"Life is a joy, so should be learning."

The Carden philosophy is one that values each individual. At the Carden school we protect the dignity and sense of worth of each child. We recognize the unlimited potential of each child. In the Carden school, the teacher's job is to meet each child where he or she is and lift the child up from there. We place the responsibility on the teacher to be the leader in the education of each child.

In a collection of speeches, essays and other writings by Mae Carden, entitled Quality Teaching, Successful Learning, she concludes with a Teacher's Credo. In the Credo, she advises teachers "...Not to regiment, but to nurture each personality,...not to make good pupils, but to develop self-reliant students,...not to accept acquiescence in place of thought, but to develop real thinking on the part of the child..."

The Carden educational philosophy aims to "provide the opportunity for the natural unfolding of the mind, personality and capacities of the child. It assures each child a harmonious adaptation to his or her environment in an atmosphere of happiness, encouragement and freedom with guidance. Individual attention is the keynote. Each child is given a thorough command of scholastic subjects; is awakened to a realization of the beauty of nature and art; becomes conscious of his or her social responsibility; develops mental, emotional and physical stamina and attains the freedom of a well-adjusted personality."

Miss Carden believed that, "Children wake up and have a terrific desire to learn at about five and one-half years of age. If that desire is not captured, they go back to sleep, and the job of reawakening a desire to learn becomes increasingly difficult with each passing day."

References: Let's Bring Them Up Sensibly by Mae Carden and Quality Teaching, Successful Learning, also by Mae Carden.