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Child at Miquon is holding grass

What is Progressive Education?

Every Progressive educator starts with the child. We watch. We listen. We discover children’s interests, learning styles, identities, and dreams. Then, we meet the child with deep expertise in where their learning needs to go and how to help them get there.That’s the heart of Progressive education. And it’s been the heart of Miquon since 1932.

A Different Kind of School

Since the late 1800s, Progressive educators have been asking what it truly means to help children learn. Across schools and generations, they have shared a core belief: children learn best when they are active participants in their education rather than passive recipients of it.

Real learning is driven by curiosity, not compliance. School should develop the whole child, not just their test scores. Critical thinking matters more than rote memorization.

Though Progressive schools may look different from one another, they share several core ideas.

1- Learning about the Child

Everything begins with who the child is. Progressive educators insists on seeing each child clearly and building from there.

2 - Learning that Actually Sticks

Learning is most powerful when children are inside it - actively constructing ideas for themselves, following questions into unexpected places, and doing things that have real purpose in their lives.

3 - Learning Together

No one learns alone. The people around us - the community we belong to, the relationships we build, the values we share - shape who we become just as surely as any lesson. Progressive schools take that seriously. They are not just places where children happen to be together. They are communities, by design and by intention.

Children are born curious and, that curiosity, given the right environment, is the most powerful engine of learning there is…

Lynn Hughes, retired long time Miquon teacher

What do we believe at Miquon?

These core Progressive ideas come to life at Miquon through our Mission and Ten Tenets, which guide everything we do.

read our mission and 10 tenets

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