For what it’s worth, where learning happens is as important as how it happens. For a young learner to receive the best possible learning experience, it is essential that every aspect of the learning process is taken into consideration. As stakeholders of learning, teachers, parents, and the communities supporting young learners all play a vital role in shaping their future and nurturing them to become healthy, challenged, engaged, supported, and safe. Programs designed empower and enable learning professionals, everyone from teachers and administrators to school staff, are integral to the well-being of every young learner, and any effort at improving the support they provide to learners benefits the whole school as a community.
Holistic education pertains to the total development of a learner’s intellectual, social, physical, emotional, artistic, and creative capacities, shaping them into responsible individuals, whole persons who understand their role in helping build the nation forward and face the challenges of an ever-changing world. As a philosophy, holistic learning involves helping a young learner find meaning and purpose in life through connections, from the classroom to the community, with nature, with society at large. With guiding values like compassion and peace, holistic education brings forward a shared passion for learning that aims to uplift everyone and help transform the experience of education into something that one can cherish for a lifetime. This is done by implementing fresh strategies that help emphasize hands-on experiences, letting young learners learn by doing and challenge their capacity for critical thinking and develop their problem-solving skills. Setups that enhance learning from group work and encourage social interaction to collaborate on solutions are intentionally designed. With this approach, both understanding and action are prioritized over rote knowledge, hence facilitating and emphasizing cooperation rather than mere competition. This also means that throughout the learning process, the assessment and evaluation of a young learner’s progress is dynamic, and every aspect of the curriculum designed to help create life-long learners.
With the campaign for progressive education through the Whole Child initiative, holistic child development has become one of the primary goals of schools. With this kind of learning philosophy, young learners are provided with personalized support, safe and secure environments, sound health, and learning opportunities tailored for their unique, individual skills and talents. Through this approach, both the traditional academic aspects of learning and the non-traditional side are nurtured, enhanced, and supported. This means that not only learning professionals are involved in creating a holistic learning environment, everyone is: parents, industries, and local communities. All play an important role in ensuring that every child grows up to become a Whole Child, supported, equipped, and ready to face the challenges of the 21st century.
