REALMS Magnet School
An EL Education Credentialing Portfolio
CHARACTER AND ENGAGEMENT
..fostering independent learners, engaged citizens and ethical humans
What is Character at REALMS?
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“I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self denial, and above all, compassion.” – Kurt Hahn
The EL Education model is based, in part, on the philosophy of Kurt Hahn, the founder of Outward Bound. As an EL Education school, we at REALMS believe in helping students develop the mindsets they need to become effective, life-long learners and at the same time the ethics they need to grow into compassionate, engaged citizens with a commitment to stewardship and social justice.
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At REALMS, our initial roots were in working to help students who had struggled in school to re-find success, hope, and some confidence in themselves as learners. We knew in those early years of our school that as a faculty we had to aim for more than just academic growth of our students, and we knew that for many students, social and emotional learning was the pre-cursor to unlocking their academic potential.
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That commitment to character has remained strong at REALMS. Over the years, with the help of our partners at EL Education, we have defined the traits we seek to bring forth in students, refined our approach "teaching" character, and talk often as a faculty about the best ways to balance the encroaching pressure brought on by the rise of high stakes testing with the importance of those initial qualities that Kurt Hahn believed in so strongly.