Philosophy

Why teaching matters

"Effective teaching doesn’t tell a person what to think, it teaches a person how to think. We all remember good teachers from our youth, and it was the ones who educated not just subjects, but the whole person. They helped turn us into the people that we are today by giving us the tools and skills to achieve a self-awareness and in so doing, fully develop and embrace our human dignity." 

- Frank Carle, Co-founder and College President

We believe that in order to learn English, we must do more than just listen. Instead, we must be challenged to discuss and solve problems in English as a team. Being challenged to complete tasks in another language immerses children in the target language, requiring them to actively think in that language. This encourages the use of English not only inside but also outside the classroom. Research has also shown that this is the best and most effective way to create a lasting bilingual classroom environment. This is why our teaching methods embrace active learning. Learn more about the College's Bilingual Classroom Initiative.

"Learning is a privilege, and teaching is a privilege. Through learning and through teaching, we open doors for ourselves and for our learners which may never have existed for us. Helping students understand and be able to achieve their goals provides constant motivation for me and it is these experiences that constantly inspire me." 

- Ben Stone, Co-founder and Academic Director

"Disce, ut doceas"


The College Motto is “Disce, ut doceas” - Learn in order to teach.

The expression was popularized by Alcuin, an eminent educator, scholar, and theologian born about 735 in England.

Alcuin was a teacher rather than a thinker, a gatherer and a distributor rather than an originator of knowledge. In this respect, his genius responded perfectly to the imperative intellectual need of the age, which was the preservation of the treasures of knowledge inherited from the past. Disce ut doceas was the motto of his life.

Although living in the world and occupied with public affairs, Alcuin was a man of singular humility and sanctity of life. He had an unbounded enthusiasm for learning and a tireless zeal for the practical work of the class-room and library. The young men of talent whom he drew in crowds around him from all parts of Europe went away inspired with something of his own passionate ardor for study. His warm-hearted and affectionate disposition made him universally beloved, and the ties that bound master and pupil often ripened into intimate friendships that lasted through his life.

Before he died Alcuin had the satisfaction of seeing the young men whom he had trained engaged all over Europe in the work of teaching. Many of his pupils came to occupy important positions in Church and State and lent their influence to the cause of learning. “Wherever”, says Wattenbach, in speaking of the period that followed, “anything of literary activity is visible, there we can with certainty count on finding a pupil of Alcuin’s.”

Meet some of our Student Teachers and read their testimonials.