Who We Are
	Message from the School Historian

September 15, 2004

Elisabeth Irwin proudly called her school a laboratory where children were given the opportunity to “experiment with life.” Indeed, from its inception, LREI has been a laboratory for educational innovation and reform known around the country and the world. In the spirit of John Dewey’s own Chicago Lab School, she conceived of LREI as a bold, dynamic place where teachers could continuously translate theory into practice in light of emerging research about the learning process and children’s personal development. I’m happy to say that this same spirit guides and inspires our work today. Elisabeth Irwin would have felt at home last week when the entire faculty gathered to discuss the literature on progressive pedagogy that we read over the summer to prepare ourselves for the new school year.

Miss Irwin and her colleagues translated the theory of progressive education into an integrated body of practice and a coherent model of schooling. “The complacent formalism of schools,” she wrote, “its uncritical and therefore uncreative spirit, must be replaced by an honest hospitality to experimentation." Her staff constantly wrestled with the fundamental questions facing every progressive educator. “How do we help children develop personally, become fully integrated, ethical, confident, competent, well-adjusted and committed human beings?” “How does the school organize curricular experiences that are in fact ‘educative,’ rather than miscellaneous and essentially isolated activities?” These are our questions as well. Careful curriculum design, close attention to the distinct attributes of each student and dedicated commitment to building an ethos of ethical, democratic community – these are three pillars of our work as an educational community. We are a learner-centered, curriculum-centered and community-centered school, progressive in every sense of the word.

This summer some fifteen teachers worked on summer grants to develop new units that will enrich the experience of children throughout the school. Though the careful sequencing of first-hand experiences and by providing abundant opportunities for reflection and creative transformation, we promote authentic understanding of core content, mastery of the basic skills of inquiry and the capacity for confident self-expression, self-initiated activity and life-long learning. Our goal is to provide an education that equips children with the intellectual, emotional and social resources they need to understand the experiences of other people, to master the conditions of their own lives and to form the lasting habit of intelligent action on behalf of the community.

Our outstanding faculty continuously explores new ways to better understand and support our students, to refine our curriculum, improve our teaching methods and build the community of our school. It is my privilege to work with them. My role is to promote the community’s awareness of the traditions, principles and values that have made LREI such an important educational “experiment.” Elisabeth Irwin believed that only through a process of continual growth, change and renewal would the school remain truly progressive. I look forward to communicating with you this year as the experiment continues with a new generation of children and young adults – today’s LREI.

Nicholas O’Han
School Historian
September 15, 2004