Annually, we celebrate human relationships. Valentine's Day highlights the joy inherent in loving someone. One could argue that Christmas day is also Family Day. At this time, we set time aside to focus upon creating positive bonds within family groups. We are wise to recognise the merit in this most elemental of human organisations - the family! It is through the intimate sizes of these small units that parents and other elders are able to provide the nurturing and instruction that children need, in order to participate successfully in our complex culture. Families are very efficient in this regard because family members usually care about each child individually and they care about the intellectual understanding, the moral reasoning, the physical development, the creative exploration and the emotional growth that occur within each child individually. It is for this reason that St. John's College Changchun is based upon the structure of the family. This decision in effect means that we provide a learning environment for children that challenges the practices in more traditional schools.

There are several practices employed at our school to specifically promote a family style of interaction. Here at St. John's College, we have small class sizes, individual and small-group instruction responsive to the needs of both students and teachers, in order to encourage quality endeavours. Academic progress is student-paced, in order to be respectful and efficient in regards to students' time and energy. We offer stimulation and encouragement to all children, but we do not push them beyond their interest, motivation or abilities. We place emphasis on developing self-esteem, mutual respect, initiative and self-responsibility. We focus on effective communication within carefully nurtured relationships, wherein negotiation and problem solving are pursued with an expectation of win-win solutions to resolve differences.

Every person's experience of life is multi-dimensional, since different aspects of life occur together. We are social beings at the same time that we experience our inner emotions and values. We crave recreation and creative outlets and at the same time, we need to find productive work. We need to care for the fulfilment of our own needs and yet we also need to develop an unselfish empathy towards the needs of others. Life in schools is still life. We need to celebrate the great gift we have received in being alive and in being able to learn about the world around us. By designing our school environment and our practical methods around the ideal of an effective extended family, we are most likely to encourage children's growth in a holistic manner, to assist young people in their intellectual awakening.