The New City School field trip was, in my opinion, one of the best so far.

I really

enjoyed the atmosphere of the school and its philosophy. I think that New City really does its

best to engage students in all different types of learning. This is evident not only in how

everything is designed and labelled (a sand box marked Sensory-Motor, an easel marked

Spatial), but also in the schools mission statement: New City School develops each childs

individual strengths through an integrated Multiple Intelligences curriculum. We prepare

children, age three through grade six, to be confident joyful learners who are successful

academically, knowledgeable about themselves and others, and who value diversity.

There were many things that I noticed and appreciated about New City School. Teachers

help students to self-assess, which encourages students to take ownership of their learning.

Parents are constantly informed about their childs progress, academic needs, and role(s) in the

classroom. Teachers at New City School recognize how vital parent involvement is in student

learning, and they work to incorporate parents as much as they can. Students, even those of very

young ages, call their teachers by their first names. This seems to help establish a working and

healthy relationship between students and their educators. Educators in the same grade level

work together to create curriculum for their classes and in some cases share classroom space,

which often leads to strong teacher-teacher relationships. Curriculum is formed with stages of

development in mind. For example, the 3s work on getting to know themselves and their bodies,

while the 4s and 5s focus on understanding their environment and the feelings of others better. It

seems that New Citys mission is very visible in the way that students are taught, how teachers

and administration value parents, and the schools inclusion of its community.

As a developing education professional, I enjoyed seeing that students had autonomy in

the New City School classrooms. It seems evident to me that teachers trusted their scholars,
often offering them opportunities to lead the class, make choices, and self-govern. I did notice,

however, that the teachers in the lower levels facilitated Multiple Intelligences learning more

than the ones in the higher grades. I think this must have to do with educators who teach older

students feeling as though they must prepare their scholars for standardized testing, as this is

something they will have to do after leaving New City School. This particular noticing reminded

me of a scene in Most Likely to Succeed in which an educator talks about how, in almost all

public schools, critical thinking skills, creativity, and the ability to problem-solve are replaced by

rote memorization. It does not strike me as odd that most of the alternative-education schools

weve seen are private and cater only to grades below 9th.

Although New City School has been my favorite school visit of the semester, Im still left

wondering. How do students in the advanced grades experience Multiple Intelligences learning?

If a student were to transfer into New City School as a 6th grader, would they come away with

the same well-rounded education as those in the lower levels? Is it necessary to teach students

test-taking strategies in a structure such as New Citys? How might a student brought up in

alternative education perform in standardized testing?

While I currently dont have answers to these questions, I look forward to exploring the

ideas they represent while visiting other schools. Being able to compare the approach of

educational institutes such as New City to my own public school education has helped me to

realize that learning is not meant to be compartmentalized. Students can naturally develop

academically as they discover more about themselves, their peers, and their ability to succeed.

New City has recognized this philosophy and has successfully integrated it into the classroom.