The Swan Philosophy
A child-centered approach to education
What does "education" really mean?
For most of us, our idea of education comes from our own experiences as children: a lot of direct instruction from a teacher, who led us in recalling information that they had just given us. Most students did the same thing at the same time, and all of the finished work looked pretty similar.
Instead of this antiquated 'factory model' of education where all students are expected to do the same thing at the same time and produce identical results, Swan encourages each individual learner and learning style. Finished work may look very different for different students as each child works toward their own specific learning targets. In our multi-age classes, group work is carefully arranged so that all students have something to contribute, something to teach, and something to learn.
This way of teaching and thinking is perfectly designed to make the project based learning we do at Swan School successful. Projects will often start with a problem or question discovered by students or their teacher. This leads to authentic discovery, students choosing their approach to the question, and thoughtful critiques and discussion with their peers. This type of curriculum leads to deeper learning and stronger connections between skills and ideas. It also leads to students who are careful thinkers, confident speakers, and involved community members.
21st century essential skills
We all know that academic skills are only one of the ingredients that make for a successful, happy life.
At Swan School, social-emotional learning (SEL) is woven into our community at all levels. In addition to challenging academic expectations, we also explicitly teach students of every age Essential Skills like autonomy, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.
These skills grow as students grow and, just like we have academic curriculum maps to keep everyone on track, we also use a Curriculum Map of Essential Skills to help students develop in other important areas.
Social-emotional learning, social justice &
Anti-Bias education
Swan School has always worked to be an inclusive and welcoming community: one that teaches children to value themselves and to empathize with others.
In order to make school (and the rest of the world) more just and equitable for all people, today’s students (and tomorrow’s leaders) deserve a firm foundation in anti-bias education. It is absolutely essential that we instill in our children not just an understanding of their own self-worth and the intrinsic rights of others, but a comprehensive knowledge of history, the ability to analyze information and opinions, and the skills to identify and respond to bias and injustice.
With this in mind, we have added the Social Justice Standards from Learning for Justice to the core curricula taught at all levels of Swan School. The four domains of these standards are identity, diversity, justice, and action. These are broken down into age-appropriate learning outcomes for each age band.
As with all of our benchmarks, teachers have the freedom to choose the activities that they feel will best communicate these ideas to their specific group of students. Each class uses different tools and methods, based on the needs, understandings, and identities of the specific children they are working with.
We invite families and community members to join us in this work. Our practice and collective abilities grow through conversation and shared experience.