AdmissionNews

Newly appointed faculty to the University of Chicago who are interested in the Laboratory Schools for the 2008 - 2009 school year should contact the Office of Admission.

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"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." - John Dewey

In 1896, just two years after the University of Chicago was founded, Professor John Dewey, now known the world over as one of the great minds in education, established the Laboratory Schools as a place to explore and implement his theories on childhood education:

• Students benefit from an environment where teachers and students learn from each other.
• Students learn best through experimentation, reflecting on the conditions and consequences of action.
• By contributing to others, students develop their individuality and unique capacities to add to the common good.
• At its best, a school exemplifies a purer form of our society's democratic principles so that students grow into adults who improve their world.

An Environment Like No Other School in the City or Suburbs of Chicago

Because the Laboratory Schools are part of the world-renowned University of Chicago, the importance of intellectual life, of thought and exploration, infuses everything we do across all aspects of our curriculum.

Families that choose to send their children to Lab care deeply about what some have described as "the life of the mind". All are attracted to this environment that creates and nurtures the hallmark habits of expansive thinking and complex problem solving:

• Intellectual curiosity comes naturally to all children, and Lab fosters that curiosity by encouraging each child to seek paths of inquiry and interest.
• Open-mindedness is a tool that allows students to be flexible when solving problems and to accept differing points of view as viable solutions.
• Critical thinking and analysis skills are taught at every age level. We want each child to ask not just "Why?" but also, "What if?"
• A respect for evidence is found throughout the Schools. Students learn to shape their own opinions and then fully leverage evidence to reshape their ideas.

Our graduates tell us that these habits shaped at Lab made them independent thinkers in college and have helped them to be successful throughout their lives.