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Understanding the Past, Creating the Present, Imagining the Future
Understanding the Past, Creating the Present, Imagining the Future
"AHA! Those powerful and amazing moments when we visualize understanding of some process, principle, concept that brings insight, clarity, even a break through or new frontier in thinking. As you think about those moments in your life, what do you remember about where you were, what steps or experiences led you to discovery?
"I vividly remember when that last question was posed to me and as I made my list, how few of my great life learnings were anywhere near or related to a classroom. I also remember the research that accompanied that question which noted I was not alone but well within the majority who discovered powerful learning events seldom came in school. I even remember occasions in school when I said I need to take my work someplace else because I can’t think here in school. How about that for a powerful learning experience?
"But does it have to be that way? I decided absolutely not. That was when I made my commitment to self and others that my passion in education was going to be making powerful learning the center of my classroom and later the essence of new and better schools I would either join or build from scratch.
"To do this and do it well has meant to rigorously learn, analyze and apply what we know and are discovering about how the brain works. That’s why I am pleased and honored to work with the Founding Team for Academy of the Renaissance."
~Sandra Angle, Founding Team Member
From the moment a baby opens its eyes, it has already been programmed to learn. Learning is the one innate ability that has allowed humans (and all living organisms) to survive and adapt through the ages.
Learning is one of the six pillars at Academy of the Renaissance.
Learning is our business.
It is central to everything that Academy of the Renaissance does. It is a network that embraces each and every one of us: our strengths, our experiences, what we know, what we believe, what we do, what we dream and what we create.
Ask any parent, with a young child between birth and fifth grade, what the primary ways of learning are and they will tell you that they are through imitation, repetition, and exploration. And the most effective way to do that is through play!
Play is one of the most primitive and effective forms of learning. Through play, you will find novice players imitating successful veteran players. One need not look further than any playground. You will find young students imitating their favorite basketball, soccer, football or other players. If play is fun, children (and even adults) will play often. The repetition everyone gets from play helps to reinforce learning, strengthening those neural pathways. As confidence grows from play, people will explore new ways to play more effectively or even form new ways to play.
In elementary school, teachers at Academy of the Renaissance will research and develop curriculum that will engage students in play such that it will develop the necessary foundations in students’ academic, physical, emotional, social, mental, and creative wellbeing.
In middle school, students will learn through tinkering and exploration, develop higher level problem solving skills, and identify their personal strengths and passion.
Finally, in high school, teachers will help students combine their personal strengths with their passion, developing an academic pathway where they will work in a unique academic enterprise with industry masters to apply and refine their academic skills. The world outside the classroom becomes the new themepark for the mind.
A graduating senior will complete one of the the academy's requirement by applying their academic knowledge towards researching and identifying a community or global issue they wish to resolve. Students will learn how to build a network with people and businesses to help them achieve this. Through this process, we hope our students will learn that that each of us has an obligation to help improve this world, regardless of our cultural, religious, or political beliefs.
Academy of the Renaissance understands that the distribution of wealth and knowledge is unequally spread throughout our communities and throughout the world. Giving back as well as helping to make basic human needs accessible to different areas around the world is as important to them as it is to our local communities.
Your donations will help fulfill this mission as our academy will help improve the world we live in.
