About MicroSocietyThe MicroSociety Learning Environment is an innovative design where children create a microcosm of the real world in a school setting. Each child has a role in running that world. Young entrepreneurs produce goods and services, elected officials establish laws, PeaceKeepers keep the peace, judges arbitrate disputes, and reporters track down stories. All citizens earn wages, invest in products, deposit and borrow money from “Micro” banks, and pay taxes, tuition, and rent. The MicroSociety Learning Environment is a whole school reform model supported by MICROSOCIETY, Inc. (MSI), headquartered in Philadelphia, PA.
The original MicroSociety idea was created in 1967 by Dr. George Richmond, then a rookie 5th grade teacher in a New York City classroom. Faced with 33 unruly kids, he reasoned that since grades and discipline didn’t motivate them to learn, maybe freedom and responsibility would. He decided to build a fun new world – a micro society – where basic skills would be relevant to their daily lives. It worked. Math, language arts and reading skills improved significantly. Teamwork and cooperation flourished. Dr. Richmond subsequently wrote a book about his experiences, entitled The MicroSociety School: A Real World in Miniature. The idea that began in a single classroom was picked up in 1984 as a magnet theme in Lowell, MA at the McDonough City Magnet School. In Lowell, the MicroSociety Learning Environment became a whole school model for the first time. As the word spread, MicroSociety schools sprang up all over the country during the school day and some even as after school programs. |
STRANDSTechnologyLessons that help students use technology through MicroSociety. It will help students see how technology is like a bookend, holding up your MicroSociety Learning Environment.
EconomyThe first section are lessons about getting ventures/agencies up and running. It helps students learn the basics of business management, giving students a choice to become entrepreneurs. The second section focuses mostly on the money aspect. These are basic lessons on how to handle and deal with money and banks.
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AcademySeparate academies are taught in each venture/agency, such as Law School, Peace Keeper Academy, Financial Academy, and various on the job training.
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Citizenship
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Humanities & ArtsStudents will come to understand that there is more to life than just making money. This strand expands students thinking to add variety and beauty in many forms, visual, performing, and multicultural.
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H.E.A.R.TThis strand covers all things which give meaning to life. It puts the most vital organ into Micro. It teaches students to give back and reach out. H.E.A.R.T. is the bookend to MicroSociety Learning Environment strands. It infiltrates every area and holds it together.
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