While students had the Monday after Thanksgiving off, the entire GUS faculty was in class. Erin Akers of the Gesell Institute of Child Development gave a morning-long presentation about ages and stages of child development, ages 4-14. Her visit was supported by the GUS Annual Fund and the Raymond Nance Fund, an endowed fund that is dedicated to strengthening the faculty. Ms. Akers spoke about the twentieth-century research of Dr. Arnold Gesell, Yale University pediatrician, research, and father of American child development theory. Dr. Gesell studied thousands of children to build his theories of how kids grow and learn in predictable, benchmarked stages.  His work and similar research was well known to the founders and first teachers at Glen Urquhart School, who created a child-centered, place and theme-based curriculum on the same principles. More recent MRI brain research at Yale and elsewhere has confirmed Dr. Gesell’s theories, as has further research with children around the globe.

The GUS commitment to ongoing professional growth for faculty means that days like Monday, also scheduled for February 21 and March 27, 2017 and planned as a regular feature of future years, will help us continue to offer a strong, research-based academic program. Topics will vary, and each day will allow faculty to immerse themselves in relevant theories and topics shared by outstanding guests.