From the Neighborhood School feature in The Paper, March 1978. Original institutional statements and parents’ opinions are preserved as attributed contemporary accounts.
We believe each child has a distinct pattern of learning and development which can be either thwarted or nourished, depending in large part on the materials available to the child and on the physical and social environment in which the child functions.
We believe all children have the right to acquire the best skills in reading, writing, mathematics and science which will equip them to function effectively in our culture.
We believe effective learning is developmental, beginning with, and building on, each child’s own level of skill and rate of progress.
We believe in a “discipline” of learning which respects children and treats them humanely, but which also sets clear parameters, expecting children to be accountable for their own actions and decisions.
We believe children of different racial, social and cultural backgrounds can learn much from each other. We have worked hard to create an environment which reflects the neighborhood in which we live. Our small, family-oriented program provides an ideal context for such learning to take place naturally and consistently.
We believe children with learning difficulties, physical handicaps or emotional problems can learn well in our school because we have the flexibility of time, space and staff to plan for their special needs.
We believe the arts are not ‘frills or luxuries for a few gifted children.
We believe each child has creative resources which, like all other skills, need to be exercised in order to flourish. So we make the arts an integral part of our daily program.
We believe in fostering the spirit of cooperation rather than competition though we do not discourage constructive competition between individual children of equal or nearly equal capabilities.
We work on basic skills. We begin in our younger group with the visual, auditory, motor and cognitive development which prepares children for more formal learning. That means learning colors, shapes, seasons, days of the week, the child’s own name, address and telephone number. It means learning how to print, cut, draw, run, jump and climb. It means learning how to speak clearly, to make music, to build with blocks and to solve perceptual puzzles. And, much, much, more.
We continue with our older group with the development of academic skills. That means reading, spelling, doing math and working on science projects. It means making maps, collecting butterflies, dissecting frogs, writing plays and poems, learning to use a dictionary, a library, a compass and a silk screen. And much, much, more.
We encourage productive, selfdirected learning. That means we respect the child’s right and ability to make good decisions about the use of time. Some children may need a good deal of teacher guidance and help, but we work toward enabling children to learn on their own by providing a calm environment and rich re- ‘sources for them to use in their own work.
We structure time, space and groupings to allow a maximum of teacher attention to be spent in working with individual children or in small groups. We have purposefully maintained a teacher-pupil ratio of 1 to 10 so we can achieve our objectives of intimacy and maximum teacher attention to each child.
We use the resources of the neighborhood and city to expand the learning environment and experiences of the children. We include camping trips to the country so the children can gain first-hand knowledge of nature.
We — children, parents and teachers alike work hard — and we like it!
Originally published in The Paper, March 1978.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1978_03.pdf, printed page(s) 4; PDF page(s) 4.
