Progressive education engages students in learning through meaningful experiences. Learning is purposeful. Students engage in the authentic act of thinking and doing – reading, writing, presentation, conversation, mathematical problem solving, scientific inquiry, design thinking & maker learning, community service and civic engagement. Students learn to collaborate and work in teams to grow their organizational IQ.
Rather than lecture students, which makes learning a passive experience, progressive educators model learning (showing, not telling) and coach students one-to-one or in small groups while they are engaged in the authentic act of thinking and doing. Progressive educators employ an inquiry-based approach, guiding students to build and shape understanding.
Progressive education revolves around each student’s needs; instruction and learning are individualized and personalized. Assessments are used purposefully to inform instruction and learning to challenge students at their “just right” level – not too easy and not too hard. Differentiated instruction and learning are key to progressive education.
Progressive education focuses on the whole child, recognizing that the social and emotional growth of the student is just as important as academic achievement. In fact, progressive education recognizes that a student’s healthy social and emotional development improves academic achievement.
In general, progressive educators view existing schools as too rigid, formal, and detached from real life. There is too much focus on the completion of worksheets and lesson plans with a “one size fits all” approach. Assessments are used to penalize rather than inform instruction. There is little regard for guiding students to become self-directed and self-regulated passionate lifelong learners.
New York Academy teachers are dedicated to guiding students to become passionate lifelong learners. Our progressive education, with the core values of respect, honesty, and self-discipline, helps students become ethical individuals who strive to make the world a better place.
The world has moved from the Industrial Age to the Information Age and now is entering the Conceptual Age. A progressive education prepares lifelong learners for success in the Conceptual Age.
What is the Conceptual Age? The Conceptual Age requires a new era of work where economic demand calls for entrepreneurial workers who are creative and innovative problem solvers with exceptional capacity for empathy, story, design, problem solving, and making meaning. It calls for workers who can create artistic and emotional beauty, detect patterns and opportunities, craft a satisfying narrative, and combine seemingly unrelated ideas into a novel invention.
Through New York Academy’s progressive education approach, students learn to become leaders prepared for success in the Conceptual Age. We each have a story to tell to make the world better.