Paideia Explained

In 1988, Roberts Jr. High became Roberts Paideia Academy. It presently serves over 800 students in grades PreK-8. The Paideia Proposal, which was developed in 1982 by Mortimer Adler, was to be an educational manifesto calling for a radical reform of basic schooling in the United States. Its main goal was to overcome the elitism of our school system from its beginning to the present day,and to replace it with a truly democratic system that aims not only to improve the quality of basic schooling in the country, but also aims to make quality education accessible to all children.

Definition:

PAIDEIA (Py-dee-a) comes from the Greek pais or paidos, the upbringing of the child.

Main Objectives:

• Personal Development: Every child should be able to look forward not only to growing up, but also to continued growth in all human dimensions throiughout life. Basic schoolilng should prepare students to take advantage of every opportunity for personal growth that our society offers.
• Citizenship: An adequate preparation for discharging the duties and responsiblities of citizenship. This requires the cultivation of the appropriate civic virtues, but also a sufficient understanding of the framework of our goveernment andits fundamental principles.
• Earning a Living: Basic schooling must prepare studnets for the working world by giving them the basdic skills that are common to all work in a society such as ours.

Principal Beliefs of the Paideia Method: The same quality of education for all. Education is a life long process. Education should be eneral and liberal in focus. All genuine learning is active, not passive.

Thee types of Paideia Teaching:

1. Didactic: "Teaching by telling." This method involves the acquisition of organized knowledge. It employs textbooks, instructional materials, and is accompanied by laboratory demonstrations.
2. Coaching: The emphasis is on the student's ability to do basic skill operations. The teacher-pupil ratio is smaller than in the didactic mode, and the teacher operates in a manner similar to a coach of athletic skills.
3. Socratic Method: This mnode of teaching is called "Maieutic" because it helps the studnets bring "ideas to birth." The materials are non-textbook, but rather products of "human artistry." Though seminars and discussions, led by the questioning method, children are encouraged and guided to raise their appreciation of the development of ideas. The imaginiation and creative powers of the students are stimulated.

Taken from the Roberts Paideia Academy Handbook