FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The following is generously contributed by Education For Life based, Living Wisdom School in Portland, Oregon. This is one of our sister schools and is in alignment with our philosophy at Wisdom for life School.

QUESTION:
All this sounds good, but what are they actually learning of reading, writing, science, math and everything else they'll need for high school and university life? It's a very competitive world academically. Will they be prepared?

ANSWER:
The atmosphere of Living Wisdom School makes possible a highly enriched academic program. Naturally we make sure they are progressing in accordance with statewide standards, but that is just the starting point. The goals of our academic program are to help the children:

• Gain confidence in their own ability to do things they've never done before, to absorb new information, to face challenges and solve problems
• Learn how to learn, to study and master anything that interests them, in or out of school
• Discover that learning is fun, to develop love and enthusiasm for learning, to embrace it as life-long adventure
• Think creatively, be unafraid to take risks, knowing that failure is often the foundation for ultimate success
• Go deeply into each subject, to see the interrelationships, how life is a whole picture, not a series of unrelated fragments
• Achieve one's highest potential

• Experiential learning
• Individualized instruction
• Integrated curriculum in which subject areas overlap and combine rather than remaining discrete, separate entities

This academic approach is very much in keeping with leading edge research, which shows that even the physical brain in young children develops differently if their early education is "brain compatible."

We have an individual assessment system, rather than letter grades. With letter grades, we soon discovered that the focus for the children shifted too easily from what they were learning to the grade they were getting. Letter grades also tend to put children in competition with one another in a way that does not foster true learning. Bright children learn how to get A's rather than going deeply into the subject at hand. Individual assessment more easily brings out each child's personal best.

Small class size and low student/teacher ratio, allows us to be flexible in the timing of when children meet the required academic standards. What is considered the norm is simply an average that by definition cannot apply uniformly to every child. Why hold back the advanced children or undermine the confidence of those who bloom late? With the right attention, all children can express their full potential.

In the cooperative and supportive atmosphere of Living Wisdom School, children have little sense of being "ahead" or "behind." Every genuine achievement is celebrated, and the children have great incentive to progress. Children can work at different grade levels in different subjects, and children feel comfortable and have friends of all ages within the school family.

In standardized testing, children from Living Wisdom School usually score in the 90th percentile and above, in all subjects, including math and science.