There are 5 pieces to the whole child:
Social
Emotional
Physical
Linguistic
Cognitive
When a child is sitting in class and is hungry, do you think they are thinking about the lesson being taught? No. When a child can barely understand the language that their teachers is speaking, do you think they are thinking about the lesson being taught? No. When a child was just bullied at recess, do you think they are thinking about the lesson being taught? No. This is where the whole child approach comes in.
The Whole Child Approach seeks to nurture and develop each one of these pieces. It says that all of these areas must be addressed before the child can even be prepared to learn what is being taught! The purpose of the whole child approach is to help children be successful academically but also to assist them with their overall personal development. These children must safe, healthy, supported engaged and challanged and it is our jobs to make that happen!
For more information about the whole child approach, please visit the links below.
Educating the Whole Child
Shifting a School's Vision
The Whole Child
ASCD Whole Child Network