THREE COLUMN NETWORK
SINCE 2014
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WHY THREE COLUMN SCHOOLS?
Picture a typical school in your mind, especially a middle school or a high school. It probably didn't look like this picture, did it?
You probably saw a large, one- or two-story brick building with small windows … or no windows at all … surrounded by parking lots, empty fields, and maybe a fence or two. As you pass through a set of ugly glass doors, you probably saw an office full of busy-looking adults, some classrooms with rows of desks, teachers “delivering” lectures or worksheets to rows of bored-looking students, and hallways lined with ugly metal lockers. Did you imagine a cafeteria or some bathrooms? If you did, you probably looked away … and we wouldn’t blame you.
Everything about a 20th-century-model school sends a strong and unappealing message. Whether you’re a student, a parent, a teacher, or even oen of those important-looking adults in the office, you are a tiny cog in a vast machine whose purpose is to standardize you.That might have been a good idea in times and places where there were lots of standardized jobs just waiting to be filled by standardized workers who could follow instructions and wait patiently for orders.
But those days are gone … and here in southeastern North Carolina, they’ve been gone for a long time. Today’s economy, today’s jobs, and today’s colleges and universities call for creative, independent thinkers who can manage themselves, make thoughtful decisions, and see patterns and opportunities where “standardized” workers see only threats and uncertainty. If those factory-schools were a bad fit for you … if you never felt at home there … if you got called “bad and lazy” or something even worse … then the Three Column Network is probably the place for you.
"A Joyful Learning Community Building Meaningful Things Together"
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Here at the Three Column Network, we're all about building and sustaining a joyful learning community. We think that takes ... a community, and we think learners and their families need literal ownership of their learning community, not just the kind of "ownership" that you feel when you're really part of something.
OUR HISTORY
/ CORE VALUES
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We live in an amazing, diverse area, where people of all different ethnic backgrounds live together, side by side, in friendship and harmony most of the time. Three Column Network Schools welcome everyone, as long as you want to be part of a joyful learning community and build something meaningful together.
/ TRADITION OF DIVERSITY
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/ SCHOLARSHIP
In the twentieth century, a college education was the key to a better life ... except when it wasn't. At Three Column Network, we feel strongly that everybody should be able to go to an excellent college if you want to ... but we also believe that you should be ready to be a citizen, a family member, a hard worker, and even a business owner when you leave us.
Back in the mid-2000's, Mr. Schwamm had a vision ... a vision of a learning community that's everything a 20th-century school is not. And now, in 2014, that vision is coming to life!
In some ways, the Three Column Network vision is as old as teaching and learning ... as old as an extended family gathered around a fire, sharing stories together and dreaming of the future. In other ways, we're deeply influenced by the one-room schoolhouse of old, and in other ways, we're as new as the latest technology you can imagine.
/ HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
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/ OUR ROOTS
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Three Columns Boston opened in Fall 2013, thanks to some parents up there who were desperate for an alternative to "factory processing" for their children ... and thanks to many conversations between Mr. Schwamm and their founder, Ms. Diana Campbell. Three Columns Sandhills will be opening in Fall 2014, and in five years we see a network of joyful learning communities all along the NC - SC border from the mountains to the sea.
/ THE FUTURE
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