Middle School Philosophy
We, the professional staff of the Albert G. Prodell Middle School , believe our school is part of a larger community. Our students receive benefits from the neighborhood, their country and their world, from other cultures and other generations.
Our school is an educational community in which children and adults promote and exemplify respect, growth, and awareness of self and others. Students are treated humanistically as physical, cognitive, psychological, and social beings. Similarly, teachers, support staff, administrators, and community members are treated with intelligence, sensitivity, and respect.
We believe that the education of all children, especially adolescents, requires emphasis on the development of the following concepts:
- Learning is a balance of active exploration, interaction, and discovery. Therefore, we value a variety of strategies for the construction and acquisition of knowledge.
- Learning cannot occur in isolation. Therefore, we value networks of communication for the flow of ideas, information, and experiences among students, staff, and community.
- Teaching facilitates learning when it focuses on the needs of the learner. Therefore, we value a child-centered curriculum.
- Learners vary in mode as well as speed of learning. Teachers exhibit varying styles and employ different methods to facilitate learning. Therefore, we value an educational atmosphere where individual differences are respected.
We believe this to be a dynamic philosophy capable of being adapted to meet the needs of our community in an ever-changing world.