Educational Philosophy

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY:

Our educational system is a Traditional Classical Education, which consists of a rigorous and vigorous dialogue between culture and character.  The image that best captures this concept is the DNA model. The two main vertical strands are Culture and Character, which are interwoven and twisted to form the framework of what a modern, international; Servant Leader needs to learn in order to be successful.  The dialogue or interaction between the two is a horizontal connection between intellect and the human spirit.  The purpose is to create an environment (ethos) where “International Servant Leaders” are formed.  These leaders have the intellect to accomplish small local projects and international major projects, and they have the ethics and virtues to positively impact the global community through good works.

Culture is defined as successful performance in three phases:

• Acquiring basic foundational knowledge
• Learning how to critically analyze that knowledge
• Creating new knowledge from it.

Character is defined as learning and incorporating into one’s life what we as an organization refer to as The Seven Virtues.   The first four virtues teach the student to master and replace their own personal bad habits with prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. The next three virtues:  faith, hope, and charity, teach the student not only to live in and to improve society, but to also contribute to the global community.  These principles are taught by having students focus on a virtue each month and on a “leadership characteristic” for each week of the school year.  Gradually, the student is formed as an International Servant Leader who appreciates and incorporates the following Three Areas into their personal and professional lives:

• Physical –        Stewardship, appreciation of beauty and art, and constant self-improvement
• Intellectual –  Rigorous and vigorous studies based on global learning standards, college readiness and life-long learning
• Spiritual –      Ethical, virtuous and loving Servant Leadership, which respects the dignity  of each person

CURRICULUM PHILOSOPHY:

ESPIRITU provides instruction in four core areas:  Math/Science, Language Arts, History/Social Studies, and electives in the Classics.  The foundation of our philosophy is the “Trivium” educational system, where education has three levels of learning, with a specific type corresponding to the respective level, which builds on the previous level:

• K - 6 grade:     (Grammar) Memorization of basic facts; acquisition of language, and history
• Grades 7-8-9:   (Logic) Piecing together of basic facts and logical interpretation of them
• Grades 10-12:   (Rhetoric) Clear articulation of logical thoughts 

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE CURRICULUM:

Our students and their parents are required to demonstrate an understanding of our “7 Step Methodology” which is our International Project Management approach to serving global communities.  They gain this understanding by completing a minor project in the local community and a major project with our strategic international partners. 

These projects are in various fields: leadership education, affordable housing, business development, community safety, sustainable projects such as renewable energy and community food-growing projects, and International Communication Centers using state-of-the-art technology, hardware and software.