FILE:  IA

 

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

 

 

We believe that the Washington Parish School System exists to serve the educational needs of its people, and that the education of youth is a joint responsibility of the school system, parents and the community.  The school system believes that individuals should be accepted at their level of development and guided in such a way that they realize their highest potential.  We expect students to mature to their individual capacity emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, morally, physically, socially and vocationally.

 

The Instructional Program in the Washington Parish School System is based on the premise that the program must provide options to accommodate the many different learning styles of all its students, including the students with special instructional needs who subsequently require curricular alternatives.  In addition, the system promotes an attitude of self-motivation, self-discipline, self-esteem and independence.

 

We believe that the system best serves the academic needs of its youth through a planned program of curriculum experiences that provides for enriched, sequential skills development.  We also believe that the system must promote an educational environment that stimulates creative growth, reasoning, inquiry and rational thinking in its students and that the students need to possess an awareness of and an appreciation  for our democratic heritage and their citizenship responsibilities.

 

PURPOSES OF EDUCATION

 

The following is a list of the purposes of education in the Washington Parish School System that are aimed at helping students develop:

 

  1. a positive self-concept and the ability to set realistic goals and expectations for themselves;
     

  2. effective skills of communication:  reading, writing, spelling, speaking, and listening;
     

  3. mathematical skills;
     

  4. problem-solving skills in all disciplines with the ability to think and evaluate constructively and creatively;
     

  5. a knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the sciences and the natural environment, as well as their influences on the quality of human life;
     

  6. an awareness of our relationships with the world community;
     

  7. aesthetic appreciation and self-expression in the arts;
     

  8. ethical behavior based on a sense of moral values with respect and appreciation for individual human worth;
     

  9. physical and mental health;
     

  10. wise use of time, including leisure pursuits;
     

  11. social competency as a contributing member of the family and community;
     

  12. effective work habits, self-control, self-discipline, and responsibility for one's own actions;
     

  13. responsible, productive citizens who understand and value the democratic ideas and ideals of our country;
     

  14. saleable skills which will prepare them for the  world of work and to become wise consumers;
     

  15. survival skills needed to make them productive, responsible, independent individuals.

 

  

Ref:     Board minutes, 6-11-87

 

Washington Parish School Board