Corlears School

Progressive Education: the Corlears School Philosophy

Educational practice at Corlears is based on the belief that educating students to be well informed socially engaged critical thinkers is essential in order to sustain a healthy democracy. We have intentionally created an intimate environment well suited to the needs of children through the early elementary years where students can easily navigate both the physical space and social networks of the community.

Because we believe that children’s lives are enriched by viewing the world from multiple perspectives we seek to create an economically and culturally diverse community that reflects our immediate neighborhood and the city beyond. We recognize that students are interested in exploring difference as well as commonality among their peers and in the larger world. We work to create an atmosphere of respect and appreciation by encouraging students to tell their stories and actively listen to one another.

We believe that children learn best when teachers take into consideration their experiences and interests their prior knowledge and their particular cognitive strengths. As a school steeped in progressive philosophy we recognize the need to give students a “voice” in their education by allowing their questions and investigations to shape the emphasis of our core curricular areas. By Core Curriculum we are referring to the big ideas or subject areas around which all of the different learning activities of the class are organized. at Corlears Social Studies and Science the study of human communities and the natural world that sustain them – serve this purpose.