Quest Academy grows out of the tradition of holistic, integrative, and transformative education. It may also be called "brain-based" because it incorporates the findings of contemporary research on brain and mind into its educational approach. Rather than being a static, pre-programmed, or genetically determined structure, the brain and its processes are in fact continually formed through the interplay of consciousness and the internal-external experiences of the individual, including a wide variety of environmental factors. The development of a healthy, optimally functioning brain occurs best when it takes place within the context of a healthy, optimally supportive environment.
Human beings are more than just our brains. Brain structure and function, however, can offer a picture of the whole human being in that specific areas of the brain are associated not only with perception, memory, higher order and meta-cognitive thinking, emotions, drives, as well as a variety of "intelligences", such as kinesthetic, musical, inter-personal, etc. This is because the brain plays an active and essential role in coordinating the various aspects of our being. An educational environment that nurtures and helps to develop these various aspects of the human being is by its nature holistic, integrative, transformative, and brain-based.
The quality of one's educational experience forms a major component of that environment. The traditional model of school, which focuses primarily on information gathering, addresses a necessary but relatively narrow band of the spectrum of learning experiences and activities. The Quest Academy program seeks to address the entire range in a balanced and developmentally appropriate manner.
