PYP: In the eyes of a child

Take a tour of Hayden Meadows and you will find students engrossed in their activities. Talk to the teachers and you will find professionals who are passionate about what they do.

Talk to the families of students enrolled at Hayden Meadows, the support staff, or volunteers and you will find total incomprehension as to why the program has been criticized and considered controversial by a small group of vocal dissidents.

The Primary Years Programme does not impose a curriculum, but rather provides an effective structure within which the content is organized in a trans-disciplinary fashion. The PYP guarantees that local/state/national content standards are always respected, so Hayden Meadows teachers are teaching to the same Idaho content standards as teachers elsewhere in Coeur d’Alene.

The learning climate is exceptional because while learning the content, students are encouraged to use critical thinking skills to inquire, to conduct research, to reflect, to discuss and debate with others (and when there is disagreement on a subject, to respect each others’ opinions or beliefs), and to take action. To learn the value of a penny, our kindergartner counted pennies and identified their image amongst images of other coins, but she also learned about differentiating between wants and needs, interviewed us about our spending habits, illustrated her results in a booklet, and presented it in class.

Engaging activities don’t happen at the end of units so students can show off what they have learned — they occur throughout the units IN ORDER to learn.

And THAT’S the PYP difference.

PHILIPPE and HEATHER RIVIERE

Coeur d’Alene