Middle School

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Middle school is a time of great change for young people, mentally, socially, emotionally, physically and spiritually, (the way they view their relationship with nature, their inner world or spirit or energy.) During this time, everything is different; larger, more complicated, confusing, uncertain; constant changes, e.g. friends, students, teachers, classes, choices, relationships, responsibilities, expectations, etc. Because relationships among middle schoolers are so significant, their education at this time requires specific, relational skills, using all their intelligences, mental, social, emotional, physical and spiritual. Peer groups can discover together how to create supportive, more integral relationships.

The roots of EDUCATION, Educare and Educere, provide two different interpretations of the framework in which education occurs. Educare, (to train) represents the process of facilitating learning, e.g. acquiring knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits, for people. Educere, (drawing or leading out) exemplifies the honoring of the unique expression, intelligence and contribution of human beings. Integrality embraces both approaches, and accentuates the importance of recognizing the integral, unique nature of humans as vital to the quality of learning, (knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits.) “Educere” creates the space for “educare,” (the knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits) to successfully be embodied by learners. We encourage everyone seeking quality education for young people to ‘stand for”‘ approaches that integrate these two mainstays of learning

Learning is a dynamic process, which happens at every moment over a lifetime. Programs that integrate knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits, while honoring the unique expression of the learner, create lifelong love of learning. Integral education is an approach to education that provides a powerful foundation for living life and preparing people to live in a complex and ever-changing world. In this model, the first 18 years of a person’s life are focused on developing and integrating the physical, spiritual, emotional and mental intelligences.

From a very early age, young people learn to relate to the world with an integral worldview. Thus, the introduction to the adult phase of their life is grounded in educational experiences which have interwoven these powerful expressions of human consciousness. The focus is foremost on the ontological aspects of intelligence, i.e., the being of the human being, which in turn provides a life altering context in which learning occur.