Jenny Anderson of The New York Times today profiles the Blue School, an innovative downtown Manhattan private school founded by members of the prominent theater group Blue Man Tubes.
The school has always been known for its creative, original, artistic approach to education. Anderson explains how the Blue School is evolving, now teaching children about metacognition (how you think about thinking), emotional regulation, and the learning process. Killjoy me said:
Emily Glickman, founder of Abacus Guide Educational Consulting, said her clients found it a “little too artsy and alternative.”
“I find more and more, for their tuition dollars, families want tradition, structure and the three R’s,” she said.
Sorry, that is what I find. With every passing year, the families I meet are more and more concerned about their children’s early math and reading skills. Parents drill me whether their children will learn enough at progressive schools. Many Manhattan private schools have met this consumer desire by revising and toughening their early programs.
So it’s interesting that even at Blue School some parents are clamoring for more testing, which the school has recently implemented.
Yet there are some diehards. One Blue School father has a refreshing attitude:
“I’m never anxious about academics,” said Thomas Bierer, the father of first-grade twins who have been at the school for two years. “My main thing is how they will interact with others and what kind of people will they be.”
For Brooklynites who love what they read about Blue School, Greene Hill School may interest you. Committed to holding to low tuition rates, a progressive learning philosophy, a commitment to environmentalism and local causes, Greene Hill School also has a counter-cultural, progressive, socially conscious, inspiring agenda.