The Benefits of a Multifaceted Education

It goes without saying that life is a lot more interesting at ISM. We strive to incorporate hands-on learning, contextualisation, and personalisation as often as possible to inspire our children.

Experience is essential in the learning process because it is how we start to acquire new knowledge.

The American philosopher and educational reformer John Dewey believed children should be active in their learning. This means that they actively take part in experiences and tasks instead of sitting and listening to their teachers telling them information. He once said that ‘Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.’ We see this as demonstrating the need for children to engage with and experience their learning.

At ISM, this can take the form of a Year 2 class experiencing life as a mountaineer on Everest by carrying a heavy bag and breathing through a straw to simulate difficult breathing conditions, or a Year 4 class taking part in a march as a legionary in the Roman Army, performing military formations and defending themselves against teacher-barbarians.

Dale Carnegie put it better than I can: ‘Learning is an active process. We learn by doing. Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind.’ This is something we encourage here at the International School of Moscow.