SEPTEMBER: Diversity and Inclusion
"Both diversity and inclusion increase the richness of ideas, creative power, problem-solving ability, and respect for others. In Expeditionary Learning schools, students investigate and value their different histories and talents as well as those of other communities and cultures. Schools and learning groups are heterogeneous."
Quotes:
“Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.” (Martin Forbes)
“Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day.” (unknown)
"Many different flowers, put together, make a beautiful bouquet." (unknown)
OCTOBER: The Primacy of Self Discovery
Students can overcome obstacles and discover they are capable of more than they think they are.
Quotes:
"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." (Aristotle)
"The only journey is the one within." (Rainer Maria Rilke)
"If you don't get lost, there's a chance you may never be found." (anonymous)
NOVEMBER: The Having of Wonderful Ideas
Teachers strive to foster student curiosity about the world by creating learning situations that provide something important to think about, time to experiment, and time to make sense of what is observed.
Quotes:
"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." (Maya Angelou)
"Creativity takes courage." (Henri Matisse)
"No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world." (Robin Williams)
DECEMBER: Empathy and Caring
"Learning is fostered best in communities where students' and teachers' ideas are respected and where there is mutual trust. Learning groups are small in Expeditionary Learning schools, with a caring adult looking after the progress and acting as an advocate for each child. Older students mentor younger ones, and students feel physically and emotionally safe."
Quotes:
"Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something." (H. Jackson Brown)
"Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another." (Alfred Adler)
"Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody." (unknown)
JANUARY: Collaboration and Competition
"Individual development and group development are integrated so that the value of friendship, trust, and group action is clear. Students are encouraged to compete, not against each other, but with their own personal best and with rigorous standards of excellence."
Quotes:
"The only competition worthy of a wise man is with himself." (Washington Allston)
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." (Benjamin Franklin)
"Collaboration divides the task and multiplies the success. " (unknown)
FEBRUARY: Service and Compassion
"We are crew, not passengers. Students and teachers are strengthened by acts of consequential service to others, and one of an Expeditionary Learning school's primary functions is to prepare students with the attitudes and skills to learn from and be of service."
Quotes:
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” (Aesop)
“I cannot do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good that I can do.” (Jana Stanfield)
“Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” (Howard Zinn)
MARCH: The Responsibility for Learning
"Learning is both a personal process of discovery and a social activity. Everyone learns both individually and as part of a group. Every aspect of an Expeditionary Learning school encourages both children and adults to become increasingly responsible for directing their own personal and collective learning."
Quotes:
"If you are not ready to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you." (unknown)
"The moment you take responsibility for EVERYTHING in your life is the moment you can change ANYTHING in your life." (Hal Elrod)
"Responsibility for learning belongs to the student, regardless of age." (Robert Martin)
APRIL: The Natural World
"A direct and respectful relationship with the natural world refreshes the human spirit and teaches the important ideas of recurring cycles and cause and effect. Students learn to become stewards of the Earth and of future generations."
Quotes:
“When being kind to others, don't forget about Mother Earth.” (unknown)
“You have the world at your feet. Walk gently. Walk with respect.” (unknown)
"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." (Albert Einstein)
MAY: Success and Failure
"All students need to be successful if they are to build the confidence and capacity to take risks and meet increasingly difficult challenges. But it is also important for students to learn from their failures, to persevere when things are hard, and to learn to turn disabilities into opportunities."
Quotes:
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." (Thomas Edison)
"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." (Henry Ford)
"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying." (Michael Jordan)
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)