more than the three r’s

Information and opinion, once accessed by comparatively glacial means, is now overwhelmingly available from virtually anywhere on our planet at the click of a mouse or a tap on the screen of a tablet computer or smart phone. Several more clicks and you can be tutored in a language by a native speaker half a world away (i.e. www.livemocha.com), listen to lectures on just about any subject given by professors from the most prestigious universities (i.e. M.I.T.), learn how to hang a door in your home (i.e. www.thisoldhouse.com) or access entire grade school curricula (i.e. Novanet, K-12)  Concurrent with the development of these technologies, we have witnessed a profound decrease in manufacturing in the US and the off-shoring of virtually any task that can be effectively managed in less expensive labor markets. Success in the 21st century is going to require a new set of skills. In the paragraphs that follow, we describe how we designed our program to answer the present and future needs of our students.

We will teach the whole student – In addition to the requirement that our students grow into discerning readers, expressive writers, keen observers, and capable mathematicians, we believe that for Whole Life Charter School graduates to be successful in the 21st century they will need to:

• Clearly understand their innate strengths (i.e. exceptionally musical, kinesthetic, or visually perceptive) so that they can leverage those abilities in their approach to continued learning and creating.
• Adapt and reinvent themselves so as to easily keep ahead of the demands technological change will have on future careers
• Network with others efficiently and gracefully so that they will have appropriate sources for mentoring, creative partnership, information, and friendship (Consider the ideas of Seth Godin or Malcolm Gladwell.)
• Create and invent.
• Manage failure and persist.
• Identify and assimilate new technologies that will help bolster areas in which they are least capable so as to be ever more capable.
• Remain present and objective (mindful) so as to make and act on logical decisions in response to the realities of the moment in a rapidly changing world.

What we'll teach at the Whole Life Charter School

Interpersonal skills – Social skills instruction, roll play, and practice are a part of our curriculum and will be staged during thematic advisory periods and at internship sites allowing students to develop the special skills needed to acquire and maintain constructive relationships with anyone they engage.

Entrepreneurial and presentational skills – WLCS graduates will need to be skillful at presenting themselves as the best answer to the needs of potential employers or clients. Our internship program is designed to practice our students in everything from making cold calls to a potential mentor to the interviewing skills necessary to secure the internship (or a job).

The interrelationship between academics and the unique interests of the student – If a student comes to us and says, “I want to play basketball!” the student’s advisor will encourage that child not only to play but also to build a team, manage its practice schedule, enter it into a league, learn plays, teach plays, and discover the physics of the dribble and the geometry of the court. For Whole Life Charter School advisors, any interest, from auto mechanics to zoo cakes, is an opportunity to relate the student's academics to the rest of the world.

We will work to build a learner’s self esteem. – Teens in our target demographic have frequently suffered injuries to there self esteem. We believe all learners have different strengths and weaknesses. Unlike most traditional schools, we do not track our students. Our method has learners competing with no one other than themselves. Students only need to perform better than their last personal best. With each success comes confidence and the interest in doing even more.