Today is the day I have 6 uninterrupted hours to work. I must use it well. While I attempt that, please mull over this very provisional version of a "teaching matrix" for TAS, based on (stolen from!) Zen Mountain Monastery's:
Body: Each student is required to take 120 hours of yoga or martial arts, as well as 120 additional hours of physical education. All students have opportunities to help prepare and cook our daily lunches, which are varied and highly nutritious.
Arts: Our visual arts program develops basic skills and use of materials as well as a deep awareness of the creative process as a mode of self knowledge. More advanced classes develop technique in various media. The music program provides basic instruction in singing, guitar, composition, and performance, and develops the ability to create instruments as well as to compose and share musical ideas.
Academics: The TAS program is based on the assumption that the traditional liberal arts of history, natural science, mathematics, written and verbal communication, and languages are best taught in small, high supportive classes that move at the student’s individual pace. Older students contribute a great deal to the shaping of their own course of study. Each student is required to pass a course on basic writing skills and an advanced class on research projects. All students complete a senior project.
note to seniors: although a total of 72 credit hours are required to graduate, all seniors have a separate requirement to complete at least 18 credit hours for their senior year, regardless of their credit status.
Teacher: The teacher-student relationship is the most important relationship at TAS; it is the axis that the school experience turns on. By the end of the sophomore year each student is expected to have developed a close, cooperative, working relationship with at least one member of the TAS faculty. This faculty member provides the stability and mentoring needed to develop a plan for graduation as well as for yearly goals and the day to day support every young person requires. This teacher is also in frequent communication with the student’s family.
Meditation/mindfulness: All students are instructed in the basic skill of meditation, which is the foundation for self-awareness. Meditation and mindfulness has been clearly demonstrated to help with problems of attention, depression, anger, and relationships. The ability to choose the object of one’s attention is probably the most important cognitive skill a person can develop.
TAS will be developing a contemplative education program for interested students. It will include retreats in school and away from it, as well as support for mindfulness practice throughout certain school days.
Social Justice: All students are required to commit to community service through any of the following programs: elder outreach, established local programs, and TAS’s “Books Through Bars” which collects and distributes books to prisoners around the country.
Ritual: TAS has three major events during the school year- the fall opening ceremony, the winter coffee house, and graduation. All older students are expected to attend each and fully participate. Each school day opens with a period of meditation and closes with a brief ceremony which requires quiet attentiveness. At midday, just before lunch, all activity in the school ceases for a moment of silence and gratefulness.
Work: All students perform chores in the kitchen throughout the week. In the Spring and Fall the vegetable and flower gardens require constant attention, as do the grounds. Friday is when we clean the entire building. All students learn how to clean a kitchen and bathroom thoroughly.
Occasionally, the school will have periods of silent cleaning.
Body: Each student is required to take 120 hours of yoga or martial arts, as well as 120 additional hours of physical education. All students have opportunities to help prepare and cook our daily lunches, which are varied and highly nutritious.
Arts: Our visual arts program develops basic skills and use of materials as well as a deep awareness of the creative process as a mode of self knowledge. More advanced classes develop technique in various media. The music program provides basic instruction in singing, guitar, composition, and performance, and develops the ability to create instruments as well as to compose and share musical ideas.
Academics: The TAS program is based on the assumption that the traditional liberal arts of history, natural science, mathematics, written and verbal communication, and languages are best taught in small, high supportive classes that move at the student’s individual pace. Older students contribute a great deal to the shaping of their own course of study. Each student is required to pass a course on basic writing skills and an advanced class on research projects. All students complete a senior project.
note to seniors: although a total of 72 credit hours are required to graduate, all seniors have a separate requirement to complete at least 18 credit hours for their senior year, regardless of their credit status.
Teacher: The teacher-student relationship is the most important relationship at TAS; it is the axis that the school experience turns on. By the end of the sophomore year each student is expected to have developed a close, cooperative, working relationship with at least one member of the TAS faculty. This faculty member provides the stability and mentoring needed to develop a plan for graduation as well as for yearly goals and the day to day support every young person requires. This teacher is also in frequent communication with the student’s family.
Meditation/mindfulness: All students are instructed in the basic skill of meditation, which is the foundation for self-awareness. Meditation and mindfulness has been clearly demonstrated to help with problems of attention, depression, anger, and relationships. The ability to choose the object of one’s attention is probably the most important cognitive skill a person can develop.
TAS will be developing a contemplative education program for interested students. It will include retreats in school and away from it, as well as support for mindfulness practice throughout certain school days.
Social Justice: All students are required to commit to community service through any of the following programs: elder outreach, established local programs, and TAS’s “Books Through Bars” which collects and distributes books to prisoners around the country.
Ritual: TAS has three major events during the school year- the fall opening ceremony, the winter coffee house, and graduation. All older students are expected to attend each and fully participate. Each school day opens with a period of meditation and closes with a brief ceremony which requires quiet attentiveness. At midday, just before lunch, all activity in the school ceases for a moment of silence and gratefulness.
Work: All students perform chores in the kitchen throughout the week. In the Spring and Fall the vegetable and flower gardens require constant attention, as do the grounds. Friday is when we clean the entire building. All students learn how to clean a kitchen and bathroom thoroughly.
Occasionally, the school will have periods of silent cleaning.
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