Our Philosophy
Our school is dedicated to the development of students through a focused effort to develop the whole person in the areas of social, emotional, physical and intellectual domains.
We seek to develop thoughtfulness, resourcefulness and insight as to who we are as people. Thoughtfulness means full of thought. Resourcefulness means doing well with what you have got to work with. Insight means knowing yourself and being mindful of your place relative to others.
At The International School of Asia, we follow the seven Cs, which are both modeled behavior and delivery means:
Compassion
Teachers model this behavior and actively teach students how to serve and care for others regardless of circumstance. Students will learn the value of service to others and begin to understand that they are responsible for the mindfulness of their own development. We are the architects of our own selves and we can define what that might be and work toward becoming it.
Collaboration
A special emphasis will be placed on learning how to work together. In the younger years, this will be done by structuring the classes and work flow in particular manners. In the older grades, students will learn to be members of a team and will participate in activities such as Model UN and environmental and social projects in the area of the school that they can participate in.
Citizenship
Children are not fully formed human beings. They are in the process of understanding their relationship with others. We believe that there are three vital parts to citizenship. First is the development of the inner self, including values that are held, cultivated and developed. Second is how those values manifest in a society/nation, and finally how they manifest beyond one’s own society.
Computing
Students in today’s world must be fluent in the use of computers. Children will learn not only how to use a computer from an early age but also how to program a computer. Computer and internet use will be second nature to students and they will develop advanced computer literacy skills as they move through our program.
Critical Thinking and Learning Skills
Students will be taught to understand how their thinking works, and skills related to thinking. This will be done from an early age where philosophy for children will be taught, making the base for understanding their own thinking in relation to others. The use of self-directed learning contracts will be used as a means to move purposefully from teacher directed study to having the skills to direct one’s own learning - a pre-requisite for life-long learning.
Creativity
In many schools, education subverts creativity. We believe that, to be a global citizen, it is imperative that we both understand and honor the creative aspects of other societies and begin the development of the inner self, which is the source of creativity. In practice, this means dance, music, art, poetry, writing and computing will all play prominent roles in our daily activities.
Communication
Communication is the art of transmitting ideas, feelings and knowledge from one person to others. Learning to be effective in terms of organizing thoughts, feelings and knowledge is information architecture. Providing others with a view into information architecture is a complex human endeavor. We will start from the beginning and develop the skills of speaking, listening, gathering and disseminating. Giving children a voice and an ability to really hear others is the beginning of a life-long quest for meaningful relationships with others and the world in general.
We believe that children are not just seekers of knowledge but they are also creators of it.
We understand the world through the use of the tools that we have, and we develop new tools that lead to new understanding. This resourceful disposition has allowed us to evolve to the state that we are in today. To move to the next phase of development we must ask ourselves what kind of an education does man really need? The ideal school will be forged from the answer to this quest.