Educational Philosophy

FWS has built its program on three essential concepts: Core Values, the Multiple Intelligence Model and A Spiritual Dimension.

Core Values: Curiosity, Engagement, Compassion

In discussion with parents, staff and board, we have identified three values that we share with the staff, students and supporters of our school:

• Curiosity motivates the intellect, motivates discovery and experimentation, which in turn, leads to true education.
• Engagement means that the children, teachers, and parents are all involved and interested in the learning going on in the classroom and engaged with each other seeing it happen
• Compassion is how we see others as we grow in cooperation and collaboration-listening carefully, speaking truthfully, allowing time for reflection, and working together toward outcomes.

Multiple Intelligences

Our philosophy draws its fundamental inspiration from the multiple intelligence model.  Friends Western School's curricula and practices are based on the belief that all children are intelligent in a variety of ways.

 

 

This idea has been articulated by Howard Gardner in Frames of Mind (1984) and Intelligence Reframed (1999). He identified the following areas of intelligence: • Language • Mathematical • Spatial • Musical• Physical• Interpersonal• Intrapersonal• Natural

(Click to see the Multiple Intelligence Inventory for a more complete explanation.)

A Spiritual Dimension

Children have a natural spiritual curiosity that can be nurtured and brought forward as larger issues  -- peace, family, community, fairness -- arise in lived or mediated experience and in imagination.