Module 5: Ritual
For use alongside the Renee Owen interview.
Please print this guide BEFORE you the video in this module.
Framing the Session
In this conversation, Dr. Lisa Miller and Renee Owen explore the ASI driver of ritual—how simple, repeatable practices like centering help create a spiritually alive, relational school culture across ages, meetings, and communities.
Pause & Reflect before beginning
What rituals (formal or informal) already exist in your classroom or school day?
How do these rituals impact the feeling tone of your learning environment?
When you hear the word “ritual,” what comes up for you—curiosity, hesitation, excitement?
Pause & Reflect 2 — 4:23 (After Renee’s first story of centering in a 3rd grade class)
Summary:
Renee describes walking into a 3rd-grade centering: chime, candle, silence, a student-chosen theme (“music”), shared breaths, and a palpable sense of connection. She moves from uncertainty about spirituality in education to a felt experience of belonging and peace.
Pause & Reflect:
When have you walked into a class or gathering and felt a strong sense of connection or peace? What created it?
How might a simple ritual (sound, silence, breath, word, or image) help your students arrive and feel that they belong?
If you were to imagine a short “opening” practice in your own setting, what might it include?
Pause & Reflect 3 — 7:34 (After the description of resistance and teacher/parent concerns)
Summary:
Some parents and teachers at Rainbow Community School were initially unsure or nervous about ritual and spirituality in school. Renee explains that experiencing centering—over time and in many settings (faculty, board, parents, students)—helped people understand it as grounding, inclusive, and non-dogmatic.
Pause & Reflect:
How might colleagues or families in your context react to the idea of ritual in education?
What would help them feel safe and included—language, framing, or direct experience?
How could you introduce a simple ritual in a way that feels invitational rather than forced?
Pause & Reflect 4 — 12:02 (After the story of centering holding grief and restorative practices)
Summary:
Ritual becomes a reliable container for life’s hardest moments. Renee shares how a grieving 6th grader asked to lead centering about the death of his niece. The circle, silence, and shared voices allowed classmates to hold his grief and practice the deep work of restorative care.
Pause & Reflect:
How does your school currently hold students’ big emotions—grief, anger, fear, joy?
What would it mean to have a consistent ritual space where students can bring what matters most?
When have you seen students care for one another in ways that felt sacred or deeply human?
Pause & Reflect 5 — 15:32 (After Renee names the core components of ritual)
Summary:
Renee distills ritual into a few simple elements:
A sound that opens space (often with a moment of silence)
A visual focus (candle, object, circle)
A symbol or metaphor for what the group is honoring
An invitation for every voice to be seen and welcomed
Pause & Reflect:
Which of these components (sound, visual, symbol, voices) feels most natural for you to start with?
What symbol or image might represent what your class is “about” this year?
How could you ensure that every student feels seen and welcomed in even a short ritual?
Pause & Reflect 6 — 20:45 (After cultural responsiveness, pluralism, and belonging)
Summary:
Ritual, practiced in a circle and with storytelling, is naturally culturally responsive. Students share their heritage, values, learning differences, and experiences. Pluralism and uniqueness are honored, while a deep sense of “we’re in this together” is cultivated.
Pause & Reflect:
How do students in your context currently share who they are—their culture, story, and family?
What kinds of stories might surface if you asked, “What communities are you part of?”
How could ritual help students feel both uniquely themselves and part of a larger “we”?
Pause & Reflect 7 — 25:50 (Closing encouragement to educators)
Summary:
Renee encourages educators to remember what matters most in their own lives and not leave it at the door. Ritual is a way of celebrating life and shared presence—a simple set of practices that invite authenticity, joy, and ease into teaching and learning.
Pause & Reflect:
What is most sacred or important to you in your life right now? How visible is that in your teaching?
What small ritual could help your students feel that their lives—not just their grades—matter in your classroom?
How could you gently invite families or colleagues into a shared ritual in a way that feels welcoming?