Aware that many public schools are preparing students for a world that no longer exists, Educate the Whole Child promotes a fresh paradigm that is truly nurturing and educates the whole child. We embrace a variety of approaches that fully engage students—head, heart, and hands– and prepare them for a lifetime of continued growth.
WHAT IS
AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
To the extent that we narrow the purpose of schooling to what can be measured, we fail to
engage those sides of children that must be developed in order for them to pull learning
from life. We also increase the likelihood that
they will be bored, question the value of school,
and in some cases even drop out.
Instead of starting with the questions “How do we prepare kids to compete in the 21st century
global marketplace?” or “What will insure that graduates all have command of basic skills?”,
suppose we start by asking what qualities we want to encourage in children as they grow toward
adulthood.
Putney Central School
Putney, Vermont
In addition to its 175 acre campus, the school has a forest with outdoor classrooms. This rural school is small enough to be able to place an emphasis on students’ individual development and creativity. Halls and classrooms are filled with student art.
Zaharis School
Mesa, AZ
At Zaharis books are plentiful and reading is as natural as breathing, but scripted textbooks are set aside in favor of inquiry-based learning. That means students pose questions and carry out projects. This builds teamwork and motivation for learning.
OUR
RESOURCES
Educate the Whole Child expects to offer a graduate level 12-credit certificate–Teaching the Whole Child. It will consist of four online courses that may be taken as a series or independently. See details here.
The Finland Phenomenon
In The Finland Phenomenon Harvard, education professor Tony Wagner lays out clearly why Finland has the best public school system in the world.
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Creative Podcasts
One of our ETWC network schools, City Neighbors, has instituted a podcast series featuring innovative leaders and ideas that break out of the standard mold. The first of these is an interview with Dr. Kaleb Rashad, former CEO of the innovative High Tech High, a network of 16 project-based schools in San Diego.
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