Our view of who children are and what they are capable of has been inspired and influenced by a host of theoreticians, researchers, and practitioners.
 
We believe, with Howard Gardner, that children have many different ways of being smart, and that everyone has all eight of the Multiple Intelligences laid out by his theory. Of course, one or more specific intelligences may be more developed or favored by any given student.
 
We draw on the work of Jean Piaget, the first psychologist to help us appreciate the rich mental life of the child. Piaget’s writing makes us aware of the role of adult listening and observations in understanding children’s thoughts. The work of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky has led us to recognize that learning is most successful not when information is received by individuals in isolation, but rather when knowledge and understanding are constructed in collaboration with others.
 
Loris Malaguzzi’s conception of the “hundred languages of children,” as well as the work of the Italian preschools of Reggio Emilia draw attention to the many avenues through which children can express their understanding and knowledge of the world.
 
We gain much of our understanding of the value of schools functioning democratically from the writing of John Dewey.
 
Finally, we are indebted to the many faculty of the former Sabot School for their years of embedded inquiry and problem-solving on how to support children in developing the social responsibility necessary to share learning within a group.
 
Our philosophy evolves and deepens as we continue to read and learn from the work of others and from our own practice.