Nurturing Resilience: Reminding Ourselves What Kids Need
Is your child an introvert?
Rainbow Community School has always been a safe haven for introverted children. In a world where social aggressiveness has be glorified, especially in the competitive public education model, Rainbow has always had a way of understanding and honoring the power of the...
Empowered Teachers = Empowered Students
Why does Rainbow have such dedicated, mindful, creative, and loving teachers? Because we follow every single one of the recommendations in this article. Teachers are still treated like blue-collar workers by politicians. At Rainbow they are highly respected...
Spiritual and Religious Education
Religious children are meaner than their secular counterparts, study finds by Harriet Sherwood for The Guardian If this study is accurate, and religious children are less compassionate, what about spiritual children? If we put people into four categories: 1. religious...
Heart of the Matter: Beauty
“'Walk in beauty,' is sage advice I learned from Native elders. Since my youth, when I was fascinated with Native wisdom, I have strived to walk the beauty way, but it took me until middle age to understand my path. The secret? Being engaged in a purpose – a higher...
Who had a fabulous struggle today?
Try it out for a dinner table discussion. The question, "Who had a fabulous struggle today?" is a great example of what educators call a growth-mindset prompt. Students and adults with a growth mindset believe that humans have almost limitless potential. Therefore,...
Kaleidoscope – January 2016
January 2016 Kaleidoscope: The many colorful things happening at Rainbow, from the Executive Director, Renee Owen As I reflect back on 2015 I am struck by how much was accomplished at our little school. I am so happy we said “goodbye” to 2015 with love. Wasn’t the...
Together, we learn.
Affirmative action isn't just about merit, defined by the same one size fits all empirical measures of the past. The purpose of education can no longer be about sifting out who deserves merit, and taming those who don't. That competitive model is obsolete. If we are...