“An interesting piece of work, freely chosen, which has the virtue of inducing concentration rather than fatigue, adds to the child’s energies and mental capacities, and leads {the child} to self-mastery.” - Maria Montessori
Children are full of curiosity. Their formative minds are constantly hungry for all sorts of information. Oak Arbor teachers nourish each student with the knowledge they need for their cognitive and intellectual growth. This leads them to master core academic subjects, critical and creative thinking skills and their applications to a variety of life situations.
In continually improving our academic program, we strive to harmonize the best practices and standards of public school curriculum at the National and State levels with our distinctive educational philosophy and methodology.
More specifically, Oak Arbor creates a healthy school environment by feeding children's minds in these six areas:
What does feeding the mind have to do with relationships? It means nourishing a better understanding of how to build and maintain healthy relationships. There are many teachable moments for this throughout the day - during classroom worship, religion classes, in developing and maintaining classroom rules of behavior and interaction, in classes that focus on child protection and bully prevention, etc. We also consider recess, lunch and PE as important times for students to put these skills into practice.
Students take in a daily helping of Bible teaching. They also learn and practice many basic Christian principles as well as teachings that are distinctive to the New Church. Teachers incorporate this information into as many areas of the curriculum as possible, not only in classroom worship, religion classes and devotional reading but also when appropriate in social studies, geography, language arts, art, music, drama, etc.
An important basis for feeding the mind is encouraging students to appreciate their own gifts, interests, and passions. Knowing one's competencies and strengths helps build a healthy sense of self that can also serve as a basis for being a useful part of a community. It also means acknowledging, appreciating and encouraging the personal strengths, gifts and interests of others.
Our curriculum is designed to serve as the foundation for life-long success in education. Oak Arbor alumni report very smooth transitions to various public and private schools. Many qualify for advanced placement in High School English, for membership in the National Honor Society, and many take leadership positions. Most continue on to college and look back on their years at Oak Arbor with gratitude.
Strong critical thinking skills are part of a well-fed mind. Oak Arbor teachers promote an attitude of interest and curiosity in learning that leads to developing such mental skills. They employ various teaching methods to reach different kinds of thinkers and learners.
Creativity is not just an inborn trait. It is a mental exercise that is nurtured, learned and developmental, a function not just of the right side of the brain, but the whole brain. We provide a positive learning environment in which individual creativity is honored. Evidence of this can be found in routine teacher-student interaction, in bulletin board displays, in classroom presentations, etc.