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Educational Philosophy
1. All children have the potential for greatness.
Not every student has the same set of skills, strengths, or weaknesses. However, all children have immense potential to become the best version of themselves possible. By allowing students to explore and foster their passions, the pupils of Terra Firma will have a chance to discover and fulfill their boundless potential.
2. Learning should be fun.
Learning is a fundamentally enjoyable and invigorating process. When students are not having fun in school, it means they aren’t learning. While the process can be difficult, overcoming that difficulty is immensely rewarding.
3. Students should be free to explore, foster their curiosity and develop independent learning habits.
Most schooling models are extremely restrictive and allow very little student choice. At Terra Firma we cultivate independence, self-reliance, and leadership skills by allowing students to find, explore, and pursue their interests. Most of the school day involves students engaging in problem based and self-directed learning under the guidance of our highly trained staff.
4. There is essential knowledge and wisdom that must be passed down from generation to generation.
While we emphasize an open and exploratory environment, the staff at Terra Firma are dedicated to ensuring that students are meeting and exceeding their benchmarks for academics. Furthermore, we are committed to exposing students to the Great Ideas of Western Civilization.
5. Classrooms should not be segregated by age.
Segregating classrooms by age is an unnatural process seldom found in any other aspect of society. By allowing mixed age classroom interactions, younger students have role models to look up to and older students have the opportunity to serve and mentor younger children. We place students in mixed age cohorts and allow those cohorts to interact with each other frequently.
6. Children must learn to embrace challenge, difficulty, and adversity.
When offered a challenge, students will rise to the occasion. At Terra Firma we set a high bar of academic rigor for two reasons: one is to ensure students substantially exceed public schools in academics, and the other is to build grit, dedication, and resolve in our pupils.
7. Virtue, character, and integrity are the foundations upon which true learning is built.
Intelligence, academic mastery, critical thinking skills, and leadership are all meaningless without virtue. Some of the most elite educational institutions in the world succeed only in producing extremely effective nihilists. The most important thing we can teach our children is virtue.