The Practice of Perspective

THE PRACTICE OF PERSPECTIVE

Seeing the World and Humanity Through Many Lenses

At TAO, we strive to expand and broaden students’ understanding of the global community, develop cultural awareness, and view themselves as participating in a world of richly diverse peoples, traditions, and languages.  

Practicing perspective is an activity that is woven into many dimensions of TAO. As students learn about other cultures, they can apply an expanded perspective within their own TAO community – to better relate with and understand differences in the views and beliefs of their peers.

Exploring multiple perspectives relates to academic inquiry. It involves utilizing critical thinking skills and objectivity, as well as seeking to understand topics from a variety of angles. 

We strive to integrate a global perspective into all levels of our education as it helps students understand the commonalities and differences of communities with which we interact. In particular, World Language, History, and Humanities courses all encourage students to extend their own scope of citizenship at the global level. 

The Daily Practice of World Languages: 

The ability to communicate with people in their native language is a concrete skill that empowers us to broaden our perspective and understanding of the world. Learning a language is a direct bridge to culture, opening up opportunities to explore others’ perspectives and traditions. At TAO, all students attend World Language Intensive as a required part of their curriculum. TAO students continue the language training they received in grade school through formalized instruction in a chosen world language. These intensive classes, led by native and language specialists, meet daily to further build competency in the spoken language. Students will learn to write, analyze texts, speak, and comprehend the spoken language.  

The intensive study of their chosen language empowers our students to be active participants in global citizenship. TAO strives to support and motivate students to continue to pursue and appreciate world languages and their respective cultures as well as prepare them to engage with non-English speaking communities.  

The Global Citizen

In addition to our academics and world languages, TAO seeks to cultivate a global mindset in the following ways: 

• Cultural awareness: TAO strives to deepen our cultural awareness, recognizing that cultural sensitivity is an essential tool for global citizenship.

• Digital citizenship: TAO recognizes the challenges of raising students in a technology-rich world. We explicitly instruct students in digital citizenship and regularly engage students on core topics including internet safety, privacy and security, information literacy, cyberbullying, copyright, and technology usage. 

• Extending community: At TAO, we continue to encourage and grow the interconnected frameworks of learning and social-emotional development in our students through the practice of Community. TAO students participate in not only our personal middle school community but impact the larger Anneliese Community through stewardship and leadership. We nurture the seeds of Anneliese values and learning, so that when students extend themselves into broader communities, both nationally and internationally, they can do so with sensitivity, respect, and curiosity. 

• Travel as a learning tool: Where possible, TAO programming engages in travel as a potent tool for fostering a broader, more enriched perspective about the world. Exposure to as many cultures and traditions as possible, in the most authentic ways, deepens our appreciation for diversity, interconnection, and humanity.