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What Really Matters in an Elementary Education
We believe the “best” education will not only help children learn what they need to know, but will also teach them why they need to know it and how they should put that knowledge to use. The best education will instill in a child a vision, and give to her the motivation and skills to become the right sort of person: a human being, not a “human doing;” a producer instead of a consumer, a neighbor instead of a stranger, a servant instead of one who lords it over others; one who wisely uses the technological tools instead of becoming a tool of technology; one who lives fully within a culture but whose horizons and dreams are not determined or constrained by that culture; one whose heart-compass always points true north instead of constantly being redirected by the powerful “magnetic fields” of a broken world. How does this work in a third grade classroom or out on the playground? Come visit us and see!
The curriculum and teaching style used in our elementary program is based on the Expeditionary Learning (EL) model. Based on state and national standards, EL is an instructional model and approach to teaching where all students discover they are capable of more than they thought possible.
EL professional development equips our teachers to design learning experiences that have application and meaning beyond the classroom. Our students learn academic skills in the context of doing meaningful and relevant work. Experts and resources are brought into classrooms and structured fieldwork introduces our students to real life applications of what they learn in class. The Expeditions culminate in presentations where our students present their work to an audience of significance. Many expeditions are designed to serve real community needs. EL enables us to ignite student motivation, persistence and compassion to propel their growth and success in school, college, career and life.
Expeditionary Learning is a network of 165 schools that started as a partnership between the Harvard School of Education and Outward Bound.