Educate
the
Whole
Child

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

WHOLE CHILD EDUCATION

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.

LEARN MORE

OUR

SCHOOLS

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.

Davis Romero Bilingual School

Tucson, AZ

La Escuela de Atracción Bilingüe Davis: Inspirando y fortaleciendo a nuestros alumnos ha convertirse en ciudadanos responsables y productivos de sus comunidades y del mundo.

Aldo Leopold Charter School

Silver City, NM

This middle and high school provides a model for how outdoor education can energize everything that happens there. Through place-based learning, student agency, awareness of ecological and social justice issues, students at ALCS engage all their faculties to prepare for the responsibilities that lie ahead.

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.

Dr. Mary Goral

For anyone interested to see what happens when Waldorf methods are applied in public, usually charter, schools, here is a link to Dr. Mary Goral giving a talk to parents.

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The Self-Organizing Revolution

One of the best books surveying the alternatives to mainstream, accountability-oriented education. Dr. Miller has a broad view and is not sectarian in any way.

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Working in the Reggio Way

For an overview of the Reggio Emilio approach to education, Julianne P. Wurm’s book, Working in the Reggio Way: A Beginner’s Guide for American Teachers is an excellent resource. 

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