SOIL
The School Of Innovative Learning
Our mission is to focus on the gifts and talents of each student, foster these gifts and talents, and share them with the world.
How is SOIL Different from other schools?
The School of Innovative Learning is a place where the student is the center of the school, and the center of every class. It is a place where the entire child is nurtured: intellectually, socially-emotionally, and creatively. No matter the age, no matter what labels have previously been placed upon your child in other educational settings, each child enters The School to be nourished and to discover the best of self.
We work, as a team, with parents, and community to enable each young person to:
DISCOVER THEIR INTERESTS,
CREATE ORIGINAL THOUGHTS, IDEAS, AND PLANS,
BUILD UPON THOSE IDEAS WITH JOY, ENERGY, AND NEWLY ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE,
CHALLENGE AND CELEBRATE THEMSELVES AND OTHERS.
Differentiation includes finding out how each student learns best:
- The intellect
- The energy
- The questions
- And the heart and soul of every person who enters our space.
- Parents, community members, and mentors in areas of expertise that correspond to the interests of our students play direct and pivotal roles in helping the students to grow in their curiosity, their manner of learning, exploration, and in what they will research and create.
The Purpose of The School of Innovative Learning extends to:
- Celebrating the diversity and the truth of what is different in every child whom we have the joy of meeting.
- Recognizing differences and celebrating them so that young people can acknowledge and build upon their own strengths, as well as collaborate with the strengths of others.
- A new way of seeing self and others that opens doors for sharing, and collaboration with a sense of “give and take” and an awareness that not having a particular skill does not mean that a person “fails” or is “not smart” or is “inadequate” when compared with peers.
What if?
What if, instead of school being a place where everyone had to follow a set of constrained and never-ending rules and regulations that actually quell and restrain the truth of who they are, each child was given the opportunity to discover exactly what makes him or her tick?
What if, instead of tests that determine what a child can or cannot do in comparison to his or her peers, a child is given the opportunity to determine who he or she is, what he or she is good at, loves to do and then is given the tools, the opportunities, and the support to follow those gifts, talents, and interests, passions and desires? What if, in addition to this opportunity of self-discovery, these young people are also allowed to share their gifts and talents with one another, and not be ashamed of what they may not possess as a gift, but be happy to know that what they do not have, someone else does and that together, their gifts combine to create something wonderful.
What would happen if we changed the way we looked at children?
What would happen if we allowed the children to become who they truly are? To become who they were meant to be?
We have reached a time and a place in this world where children are not receiving the opportunities, the oxygen of self-discovery. The truth is that the discovery begins with the child, not with a book, not with a lesson, not with a list of words or facts to memorize. The questions come from the child. The mystery comes from the child. The facilitators are the guides – the world is the classroom. The child is his own author, creator, and piece of marble, clay, or wood.
Now is the time to start.
Now is the time to begin.
Not everyone will be ready. That is ok.
Providing the opportunity for those who are ready is a responsibility that must be taken very seriously.
It is also an opportunity to see and create the possibilities and joy that are ahead of us, through the eyes of our children.
How We Can Help You?
Have Any Questions?