Educational Values

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique."

No two children learn or develop in exactly the same way
For this reason individualised learning and development is at the top of our list. Maria Montessori recognized as early as 1903 that each child has 'sensitive' phases in which specific things are learned more easily than at other times. During these phases the child also learns those things with a high degree of motivation and pleasure: Our job is to observe the child carefully, to notice when he or she shows interest in a particular area of learning and to make sure that everything at their disposal in order to be able to learn efficiently and independently. At Sesam children spend a large part of each learning day doing activities they choose for themselves and working in the social situations that best suit their style of learning: alone, with a partner or in a group. Each day activities are offered by the teacher in which the children can choose to participate. A child who chooses not to take part may continue quietly with his or her own project. This structure promotes not only intellectual development but also important social skills and skills in self-management; students learn to be considerate of others, to organize their own work and time and to make responsible decisions.
 

The teacher as coach
Our teachers consider it their first priority to assist students in developing good learning skills. For this reason, students and their coaches engage in frequent reflection on the learning process itself. In partnership with the teacher, students set their learning goals, develop strategies to achieve those goals, plan their work schedules and evaluate their success. The goals and projects are short term for younger students and may span a period of several weeks for older students. At the established time the children evaluate individually with their teacher how well they have planned and how well they have achieved their set goals. The children learn to assess strategies and to continually develop new ones.

Special abilities and talents
Our strong emphasis on individualised learning makes it possible for children at Sesam to immerse themselves in subjects and areas of learning in which they have special abilities and talents. We believe that every child is gifted in some special way and we are therefore very much concerned with finding ways and creating spaces in which children can discover and celebrate their own uniqueness.

Creativity and practical intelligence
According to Robert Sternberg, a well known authority on the learning of highly gifted children, people who accomplish extraordinary things employ three different kinds of intelligence: analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence. At Sesam we endeavour to attain the greatest possible
cultivation and development of all these intelligences - and a few more not mentioned by Sternberg, interpersonal and intra-personal, musical and kinaesthetic intelligences, for instance. This is accomplished through a strong emphasis on production and projects, through creative use of materials, experiments, theatre, music, movement, analytical and creative problem solving.
 

Communication and Responsibility
Questions that concern everyone are discussed and decided upon by everyone in the learning community - students, teachers and administrators. These questions will include the organization of the school room, ideas for projects and excursions and also basic rules for learning and being together. We feel that the future of democratic society as a whole - as well as the present and future well-being of our students - depends on children learning to express themselves clearly, to negotiate effectively, to take responsibility for their choices and also on their discovering that they can be and have a positive influence on the world around them.