to Educate the Whole Child
Teachers and educational leadership collaborate to:
1. Draw students out by providing learning experiences in the five WHOLE CHILD domains i.e. Academic and Cognitive Thinking; Artistic Expression; Disciplined Physical Movement; Handwork; Engagement with Nature and Community. This approach incorporates social and emotional learning, mindfulness, and multiple intelligences.
2. Encourage project-based and place-based learning, i.e. hands-on activities related to the real world and to the students’ immediate environment.
3. Individualize teaching. Get to know students as individuals. Draw out unique talents and interests of each child.
4. Favor making individualized educational decisions, with a preference for authentic assessments over standardized testing data.
5. Expect parents to be involved, for example, attending parents’ night, brainstorming with teachers to create field-based projects.
6. Especially in the early years, create a climate of nurturance. Maintain a school culture that supports growth in the broadest sense.
7. Emphasize for teachers that personal and professional growth go together. WHOLE CHILD–WHOLE TEACHER professional development models self-change and invigorates teaching practice.