Trusting the Natural Intelligence of Children
“Let’s Begin with a Moment of Silence.”
At Oak Grove School in Ojai, California, we often share moments of silence with our students, from preschool through 12th grade, as a whole community, in small groups, and individually. We begin, and sometimes end, assemblies, events, and meetings with silence. Silence is weaved through our learning and teaching practices, including academics, arts, and outdoor education. We trust children’s natural intelligence and believe that self-understanding is essential to the full expression of that intelligence. These things are at the core of our ethos as a school.
What is a Moment of Silence?
A moment of silence can be an act of remembrance, tribute, prayer, or compassion; it may be a form of meditation and mindfulness. Often, silence is found in relationship with nature, in deep academic attention, and in complex problem-solving.
A Practical & Important Practice
According to scientific research, silence can assist us to concentrate, be more creative, achieve a higher level of awareness, cultivate more patience, provide a sense of calm, and encourage a higher level of learning and productivity.
“…if I think back to my schooling at Oak Grove, silence speaks loudly to what Oak Grove tries to foster in its students. We were never really instructed on what to do with the silence. It was not time for prayer, although maybe some use it that way. It was not a time to “think about what you did.” Actually, it was more like ninja training than either of those. It cultivated our long-forgotten attention spans. The silence we held together worked. You didn’t have to believe anything for it to work, it still worked, in the sense that it honed our abilities to sit with ourselves, in a very practical way.”
— Juna Rosales Muller ’06
School Programs
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The Wholeness of Responsibility
Our theme for the 2023-24 school year
Each year we choose a school theme as a way to frame our ongoing inquiry into the intent of the school as articulated by our founder, J Krishnamurti. The following is a short video based on this year’s theme, The Wholeness of Responsibility.
Alumni Profile: Lewis Lu ’19
Alum, BlogIt is from the small things of everyday life at Oak Grove, living with the people and the philosophy the school is so closely tied to. It can be how everyone is willing to listen to what you have to say and to live through the better and the worse of life with you; it can be feeling welcomed by everyone with open arms regardless of who you are and where you are from; it can also be a trip to India where you get to see the different lives people live in this world, just to name a few.
Welcoming Artist in Residence, Benjamin Mertz
Arts, Blog, News, Parent Education, Staff & FacultyThrough student assemblies, class meetings, faculty and staff in-service, and parent education, students of all ages, parents and staff will have the opportunity to engage with Benjamin throughout his stay in April.
Seeds of Belonging
Blog, Events, Parent Education, Staff & FacultySeeds of Belonging Ojai is an anti-bias/anti-racism initiative for early childhood educators and parents that aims to cultivate futures of understanding, accountability, accommodation, and respect among differences in the local community and in the world at large.