Our Philosophy

WLS - About

The World Learner School is a public (charter) Montessori school serving children from 6 to 14 years of age.

We practice the Montessori Method of education. For us Montessori is a view of and an attitude toward the whole child. The curriculum consists of a physical environment, a psychological environment, materials, presentation of the materials, and the children’s chosen work, all within a Montessori framework.

The Montessori Philosophy and Curriculum

“The essence of independence is to be able
to do something for one’s self.

The general philosophy for each child in our school is to provide Montessori education, which is an education of independence and freedom.  In order to develop physical, intellectual and spiritual powers to the fullest, the child must have freedom.  This is obtained in our classrooms through the practice of independence, order and self-discipline.  We believe that self-motivation is the single most important impulse to guide the children through their learning.

Each child is viewed as an individual learner, with unique learning style and capabilities.  The children are allowed to move through the elementary curriculum at their own pace.  This is why the multi-age grouping works so well.  Something that may have held little interest for a first-year student, may become fascinating in the second or third year.  In this way children experience the freedom to make choices in their work, and develop a sense of control over their education.  This also virtually eliminates the child’s fear of being “behind.”

The mixing of ages also helps to strengthen the social development of the child.  The relationships formed between the younger and older children are invaluable. The younger children look to the older children as inspiration in both behavior and work.  The older children take pride in guiding the young ones through the ways of the classroom.  The three-year cycle also helps the children build an extremely strong bond with their teacher.  The teacher and child get to know and trust each other in a most profound way.

The teacher is responsible for helping guide the children to find their own motivation for learning.  By preparing the environment and observing each child carefully, the teacher “follows the child.” Children expand their knowledge by being guided toward materials that reflect their interests.

The Montessori teacher has, what Maria Montessori calls, a “Cosmic Task.”  This task is to work with the children’s imagination to help them realize the interconnectedness of the universe.  One of the foundations of Montessori education is to present the concrete, which leads to the abstract.  By first striking the child’s imagination with a wonderful story or lesson, the teacher taps into the child’s self-motivation to begin a search for more information.

In short, the Montessori elementary and middle school classrooms provides the children with the freedom to learn at their own pace in a varied age group, with a teacher to help guide them through the curriculum.  There is much more to know about the Montessori Method in addition to what is mentioned here, and we encourage all parents to educate themselves about this philosophy by reading about it, attending parent education nights, and observing in our classrooms.  We assure you that the more you know about the Montessori philosophy, the more excited you will be to have your child join this community!

Philosophy Implementation

We follow the educational philosophy of Maria Montessori.  In order to develop physical, intellectual, and spiritual potential to the fullest, the child must have freedom:  freedom achieved through order and discipline.  We provide an integrated curriculum which is child-centered and teacher-facilitated, allowing children freedom and choice within a carefully prepared environment.  At The World Learner School great work is expected and respected.