Our Educational Philosophy

Today's education system is fraught with countless problems, which can be briefly summarized as follows: school curricula have been diluted with non-academic, non-cognitive subjects; teaching methods have deteriorated; knowledge is typically presented as a grab bag of disconnected crumbs with virtually no regard for context, hierarchy, and integration; independent thinking has been sacrificed to "group think" and "socialization"; truth, logic, and objectivity have been sacrificed to political correctness propaganda, emotionalism, and majority vote.

The net result of our dumbed-down education system, as it's commonly referred to, is to graduate children who lack the knowledge, motivation, self-discipline, self-confidence, and independent thinking skills that they require to achieve success and happiness.

The philosophy dumbing down our education system is best described as cognitive relativism. Cognitive relativism is the belief that there are no objective standards by which to choose a good curriculum or good teaching methods; it's all relative--anything goes. Worse, some modern educators believe that teaching via a specific method, such as phonics for reading, harms children because it interferes with their creativity, as if creativity flows from a vacuum.

We at PMI reject this philosophy of cognitive relativism because it's harmful to children. We maintain emphatically that there are objective standards by which to evaluate and choose an excellent curriculum and excellent teaching methods.

The philosophy underlying PMI's curriculum materials is based on Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. More specifically, it's based on her new, exciting, and powerful theory of knowledge as presented in her groundbreaking book: Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. For further information on Ayn Rand, author of such famous works as Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, go to http://www.aynrand.org/.

In addition to Ayn Rand's writings, the curriculum materials are based on courses given by Dr. Leonard Peikoff, the world's foremost authority on Ayn Rand's philosophy, particularly his course entitled Philosophy of Education and his more recent courses on induction. Dr. Peikoff defined education as follows: "Education [is] the systematic training of the conceptual faculty of the young by means of supplying in essentials both its content and method." Systematic training of the conceptual faculty is the guiding principle underlying all our curriculum materials. For further information on Dr. Peikoff and his works, go to http://www.peikoff.com/.

At PMI, we maintain that the central purpose of education is to help children acquire the knowledge and thinking skills that they will need to guide their future lives towards success and happiness. The quality of the countless choices that they will make as adolescents and adults will depend primarily on their knowledge and thinking skills. Other education values, such as "social skills," "emotional development," "moral development," "creativity," "independence" and "self-esteem" are derivative goals best achieved by empowering children with relevant knowledge and efficacious thinking skills.

A proper curriculum consists of the following seven core academic subjects: history, science, math, literature, grammar, vocabulary, and writing. From science and math, students learn about the physical world and how to quantify it. From history and literature, students learn about human nature. From grammar, vocabulary, writing, and literature, students acquire essential communication skills. All subjects, properly designed, teach thinking skills.

A proper teaching method consists of motivating children to learn and presenting knowledge to them in a logical and integrative manner, not as a grab bag of disconnected crumbs. Furthermore, it consists of frequently testing children to ensure that they have retained and understood the material.

Children have an enormous capacity to learn and to love learning. What they need is relevant knowledge presented to them in a special way, one that motivates them to learn, makes the knowledge their knowledge, and teaches them to think.