Our Philosphy

Education cannot be effective unless it helps a child open up to life.
Maria Montessori (1935)

At Stepping Stones, we do not teach a conventional way. In traditional teaching, some children succeed because other children fail. Most of the time, each individual is not considered in his strengths and weaknesses, in his rhythm. A group is taught whatever the differences in that group.

In traditional schools, teachers talk about how to pass on the knowledge: the teacher knows, the children listen therefore they become learned.

At Stepping Stones, we use different methods, different approaches. We give the conditions through which the children will build their knowledge and we also give attention to the differences between the children and to learning difficulties some children may encounter. We respect every kid’s pace in his learning process. Each child builds his skills slowly and thoroughly

“Free the child’s potential and you will
transform him into the world.” M. Montessori

Confidence is a key word at Stepping Stones. Confidence in the teachers. Confidence in the environment. Confidence is each one’s potential and skills.

We teach the respect children should have to one another and the respect of their environment. We do not teach competition but cooperation. Children do not fight against one another and success is a common value to the group.

We also believe that education is for life starting from birth and it goes on throughout one’s life. Gandhi said at the time that education must become coextensive to life. He also added that the central point of education is the defense of life. Education is a whole. A child must be taught the basic skills – reading, writing, counting – but this is a small portion of education. It also includes a social education, a personal education – to develop everyone’s own potentials -, a development of everyone’s skills and gifts, an education to the environment, the relationships with others and relationships with other people from other nations.     

Many researchers from the XIX and XXth centuries worked, studied, discovered and education is a never-ending story as it evolves with the life of a country, of a society and its citizens. At Stepping Stones, we keep on improving our teaching methods and in that respect the pandemic was a real challenge for all of us. 

“Our care of the child should be governed, not by the desire to make him learn things, but by the endeavor always to keep burning within him that light which is called intelligence.” Maria Montessori.