What is Education?
The Awakening of Intelligence
Inspired by the teachings of Krishnamurti, the purpose of the school is to honor each student’s innate intelligence with the goal of realizing human potential for the individual’s sake, and the sake of humanity, while also providing comprehension and functional knowledge— practical and technical.
Providing an excellent academic program is vital. One must learn to communicate well and be able to deeply explore math, recognize great works of poetry and art, have a solid concept of world religions, geography, and science, develop skills in organization, use tools (physical and technological), be comfortable with public speaking, create and read music, and explore a somatic understanding of one’s body through sports, yoga, breathing, and dance. One must be able to develop proficiency in exploring the natural world and in traveling in cultures different from one’s own.
What, however, is required for the honoring of one’s innate intelligence? This aspect of our purpose is a bit more difficult to implement, as the teachings suggest that there is no way or method. We approach this, therefore, with openness and inquiry, opportunities for self-reflection, silence, pure observation, physical and psychological space, stretching our comfort zone, exploring our relationship to nature, ourselves, others, and the world. All this could be seen as within the realm of self-understanding, as a way to awaken the individual child’s perfect intelligence.
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“Education in our schools is not only the acquisition of knowledge but what is far more important – the awakening of intelligence which will then utilize knowledge. It is never the other way round. The awakening of intelligence is our concern in all these schools, and the inevitable question then arises: how is this intelligence to be awakened? What is the system, what is the method, what is the practice? This very question implies that one is still functioning in the field of knowledge. The realization that it is a wrong question is the beginning of the awakening of intelligence. The practice, the method, the system in our daily life make for a matter of routine, a repetitive action, and so a mechanical mind. The continuous movement of knowledge, however specialized, puts the mind into a groove, into a narrow way of life. To learn to observe and understand this whole structure of knowledge is to begin to awaken intelligence.”
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The Mirror of Relationship
J. Krishnamurti, world-renowned teacher on the entire field of human consciousness and founder of Oak Grove and schools in India and England, wrote many letters during 1978-1980 to stay in touch and convey his philosophy “that these schools are not only to be excellent academically but much more.”
In this short video from 2019, students read excerpts from his 1978 Letter to the Schools emphasizing the meaning of relationship and intelligence.
Tomorrow is Today
Blog, NewsOn August 28,1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his most famous speech, “I Have a Dream.”
What is Education
Blog, NewsAt 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.
MLK Day Celebration 2021
Blog, News, Student PerspectiveWe are always honored to be part of this important community celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “Change does not roll on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.”