It has been an incredible year of learning and growth thus far at MMA. We officially launched our Early Learning Center in the Fall with our Preschool Program and then quickly followed suit with our Infant and Toddler Programs in January. Our Infant Class is already full, and our Toddler Class has a waiting list until we can find more amazing teachers who meet our high standards! Our Primary Boys are experiencing almost magical transformations in their final term, and we definitely have much to celebrate.
As you know, we are definitely going against the grain of traditional, mainstream education with our philosophies and ethos, and what we’re creating here is definitely “uncomfortable” to many people who don’t understand why anything needs to change. Most people also don’t realize that Education is the only industry that hasn’t been forced to either innovate or die in the past 200 years.
We’re still using the same model of teaching, school hierarchy, and classroom structure that was used in the Industrial Era as we migrated children from farms to factories. Grades A, B, C, etc came from the grades of meat and poultry. Ringing bells to announce lunch, recess, and school ending came from bells on the factory floor to let workers know they should move to their next station.
To thrive as successful humans in today’s world, young adults no longer need to memorize loads of data and spit back facts on a test. They need problem-solving, strategic thinking, collaboration, communication, and leadership skills. They need resilience, time management, emotional management, and money management. And in today’s world of fast food, stress, trauma, drama, and pill-popping, children must learn true wellness for a lifetime, including how to rise above the onslaught of mind-numbing programming to self-regulate, unplug from group think, and find their own inner radar for truth.
It’s with this awareness in mind that we’ve carefully and strategically selected every detail and component of our curriculum and programming at MMA. From our organic, plant-based, whole foods program to our gardens, integrated curriculum of Judaics, Academics, Character Development and Life Skills, everything we feature is data driven and research backed. We use Project-Based Learning and Multiple Intelligences as our methodology instead of teaching to the middle and one-way instruction, because it gives students experiential learning and opportunities to maximize their strengths while working through their weaknesses.
Our goal is not to become more of the same, or recreate an existing school in a new zip code. Our belief is that a new paradigm is needed in education, because revolutionizing how we educate our children is what will equip and empower our next generation to revolutionize the world and heal it from the inside out. This mission is not an overnight job. Most people are not wired to be early adapters, and that’s OK. We are willing to be patient and do the heavy lifting while we build a community of like-minded families that are no longer willing to settle for the status quo.
But creating a revolution is not an easy job. It takes one family at a time deciding that they are willing to swim upstream and put some of their own skin in the game. If we keep doing what we’ve always done, we’ll keep getting what we’ve always had. So what you, our MMA parents, are doing is huge. You are sending a loud and clear message to your own children, and the world, that you are committed to creating a world where our children can thrive, in body, mind, and soul.
