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Lower School Lure
In elementary schools across the country, children
are learning to read, write, compute and socialize. Many schools
have very lofty missions, but chart their progress along the lines
of standardized test scores, minimum standards and rigid skills-based
outcomes. Their state-level leaders often talk of preparing children
for future jobs, and keeping the schools accountable. So why are
so many parents lured to LRA for the primary grades? I hear their
familiar stories often:
“We want a place where learning comes alive.”
“We visited our local kindergarten and
there seemed to be little substance, little excitement and little
time. We want a school with great substance, challenge and enrichment.”
“Last year we had a pretty good teacher
in my child’s current school. This year, well..., you never
know who you are going to get.”
“Development of moral character is important
to us.”
“I want a school to really know my son.
This atmosphere seems to lend itself to personal attention.”
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There is something vastly different going on
in the LRA Lower School that informed parents are finding increasingly
attractive. This difference shows up on faces and on the walls.
It can be seen in kindergarten journals and fifth grade research
papers. It is heard in the voice of our students, teachers and parents
and quickly picked up by most every visitor. “This is quite
a happy place!” quipped the superintendent of a local public
school system visiting for the first time. An experienced teacher
visiting from out-of-state commented on the amazing things our kindergarten
and first graders were doing. In a recent interview of parents of
a fifth grade applicant, I inquired about their child’s all-day
visit in fourth grade. “She wanted to come back the next day.
She said it was the best day of school she’s had in her life!”
Parents of our current students tell me that their children genuinely
love school, the youngest asking to come on Saturdays. Whoa! What’s
going on? Why is this so attractive to students and parents?
First of all we are a caring community. With
our small class size, considerate teachers and concerned parents,
students quickly get the sense that this is “our school.”
Students working together is most always more productive
than being in isolation or competition. Our entire school program
emphasizes this. Thus, students are usually placed in small groups,
dividing tasks, sharing information, and learning how to get along,
even in uncomfortable moments of disagreement. The collaboration
sparks children on to higher levels of thinking and learning as
well as a healthy sense of belonging. A strong emphasis on moral
character and courtesy helps all feel emotionally safe.
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Secondly, the curricular content for even our
youngest students is substantial, relevant, enriching and challenging.
We wish to pique their innate curiosity, not squelch it. Discovery
is a word often used, and early on, children learn to ask good questions
and how to find answers (which usually lead to more questions).
Their young, but motivated minds can handle fairly complicated ideas
and sophisticated vocabulary. In studying the rain forests, second
graders are now using such terms as biodiversity, parasite, canopy
and conservation. Within the homeroom, students are immersed
in quality literature where an appetite for reading and learning
is acquired, not merely the skills of reading. Books are
often thematic using the resources of our W.E.B. (Wonderful Exciting
Books) room. The writing process is developed through the years,
made to be purposeful and creative, not burdensome. It is exciting
to visit classrooms and witness a progression; notes written with
“invented spelling” for the kindergarten message board;
books being authored, illustrated and published in first grade;
note-taking from research materials in second; planetary poetry
in grade three as they study the solar system; regional travel brochures
written in fourth grade; and full research reports and short stories
finished on the computer in fifth. Concepts in science, math and
social studies often go way beyond what most adults expect from
young children because our faculty does no shoot for minimum standards;
they look for maximum potential.
Beyond the homeroom, children are enriched through
regular trips to the library and computer lab, French instruction,
fine arts, and physical education. These are an integral part of
a child’s week and are integrated with the broader curriculum.
Field trips play a significant role as well, with destinations such
as the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Zoo and Rain Forest, NASA,
Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, Severance Hall, Stocker
Center, Natural History Museum, Pilgrim Hills Camp and the Lake
Erie Nature and Science Center. Each student takes from six to ten
trips each year.
Methodology is developmentally appropriate, using
a base of hands-on activities to help children discover meaning
and understand concepts. Students often live the concepts.
K-2 classrooms have been transformed into mini-rainforests that
the students created with purpose and pleasure. Third graders were
found outside in orbit around the “sun,” each representing
a planet moving at a speed relative to each other. Colonial American
life will be lived out by our fifth graders this spring as they
prepare for a reenactment to share with the entire school.
Within this methodology is an appropriate level of
choice. This element is important for holding student interest by
making learning their own. This does not mean choice of curriculum
or time usage or letting children do whatever they want. It does
mean some choice of activities throughout the day, and projects
that provide room for individuality, creativity, and the opportunity
for student s to experience the spirit of the work instead of just
the mechanics. All student choice is within an educationally sound
structure appropriate for the age, particular group of children,
the individual child and the purpose of the task at hand. For instance,
in the study of the rain forest, first graders recently generated
questions for which they wanted answers. Each student selected a
question, refined it with the teacher’s assistance and then
began to research in order to share the answer with classmates.
Finally, we simply have fantastic teachers.
They understand children and the complexity of their developmental
needs. They themselves are excited about the curriculum. Why? We
give them plenty of choice and a healthy level of autonomy!
We do not hand them a curriculum guide with a list of minimum standards.
As they design the curriculum, using their own instincts
and experience and keeping in mind the individual student, everyone
wins. The program then becomes the teacher’s and students’,
not just the school’s. The school benefits, however, with
creative ideas, dedication, relevant content, and a dynamic classroom.
It cannot be emphasized enough that our teachers are the
ones who make things happen. Their conviction, creativity, compassion,
and commitment to the children is what makes this school a special
one indeed. One of our new (but very experienced) teachers recently
confided that this has probably been the best year of his professional
life. To what does he attribute this condition? “Children who
want to learn, parents who care, and a school that gives teachers
the freedom to do their best. I am so glad I discovered LRA!”
Students who grow-up in this educational environment
gain confidence, character, and a strong foundation for life-long
learning. Thus, we expect more and more parents to be attracted
to this partnership with us, as they understand what is truly important.
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June 27, 2006
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