What is New School?

New School is an alternative way of doing English and Humanities courses. Our courses are open to anyone in any program and they are equivalent to regular English and Humanities credits. We meet once a week for 3-4 hours, usually in the late afternoons and early evenings. Most of us are used to larger classrooms, where students relate more to their teacher than to each other.

New School has been around since 1973 and we take a Critical Humanistic approach to learning: an approach based on the principles of Critical Pedagogy and Humanistic Education. We believe that people learn best when they have a say in what and how they will learn. In smaller learning groups, we give students a greater role in shaping the content of their courses and designing how they will study their subjects. In facilitating larger group discussions among themselves, our students are encouraged to relate their studies to their personal and social lives and constantly link the personal to the political.