OUR APPROACH:
Spice
Staple foods are what nourish us, but let’s face it, sometimes there is just no way that kid is gonna eat a nutritious dish unless you get creative with it! Likewise, with education, every child responds differently depending on the alchemy of “teaching.” A “teacher” is an alchemist who puts together the right mix for each student and can still get the job done for the whole community. At the Unwritten School, those designated as teachers are not bound to a curriculum or plan as long as the MA frameworks for the grade are addressed and students are engaged and learning. Parents and students shape the content with “teachers” (or as teachers themselves), making it more relevant and resonant. The teacher sets and tracks progress toward learning objectives, using her expertise to teach adaptively and add SPICE.
Standards-based
Because we need a base and we need
to be able to navigate the mainstream
responsive
Responsive teaching means that the “teacher” pays close attention to learners’ responses to the material, and holds space and time for adapting or going deeper when an opportunity arises. It’s kinda like learning to adapt a recipe so you can use your favorite ingredient or whatever you have on hand in the kitchen!
Inquiry-Based
Teaching students resourcefulness, observation, analysis, critical thinking, and research skills, so that they know how to get answers to their own questions.
Capacity-Building
By shaping education together, we make it more meaningful, relevant, and applicable, so both students and families increase their capacity to have what they consider “success” in their day-to-day lives and futures.
Experiential
We are often “in the field,” learning by doing. Positive associations aid in memory and recall by storing the information across several departments of the brain, as if you had put multiple hashtags on it!
