So is the school of the future

It was a heated debate, but in the end the die was cast: elementary and middle schools restart on Thursday 7 January, while high schools return mostly to the classroom on Monday 11 January. Mostly, because the situation is not the same in all regions: in Friuli, Veneto and Marche, for example, distance learning continues at least until the end of the month.

But in Milan, as if it were a symbol of a new possible future, the brand new one is now making its debut for the reopening ICS Symbiosis: a futuristic school that reaches high school from kindergarten.

Ten thousand square meters, designed by the architectural firm Barreca & La Varra (authors of the award-winning Bosco Verticale), built based on listening to the kids who, when asked “How do you imagine your ideal school?”, have expressed the desire for a lively and creative space, a place to meet and experience each other even after the bell has sounded.

And so this campus was born, complete with a semi-Olympic indoor swimming pool (25 meters) and a multipurpose playground. «A place full of cultural stimuli, of ideas that are born and develop, of future talents that grow. From nursery to primary, from secondary to high school: babies, children, teenagers and young adults will live in these rooms together, each bringing their own baggage and experience to share. The Symbiosis Campus is a place where you want to generate new ideas through the generational exchange, where you grow through the knowledge of art and beauty, first learning to love and then to build your own future. Do. Without fear of making mistakes “, this is how this ideal path tells us, Stefano Paschina, Managing Director di ICS Milan International School.

The idea is to propose a training system that is increasingly in step with the times: the ICS method is based onexperiential learning, which allows students to develop problem-solving skills and critical and creative thinking. Then starting from the basics of the didactic orientation system STEAM (a teaching method that involves the thematic areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics in an integrated way), the teachers integrate programs and experimental projects for each of the five disciplines, with very special partnerships, such as that, for example, with there Lego, which, through its Lego Education division, has provided the campus with numerous tools to be used in teaching and laboratories, or the one with ArtsEd, one of the best performing arts schools in the UK.

“The ICS training path is enriched by a further mission, that of investing in environmental education and guiding change towards a sustainable society made up of aware citizens”, he explains Luca Grapes, CEO of the parent company Globeducate, “The link with the WWF is proof of this: speakers and experts will offer guidelines to teachers in educating children about environmental issues and, thanks to the WWF Education Team, the school will have the opportunity to participate to a rich calendar of events aimed at raising awareness of these values ​​».

In other words, you can change pace and always improve.

You may also like