Education is a journey that has the potential to draw forth the tremendous potential that lies in each and every one of us. In our educational model, the three journeys - intelligence, compassion and confidence - are perceived on two levels. On an ultimate level, the journeys are the inherent qualities in each individual, entirely perfected in their own right. On a relative level, the journeys are the path one travels toward full understanding of one's own qualities. At Eastern Sun Academy, the students' educational journey is supported by that of the parents and teachers, who must embody and model a life long desire to grow and fully manifest their own potential if the students' are to become passionate about their education.

INTELLIGENCE

In order to function skillfully in the world, one must have a strong mind. The journey of intelligence cultivates the mind of each student as he or she progresses through the different stages of cognitive development. Cognitive growth starts as in infancy with a mind inseparable from the world. As a student journeys through stages of concrete, critical, and systems thought, the potential to understand oneself and the world is progressively illuminated. Ultimately the student understands and experiences both the particulars and the relationships between all things with depth and insight.

COMPASSION

In order to have a connection to the world, one must have an open heart. The journey of compassion cultivates emotional and social intelligence through an understanding of how human beings experience themselves and their world through successive stages of life. Human development begins with being at one with the world and organically unfolds out into wider circles of individuation and, ideally, with an ever widening sense of belonging as well. When a student individuates without the context of community, the potential for isolation can create a threat to a child's connection to the world and ability to stay open-hearted. Opportunities for self-awareness and to be touched deeply by the world are harnessed by an education that keeps students bonded within a community. At Eastern Sun Academy, seeds of compassion are nurtured so that students never lose their connection with the world and always keep a heartfelt wish to make a difference.

CONFIDENCE

To be able to take action with a clear mind and open heart,one must have a sense of being able to stand on one's own feet and to take one's own counsel. The journey of confidence connects students fully with their own experience and their own sense of who they are. Through contemplative practices and disciplines that correspond with the child's developmental stages, the student begins to have a self-assurance born from realizing the workability of all situations. The student becomes familiar with self-reflection and confident to face themselves and others.