Beyond the Classroom
A Progressive Environment: A Six-Year Internship in Public Life
Not all of what students learn at The Academy comes from books. We require participation in our arts and sports programs because a well-rounded person is someone who can throw a pot as well as a lacrosse ball, someone who can use the quadratic formula and formulate an argument, someone who can appreciate the art on the walls and sing on key.
Our educational values are classical values, but our vision for what constitutes a healthy school environment is a progressive vision: among other things, progressive education emphasizes active learning through direct experience. We believe, as did John Dewey, that students will learn more about democracy by governing their schools and themselves than they will by studying the Constitution. Academy students have many concrete experiences that help them understand what it means to be a citizen: doing chores, living with the Honor Code, participating in school meeting, attending the annual Harvard Model United Nations Conference,
volunteering to organize an event, playing on a team, acting in a play, serving as an ombudsman or council member, working in the HBH, serving others in our communities. Being a student at The Academy is like having a six-year internship in public life.
The Academy invests in institutional relationships and supports programs that allow our students to learn through travel and exchange experiences. Our students can host an international student through our partnership with PAX. The possibilities are limited only by each individual's willingness to adventure and grow.
