Bannister’s educational program is patterned after the classical educational program called the Trivium. A classical education is a three-part process of training the mind.
Paideia is a set of beliefs about education including active and rigorous teaching methods Paideia is a holistic approach to life-long learning with roots in ancient Greece.
The study of Latin teaches students how to think critically and analytically, and how to handle concepts with ease.
K-12 Education lays down the cornerstones for fundamental language and critical thinking skills.
Character education in Bannister Academy takes place within the seamless continuum of formal subject classes, class advisory sessions, and personal mentoring. These essential components address the development of each student’s personal qualities, attitudes, and dispositions, as well as acceptance of universal human values.
1.Formal Subjects
Subject teachers have the opportunity to address ethical issues as these come up in the subject content or in classroom activities. The academic content and skills formation in various subjects are natural venues for fruitful discussions about desirable ethical perspectives and values.
2.Classroom Advisory Sessions
Advisory or homeroom periods are used by the Class Adviser to take up topics or content more directly related to character formation. One homeroom session per week may be used to discuss specific values-related or VOM content.
3. Student mentoring
Personal mentoring, which takes place between the student and an assigned teacher-mentor, is the premier venue for character formation. The mentoring conversation covers the entire range of the student’s experience at Bannister: his academic work (and struggles), relations with peers, relations with teachers and Bannister staff, personal and family concerns, as well as the student’s personal quest for fulfillment and self-actualization.
Every student is assigned a personal mentor who becomes his/her life coach and friend. The mentoring system paves the way for each student’s character growth and development, which consequently impacts his/her academic performance. The student benefits as he/she improves his/her self-awareness, self-discipline, responsibility, and ability to turn values into productive actions.