The value of a wholly autonomous program specializing in small group and individualized study is immense. Looking beyond the academic model toward a vision of lifelong learning, the Aegean Center does not require outside institutional affiliation.
Not being bound to the requirements and orthodoxies of larger more generic programs the Center is free to create courses of exceptional quality and independence. This freedom was indeed one of the founding principles of the Center over half a century ago and remains so to this day. Due to our self-determination we are able to address the strengths and weakness of each and every student, simply because we have the freedom to do so by virtue of our pedagogical principles, learner autonomy focus and small program size by design.
Each session is organized around a format of intensive small group and one-to-one instruction with our full-time resident staff members, visiting lecturers and artists. Also, it is from our long and committed experience of specialized teaching in distinctive cultural environments as well as influence gained from the constant flow of new students that we garner the inspiration and ideas to further develop and improve our courses on an ongoing basis.
Immensely consequential to our program design is the sense of place, where the students find themselves and how they are integrated into the local environment and culture. Our student apartments are very near the Center in the heart of the village. The Aegean Center has been a part of the life and texture of Paros for many years and we are very proud to be included in its rich history. But the island is not just about the school or the past and the ancient, it is also a remarkably lively environment reflecting contemporary Greek culture and thought. In large part this is due to its close proximity to the mainland and being a major hub for passenger boats serving the Cycladic Archipelago. This discovery of place imparts a tremendous influence and is pivotal and crucial to a student's individual growth and learning experience while at the Aegean Center.
Students are encouraged to explore and expand a personal vocabulary while being immersed in the classical disciplines from which the Western tradition of art and thought has emerged. Students will commit to a primary course of study as well as choose from a weekly schedule of classes. Each student is also required to have weekly one-to-one consultation with their teachers in their subject of concentration.
Students are further encouraged to choose their own projects, define their own goals and achieve growth on real terms, not through regimented goal seeking and other means most commonly found in a traditional large school environment. They pursue these projects and individual goals with careful and attentive overseeing and tutoring by our staff. It is also important to note that students will be learning by way of direct example from those teaching and advising them. It is required that all our staff be practicing artists, scholars and practitioners of the course work they are responsible to teach.
