It’s time to let the wholeness of the child engage with the wholeness of the world.
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.
Compass School
Westminster, VT
Compass School’s unusual model accommodates both independent and public school students for its sparsely populated rural communities in Vermont. The school is open admissions and this arrangement works well for them. Upon graduation, students enjoy a high level of college acceptance.
Mission Hill School
Jamaica Plain, MA
The superior guiding social, emotional and academic principles and practices at Mission Hill are clearly reflected in student behavior, teachers’ professionalism, and parent involvement. Together these factors ensure that every student at the school is engaged, nurtured, and loved each day.
OUR
RESOURCES
Whole Child Education
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) convened a Commission on the Whole Child in 2006. It subsequently issued an important report and has resources at its whole child website.
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American Schools
An excellent exploration of democratic education is Sam Chaltain’s, American Schools: The Art of Creating a Democratic Learning Community (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2010).
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