Educate
the
Whole
Child

Aware that many public schools are preparing students for a world that no longer exists, Educate the Whole Child promotes a fresh paradigm that is truly nurturing and educates the whole child. We embrace a variety of approaches that fully engage students—head, heart, and hands– and prepare them for a lifetime of continued growth.

WHAT IS

WHOLE CHILD EDUCATION

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.

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OUR

SCHOOLS

Putney Central School

Putney, Vermont

In addition to its 175 acre campus, the school has a forest with outdoor classrooms. This rural school is small enough to be able to place an emphasis on students’ individual development and creativity. Halls and classrooms are filled with student art.

City Neighbors

Baltimore, MD

The learning environment in City Neighbors three schools deserves special recognition because it has been achieved despite formidable challenges, especially entrenched poverty, and lack of funding for innovative educational programs and practices.

Crellin Elementary School

Oakland, Maryland

This Rural, 5-Star Rated School in Maryland was featured in the film Schools That Change Communities. With its farm animals and emphasis on learning in the environment, the school has made a major difference in the unincorporated former mining community of Crellin.

OUR

RESOURCES

Educate the Whole Child expects to offer a graduate level 12-credit certificate–Teaching the Whole Child. It will consist of four online courses that may be taken as a series or independently. See details here.

Dr. Mary Goral

For anyone interested to see what happens when Waldorf methods are applied in public, usually charter, schools, here is a link to Dr. Mary Goral giving a talk to parents.

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Schools That Change Communities

In Schools That Change Communities, a film by Bob Gliner, we learn that in changing itself and at the same time its community, a school generates a dynamism that can supercharge learning.

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Teaching Children to Care

Many practical suggestions for social and emotional development can be found in Teaching Children to Care, revised edition. Author Ruth Sidney Charney was co-founder of the Center for Responsive Schools.

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