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Maria Montessori observed that the driving force within the developing child is preparation for life,
a goal that is concerned with much more than the kind of learning that focuses narrowly on the skills
required to get good grades or a good job. If the effective use of one's mind
and body is made to be the ultimate goal of education, then not only are good
grades and a good job a likely consequence, so is the more important prospect of living a meaningful and satisfying life.
A natural
interest and curiosity about the world is universal for young children and would
remain throughout life if encouraged. Our goal at Pathfinder Academy is to make
this interest and curiosity the foundation of a child's education
 and to provide the best possible environment for
it to become a lifelong aspect of a child's character.
We believe this
is more likely to happen when academic material is integrated with real-world hands-on problem solving, so we are constantly
inventing ways to combine the teaching of academic material with applications
and experiences that require it. The question, "How am I going to use this in
real life?" is answered as much as possible by the work itself. We believe that knowing the answer
to this question as you are learning is an important part of the
learning.
As part of our approach to creating an integrated and
comprehensive educational experience, our students are introduced to a wide
variety of activities that help them develop physically, psychologically and
socially. We believe that by creating an environment that reflects the spirit of
the Renaissance we can excite the minds of our students.
All that we do here is built on the premise
that all children are born with the desire to
learn and to understand the world around them. We hold as our prime
directive that every decision we make will be
guided by our respect for and our commitment to this fundamental life work of the
child.
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