By the time most children are ready to enter school they have already learned a tremendous amount about the world around them.  Young children never stop pushing themselves to develop their physical and mental abilities, to understand and master their surroundings.  They are driven by a deep desire to know, to see, to do.  But the way education is carried out in most schools is at odds with the powerful drive children have to educate themselves.  Children’s curiosity and interest in everything around them is seen as interfering with the important work of teaching kids what they need to know.

At Macomber Center we take an entirely different approach. We believe that there is no better way to educate children than to simply allow this process of self-directed exploration to continue throughout childhood.  The single most powerful force for learning is self-motivation.  When children are driven by their own desire to learn something, whether it be to walk and talk, or to learn about American history, they are capable of extraordinary things.  As soon as someone else takes the wheel, and tries to redirect, the power behind learning is lost.

The Macomber Center provides a rich environment in which children are free to explore the world, to follow their own interests, and to develop their talents and strengths.  As staff, our job is simply to make available all of the resources – people, information, tools – that children need to direct their own learning and to grow into independent, happy adults.