Escola da Esperança Project
Regional Learning Community for children and families in Portuguese Homeschooling
Escola da Esperança Project is an open, holistic learning space for children from our community, from the region and all over the globe where they can learn crucial social and ecological knowledge for the future while following what motivates them most.
“Learning is a natural process which happens by itself because life itself is aligned to continuous development and improvement. Learning is not linear but oscillates along a line of tension; an irresistible draw which we call interest, curiosity or intrinsic motivation. An efficient learning system is guided by these motions of life.” FROM OUR CONCEPT
Vision
Children and youth are the future of our planet. Each child carries a seed for a humane world. The main goal of the Escola da Esperança Project is to nurture this peace power. By providing children and youth with a social and educational place where they can freely follow their curiosity, develop trust and unfold their natural potential, we can enable them to become active co-creators in this world.
The Escola da Esperança Project is an educational model based on progressive, internationally researched teaching methods. The aim is to provide the next generation, who are faced with unprecedented challenges, with knowledge about peace-building, cooperation with nature, sustainable ways of living and building community. In an international environment, students learn about different cultures, which is crucial for developing global consciousness and solidarity. Multilingualism and media literacy are very important tools for our students when navigating through the globalized and digitized world.
Based on our experience of bringing up children for the past decades, inspired by free schools such as Summerhill (UK) or Escola da Ponte (Portugal), and by the pedagogical ideas of José Pacheco and Maria Montessori, we:
- are aware of “sensitive stages of learning”
- direct learning according to the children’s growth and inner qualities
- work with materials in a “prepared environment” and offer project work and political journeys
- take a holistic approach to learning, protecting and strengthening the innate qualities of children and youth, like their creative curiosity, empathy and humaneness, through positive learning experiences.
The key concepts that guide the Escola da Esperança Project are:
- Children are cosmic beings.
- The thinking of the future must make wars impossible.
- Developing global consciousness and conveying knowledge for a regenerative culture.
- Learning is a natural process happening by itself: “Attraction instead of pressure.”
- Supporting everyone’s own inner motor of development.
- Understanding that the world is a holistic organism.
- Creativity as the basis of every evolutionary process and source of children’s play and free learning.
- Freedom and orientation require each other.
- Experiencing trust and solidarity in community – from “me” to “we.”
- Preparing children and youth for lifelong learning.
These are a summary of the key concepts of the Escola da Esperança Project.
Explore in Depth
If you want to know more about the project, explore our website: http://www.escola-da-esperanca.org
Help us to sustain our regional Learning Community!
Your donation will enable the next generation to become co-creators of a peaceful world.