 |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
Educational Excellence
Educational Goals
​
Discovery International School was founded to provide extraordinarily excellent education to children that will prepare them for their future in an ever-changing world. Our goal is to see each child come through their schooling with:
-
a firm understanding of who they are as an individual and what their individual learning process is, meaning they've learned not only how to learn, but how they learn;
-
the ability to think "outside-the-box" to analyze problems/issues from multiple perspectives and form their own reflective and educated opinion;
-
ownership of all the knowledge and beliefs they have acquired while studying at Discovery;
-
an excellent foundation for future education in High School, University and beyond;
-
a "renaissance" education that conveys a breadth of understanding in a wide variety of disciplines, spanning athletics, academics, and the arts;
-
a love of learning that will last a lifetime.
​
​
International Baccalaureate Program
​
In order to better accomplish these goals, Discovery will be using the International Baccalaureate (IB) program as the foundation for learning, and our school is currently a candidate school. The International Baccalaureate program was originally founded in Switzerland in 1968, and in the last 50 years has experienced exponential success. In this presentation, "The history of the IB," you will find more information about the IB organization.
​An IB education is based on interdisciplinary learning, meaning that concepts studied in one discipline will be applied to other disciplines as well. For example, we can teach the concept of fractions in math class and then take the students down to the kitchen to apply the concept in cooking a recipe. Then, in their geography class, we can ask the students to count the total number of people in the room, and find out where each person comes from. From there, they can be asked to apply their knowledge of fractions to the information they have gathered. Our world is interdisciplinary. Our children's education should be a reflection of the real world, not simply theoretical knowledge.
​
At the core of the IB program is something called the "Learner Profile". These are ten attributes the IB program seeks to develop in children. IB students can be described as: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Takers, Balanced, and Reflective. You will find a more detailed description of each attribute on the IB Learner Profile.
​
​
Technology in Learning, Technology in Balance
​
Technology is all around us, and the access to knowledge and information it provides is incredible and powerful. There is, however, a negative aspect, and that is people's overuse and addiction to it. For that reason, we are moving to a very low-tech environment.
However, over the course of their education at Discovery, students will be introduced to a variety of technologies and software packages that will give them technological skills for their future. We believe that along with teaching students how to use technology, comes the responsibility of teaching students how not to use it. Students will be taught how to use technology so that it enhances their lives but doesn't control it. You might be interested to know that Steve Jobs, the innovator of Apple, and Bill Gates, the innovator of Windows, were low-tech parents. We want to not only educate our students about this issue but parents as well. Below you will find five interesting and unique Ted Talks on how technology is both helpful and harmful.
​