In a society facing complex cultural, environmental, economic, political, health and scarcity issues, the same ways of approaching problems will no longer suffice. What will be required is a new set of aptitudes that include imagination, inventiveness, collaboration, openness, adaptability and flexibility. Education has always played a fundamental role in preparing our children to become engaged citizens of the world and there is no better way to make change happen than to begin rethinking how we teach and engage our future generations.
In 2006, with this goal in mind, a committee of parents and educators came together to establish a landmark holistic public school inside of the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) alternative system. Ron Miller, one of the major thinkers and contributors to the field of holistic education, explains that:
holistic education is an effort to cultivate the development of the whole human being. Where conventional schooling views the child as a passive receiver of information and rules, or at most as a computer-like processor of information, a holistic approach recognizes that to become a full person, a growing child needs to develop – in addition to intellectual skills – physical, psychological, emotional, interpersonal, moral and spirited potentials. The child is not merely a future citizen or employee in training, but an intricate and delicate web of vital forces and environmental influences.
The Whole Child School (WCS) will achieve academic excellence through an arts-integrated and experiential-learning curriculum. Our approach addresses the whole child and promotes the development of healthy, responsible, inquisitive, creative human beings.
In September 2007, the WCS Organizing Committee submitted a formal Proposal to the TDSB for consideration of a holistic elementary school alternative that would be housed in Toronto-Danforth, Ward 15. After proceeding through several stages of the approval process, the Board is now considering a proposal that Whole Child School share the building of Roden Public School with a scheduled opening date of September 2009.
Please follow the following links to learn more about:
- Teaching and Learning Principles that are integral to the WCS vision
- what a Day in the Life at Whole Child School might be like.
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Holistic Curriculum
And, we invite you to subscribe to our email Newsletter to receive updates about our progress and stay informed about upcoming events.
