1.  WHERE:  The FOCUS is on the INDIVIDUAL CHILD’S RIGHT to develop intellectually, social-emotionally and academically to his or her fullest capacity under the guidance of well educated, highly trained, dedicated and well paid professional teachers.

 2.  WHERE:  PARENT(S) are recognized as major players in the child’s overall development and are actively encouraged to participate in all aspects of the life of the child and school and in major educational decisions such as alternative programming and/or alternative schooling.

3.  WHERE:  All the adults in the school community are CHILD ADVOCATES and do make a difference for children.

4.  WHERE:  All those in positions of authority (teachers, principals.…) LEAD WITH THEIR HEARTS as well as with their minds.

 5.  WHERE:  Building bridges between school and home leads to maximum levels of CONFIDENCE and TRUST.

 6.  WHERE:  Ongoing two-way COMMUNICATION (people truly listening to one another) minimizes conflict and maximizes understanding and creative problem solving.

7.  WHERE:  All members are ENERGIZED through ACTIVE PARTICIPATION.

8.  WHERE:  Bureaucratic regulations and demands are minimized in order to maximize INITIATIVE and CREATIVITY.

9.  WHERE:  RESPECT, KINDNESS, FAIRNESS, and COOPERATIVE LIVING are taught as basic values of the school community.

10. WHERE:  PROBLEM SOLVING and CONFLICT RESOLUTION are intentionally taught within the school-laboratory.

11. WHERE:  PLAY and IMAGINATION are recognized as key elements in childhood and growth and are incorporated into the curriculum and school life.

12. WHERE:  MUSIC and the ARTS enhance the SOUL and the SPIRIT of the school community and encourage children to express their inner selves.

 13. WHERE:  The harmony between the child’s PHYSICAL, MENTAL, and EMOTIONAL FITNESS is furthered by offering a balance of both cooperative and competitive play and individual and team sports before, during and after the regular school day.

14. WHERE:  An expression of a wide range of FEELINGS and EMOTIONS is accepted as normal and an integral part of the child’s development and enriches the child’s daily school life.

15. WHERE:  AGGRESSION is REDIRECTED into positive activity and the flip side of positive is not negativity but rather ENCOURAGEMENT.

16. WHERE:  TECHNOLOGY is embraced to ENGAGE all learners, to ENHANCE the child’s individual STYLE of LEARNING, and to FURTHER the child’s UNDERSTANDING of the complexities of our rapidly changing world.

                                       DEDICATED TO

THE INDEPENDENCE SCHOOL STAFF

By Richard Lakin
Excerpted from Teaching as an Act of Love:
Thoughts and Recollections of a Former
Teacher, Principal and Kid
Copyright © 2007

Free E-Copy  http://bit.ly/9izOeu
( pp.195-197)  

(Addition of "ENGAGE all learners"
to #16 by R. Lakin—August 11, 2010)