Sunset Hill High School - Sundial Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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--D ilii . I -Gif -H he new Lng the warts of J study r much tstand- his en- 1 mu-st hysical rooms 1t, at- bodily 'e their giving iitiated ind by iguage, ealized nildren, thg by uce on larger clinch- te and the so- :he pu- tion of ree ex- :nse of or plan- pleas- i n V F i 41 i Q f - -.-...,.,,, M., mf... .,....s-..,,.....,.. ures and obligations of democratic life---to gain knowledge in the selection of leaders and followers--and to form ideals of co-opera- tion and comradeship. In brief, these new schools are endeavoring to cultivate the child s whole being, physical, mental and spiritual, by creating in the school an environment in which he can be trained to carry his full part of the burdens and privileges ot citizenship. Life is the great thing after ell, the life of the child in its time and in its measure no less than that of the adult. -John Dewey. A STATEMENT or THE EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES or SUNSET HILL scfnooi. The Sunset Hill School is one of many throughout the coun- try founded for the purpose of giving concrete expression to the ideals and methods oi progressive education. The school is not an experiment but puts into practice the findings of psychologists, educational and health specialists and other experts-, who have studied childhood and adolescence under all conditions and have subjected each new theory to severe and prolonged tests in labora- tory schools established for the purpose. While public schools are constantly modifying their methods to embody these findings in their curricula, their problems of securing adequate space and equipment and a teaching force large enough to meet the needs of the enormous numbers of pupils are so serious as to retard progress. It is the privilege of the private school, therefore, with its smaller numbers, greater relative teaching iorce and less crowd- ed physical conditions to put into practice more rapidly the best results of educational investigation. -Parents who have faith in the new education will find in the Sunset Hill School those condi- tions a.nd opportunities which they desire for their children. The plan of the life in the school is based upon the principle of the right of every child to the highest development of which he is capable. It is the purpose of the school, throughout the entire school course, to train its pupils to worl-r happily, whole-heartedly, and intelligently to their own maximum capacity. VV e hold that the school has fulfilled its obligation to its pupils only when it has stimulated them to their best effort. We believe that self-actuated work causes the greatest gain to the pupilg that training in initiative is the child's great needg that ...Ila-

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4141 'l N'F'5' U4mRU11v+ .K pf,'wf?uuh VJ'A V mm- Progressive Schools. The following summary of the purposes and ideals of the new school movement will perhaps prove helpful in interpreting the work of our own school: Progressive schools have been established in various parts of the country for over a generation. It is therefore possible to study in the concrete their aims, methods and results. However much they may differ in plan and in practice, all have certain outstand- ing characteristics in common. They are: 1. A greater freedom for the child in school. 2. An identification of the child's school life with his en- vironment and child outlook. 3. The recognition of the part which education must play in democracy. , The first-freedom--is both physical and mental. Physical freedom is made possible by spaciousness oi the school rooms and comfortable, easily moved furniture and equipmentg at- tention is given to health, rest and nourishmentg and the bodily activities of playing,,dancing, sports, making and doing have their place in the school program. Mental freedom is assured by giving the child opportunities for experimentation through self-initiated projects, by cultivating independent choiceiof activities, and by offering a wide range for the expression of ideas, in language, music, dramatics and the fine arts. The second--identification with the chilcfs outlook--is realized by constantly using the natural instincts and impulses of children, not for mere amusement, but for genuine educative growthg by taking advantage oi these instincts and impulses to reproduce on the child's plane the typical doings and occupations oi the larger mature society into which he will go forth, by securing and clinch- ing valuable knowledge through his inborn desire to create and reproduce. The third-education for democracy-is evidenced by the S0- eial life within these schoolsg the personal participation of the pu- pils in the affairs of the school, their discussion and solution of community problernsg forms of co-operative governmentg free ex- pression of opinion, freedom of choice controlled by the sense of responsibility toward the whole group. The school life is so plan- ned that there is constant opportunity to realize both the pleas- .....IO.... ure sel+ tioi chi the ful am A ti-3 ide ex ed S111 su to: art in eq of pr its ed re th tic of is sc ar th .hz tli 1- 21- . -. - ' es-:ve - ., -- '-r - -- V - '- - -an --.-1 . .- -- ...et--...--... -- , -- -- ----- 4- fem- -- fLf11 A '.,.,-..-ar e ' fg,,,,, M, ' ' f'-- Is e , - V - -'

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-wwf-'?'SrL-im-is ,. . -- - -- .- -, - ,sa-..-A--. .. . , - - -. 1. real experience with actual material is an essential to learningg that opportunity for varied expression is necessary to right edu- cationg that freedom, with a balancing responsibility, is the best condition of moral and intellectual growth, that one of the most effective and wholesome motives of work is the social motiveg that for their best development children must be treated as individuals and not as a group. i The school does not believe that school work should be made easy. On the contrary, it is planned to be as difficult as the child, by diligent effort, can perform. The child learns that everything worth doing involves the performance of disagreeable tasks, which must be performed cheerfully and promptly. It is through real in- terest that the chi1d's best effort is put forth. The school is a place for hard work done eagerly and with definite purpose, and expects of its pupils intellectual achievement of high quality. The school prepares students for college. In this prepara- tion greater emphasis is placed upon the values inherent to the subject-matter than upon the -mere preparation for college exami- nations. The pupils are prepared to tal-ze the college entrance examinations but the school desires to prepare them in a larger way for the opportunities which college offers. The school's aim is so to train its pupils that they are fully prepared to make the most of their years in college, and that they may carry the work with ease and success. This means- that they must have acquired in their training the power to Work independently and hard g that they have been equipped with tastes, interests, judgment, and an out- look which will make college life rich and full of meaning. With such training students go to college eager for all that is most worthwhile in college life. The supreme object of the school is to educate its children for right human relationship by cultivating the spirit of intelligent social service: by developing the sympathies and the finer emo- tionsg by training the mind to become the efficient instrument of the will disciplined for purposeful living, and by inculcating prin- ciples of true democracy. The following quotation from the writings of Colonel Francis W. Parker, a pioneer in education in America, epitomizes our ideal: 6'The value of a school should he judged hy the growth of its pupils in honesty, courage, helpfulness, unselfishness, charity, wisdom and strength. ......l2.... beg Scl six int 11W of sax Tk sci tio me thl an ch fin tr: da pe stm pr ea of sc sc sl . in L -Hi Y- -- i H -- A l V- . -n. L in. W. LHH W-gli - . - T J Q LJL- -:-- -Z -nv lg p L . . Q- 5:--: f ,.,,, L, , ' ' . 4: i V 'Tm' TT A' W ' ' 'f f 'r1':..,,