Educating Children for Life by Annemarie Roeper

Annemarie Roeper is the co-founder of the Roeper City and Country School and the Roeper Review. She is one of the leading practical educational innovators in the United States. This is a beautiful and compelling statement of the philosophy of education she spent her lifetime achieving.

For Annemarie Roeper, the child’s Self is paramount. She proposes a Self-Actualization Interdependence Model to structure the education of children. She argues that what is wrong with traditional education is that the weight of the entire system is brought to bear on making the child conform to the system whereas what works is an organization which helps the child’s Self develop. Such an organization must be total, she says, and must include the ways in which all the people in the educational institution relate to one another. She calls for a cooperative, interdependent structure where consultation and discussion are key. Cooperation between the children is fostered by the administration and the teachers in her ideal educational setting. The children are taught to respect the Self of each child. She sketches the role of the administrator, the relationships between administration and teachers, and the role of the teacher in the SAI model. She discusses curriculum and rules and behavioral attitudes. She includes a discussion of the Roeper City and Country School experience.

This is an exquisite statement of what education could and should be.