At Self Development Academy, we talk a lot about our top-notch curriculum. Our schools are award winning, and our students enjoy success and accomplishment within our walls and well beyond that, on their continuing journeys. To thrive, strong curriculum needs a fertile place to land. Consider these five areas that lay the foundation for education and personal growth:
Unflinching Values
Everyone has deeply held beliefs, whether they are religious or not. Some might value the environment, some prioritize the well-being of particular populations or cultures, others might uphold honesty and integrity above all else, just to name a few examples. While none of these values are exclusive of the others, they all carry different weight for different people. As students get older, their own values might diverge from those of their parents.
Life Challenges
Students experiencing trouble at home or in their personal lives will naturally have less bandwidth for learning at school. But cultivating the practice of discipline and diligence even in the face of life challenges will make resilient students. No one can avoid the struggles of life. But they can be open to learning from them, deepening their empathy, and coming through the other side stronger.
Heritage
All students have unique backgrounds that span from the history of their ancestors, to the cultures of their people, to their own family traditions. History lessons are an obvious example of ways the same curriculum will land differently in various students – for example a Native American student and a student whose ancestors came to the country on the Mayflower learning about the first Thanksgiving in 1621. But in every subject, the perspectives and history of students’ heritage affects the way they assimilate knowledge.
Personal Psychology
All students have weaknesses and strengths. They have particular learning styles. There are triggers that result in not believing in or acting like the best versions of themselves. And there are practices that bring out the best outcomes and most positive attitudes. Learning these things about ourselves takes time, patience, and intention. Wherever your student is on his journey of self-knowledge, each new discovery along the way will enrich his experience and resilience.
Community
Each school is its own community, guided by administrators and teachers, with the unique flare of staff setting the tone, and the heartbeat of students and their parents bringing it to life. But each student comes from their own community too. Whether that is their neighborhood, a close-knit church or religious group, a sports team that gathers multiple times a week for practice and games, or another group of people that regularly support, spend time with, and speak into the lives of each other. It takes a village to raise a child, but it takes a community to see that child thrive.
If you are looking for a school to partner with you in laying the foundation for education and personal growth, contact us at (480) 641-2640 or (602) 274-1910 to get more information about our K-8 nationally awarded charter school of excellence with an advanced learning curriculum. In addition to online learning, we have campuses in Phoenix, Glendale, East Mesa, and Mesa.
