Since 2011, Morningstar Preschool and Kindergarten has helped children acquire the knowledge, skills, and values they need to become responsible members of a democratic society. Morningstar Preschool and Kindergarten belongs firmly to the long tradition of learner-centered education that sees a child’s curiosity as the primary driver for knowledge acquisition. Morningstar respects children’s desir
e to become competent and participate in the greater world. At Morningstar, learning is respected as an intrinsic aspect of living: it is not isolated from sociability, physicality, creativity, play, or any other necessity. The parents and educators ofMorningstar act on the belief that learning requires consensual, holistic involvement. The differing talents and learning styles of students are respected: children gain skills at their own pace, without judgment. In Morningstar’s non-competitive environment, learning is both social and cooperative and individual and personal. Much learning at Morningstar is conversational. Literacy educator Paulo Freire emphasized the importance of “dialogue… as an indispensable component of the process of both learning and knowing.”
