The Making of a School: A Philosophy of Growth, Put into Practice

Abstract

Thank heavens for good neighbours! I thought as I stumbled through snow drifts to my classroom. Cold weather had killed my car battery. This had left me stranded with ten minutes to get to my micro-school, and in desperation I had run down the hill to ask a friend for help. Since I never came to school with less than three large tote bags containing everything from lightbulbs to salt (the tool kit of a progressive educator is vast!) this frantic dash was quite the spectacle, accentuated by the salad bowl (perfect for felting wool in) which, with hands full, I had to carry over my head like a wide blue helmet. 

At the time, I was the founder and sole teacher at the Falcons Integralis Learning Community, a one room schoolhouse I created in Northampton, Massachusetts serving children ages five to fourteen. Integralis refers to the pedagogy that I have been composing throughout my teaching life...