High Mowing School | |
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Address | |
222 Isaac Frye Highway Wilton, New Hampshire 03086 United States |
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Coordinates | 42°49′3″N 71°44′38″W / 42.81750°N 71.74389°WCoordinates: 42°49′3″N 71°44′38″W / 42.81750°N 71.74389°W |
Information | |
Type | Private, independent |
Established | 1942 |
Founder | Beulah Hepburn Emmet (1890–1978) |
Teaching staff | 17.6 (on a FTE basis) |
Enrollment | 108 (2013–14) |
Student to teacher ratio | 6.1 |
Education system | Waldorf |
Campus | Rural |
Color(s) | Green and white |
Website | www |
High Mowing School is an independent private, co-educational, day and boarding school, located in Wilton, New Hampshire, in the United States. High Mowing is the oldest Waldorf high school in Canada or the United States, and is the only Waldorf boarding school in the United States. It is a high school (grades 9 through 12). It was founded in 1942.
Nestled in the Monadnock Region of southern New Hampshire, the school's campus was once the family home of its founder, Beulah Hepburn Emmet, a teacher who was displeased with the politics in the public school in Connecticut in which she taught. Both the school and its name are rooted in its hilltop farm location. Inspired by the writings and educational theories of Rudolf Steiner, Mrs. Emmet opened the school in 1942. It is the first Waldorf high school to have been founded in North America. Since that time, the casual comfort of the old farm site has welcomed teenagers from around the globe. Students experience the Waldorf curriculum, as they live and work in close proximity to their teachers and classmates. High Mowing is the only Waldorf high school on the continent to offer a boarding program as well as a day school.
The name, "High Mowing", has its roots in New England's colonial past. The practice of cutting or mowing hayfields to feed farm animals was a long-standing tradition there. According to European custom, these hayfields were often called "mowings" by the early settlers. A "high mowing" referred to a hilltop field, regarded as a perfect name for a school with high ambitions for its students. It was also believed to be an ideal setting for young adults to grow intellectually, artistically and socially, while living and learning with students from the region and around the world.
A liberal arts curriculum meant to promote "engaged and active learning" forms the basis of High Mowing's academics. Each school day begins, for each grade, with "Main Lesson Block" – an integrative hour and 45 minute class that runs for between three and four weeks. Subjects for block classes encompass history, literature, drama, science, and mathematics. Students create their own "Block Book" for each class of the work they create during their study of the block material. Approximately one third of blocks are devoted to the sciences and one third to historical subjects. Others focus on drama, literature, or math. Examples of blocks include World Religions, Russian Literature, Government, Economics, Geology, Zoology & Evolution, Biochemistry, Atomic Theory, Surveying & Trigonometry, Dante, Greek Drama, Permutations and Combinations, Thermodynamics, History Through Art, and History through Architecture.