THE VILLAGE SCHOOL
CURRICULUM PROPOSAL FOR GRADES 9-12
UPPER SCHOOL PROGRAM
Autumn 2008

 

CONCEPT

Think of a car.  It’s manufactured with one solid and durable chassis and engine, but with multiple body styles and driver options.  The School offers a “chassis and engine” of arts and sciences that all students study, while giving students a choice of emphases: Science, Math and Technology; Comparative Language and Literature; Markets and Entrepreneurs; Studio and Performing Arts; or International Studies¹.  This concept provides:

• that every student will receive a sound, rigorous education and excellent preparation for college;
• that every student will share an integrated, cumulative study of the humanities, giving the members of the community common intellectual property and cultural touchstones, as well as the reading, writing and research skills that they will need to be high-achieving college students;
• every student with a concentration of college preparatory studies in the student’s area of interest and ability, strengthening the student’s appeal to the most selective colleges and universities;
• the School with the means to staff and organize its academic offerings in an efficient and cost-effective manner;
• an enriched community by bringing together individuals highly accomplished in a diverse range of disciplines and skills;
• the necessary stimulant of legitimate choices to elevate and enrich the student’s education and the parent’s investment.

 

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

To graduate, all students complete Humanities I-IV, three years of mathematics (at a minimum through Algebra II), three years of a foreign language, and three years of science (which includes theory and applied topics). Students must complete 14 credits each year and 56 credits to graduate. A credit is the equivalent of a class meeting for at least 50 minutes four times a week for one semester.  A 90-110-minute class meeting four times a week for a semester obtains two credits. Most students will work beyond the minimum requirements, graduating with four years of mathematics, science, and language.

 

UPPER SCHOOL (9 – 12)

All Upper School students enter one of five Honors Schools:

• Math, Science & Technology
• Comparative Languages & Literature
• Markets, Entrepreneurs & Globalization
• Arts – Studio or Performing
• International Studies¹

 

All Honors Schools expect students to complete the following:

• Humanities I – IV
• Required courses in the Honors School
• Elective academic courses
• A minimum of four credits in the arts
• A minimum of four credits in Athletics or PE (satisfactory participation in one competitive team sports season is the equivalent of one credit)
• An independent study or apprenticeship

 

THE HUMANITIES CORE

Each humanities course meets in four 90-110-minute classes per week. Humanities courses are arranged chronologically, taught by one teacher (not teams of teachers), and encompass the following disciplines: history, literature (both fiction and non-fiction), religion, philosophy, politics, art and music history, drama and film, and economics.

Humanities I (9th Grade): the ancient world
Humanities II (10th Grade): the medieval world
Humanities III (11th Grade): the modern world
Humanities IV (12th Grade): the American experiment

Every student completes the Humanities sequence. Humanities is the equivalent of two classes and meets in seminar rooms designed for this purpose, ideally around large round or oval tables for 15 students and the teacher. Humanities students will read and write extensively, averaging 200 to 400 pages of reading and 300 to 500 words of writing per week, depending on the grade level. Reading will emphasize classics and primary and secondary sources. Writing will be largely expository, based on essential questions with many possible answers. The best answer is the one clearly stated and solidly defended. As part of Humanities IV, every senior completes a pre-approved extended essay or independent study.

 

THEORETICAL AND APPLIED SCIENCE

“Science literacy requires understandings and habits of mind that enable citizens to grasp what . . . the enterprises . . . of science and technology are up to, to make some sense of how the natural and designed worlds work, to think critically and independently, to recognize and weigh alternative explanations of events and design trade-offs, and to deal sensibly with problems that involve evidence, numbers, patterns, logical arguments and uncertainties.”  (AAAS Project 2061.  1993.)

Theoretical and Applied Science (TAS) I-IV is the largely descriptive, non-quantitative sequence of science courses for non-scientists. The goal of this sequence is to ensure scientific literacy and to interest students in a variety of scientific disciplines and topics. It emphasizes the methods and uses of science, as well as its limitations and potential abuses. Inquiry-based laboratory work and community-based projects play a substantial role in this sequence so that students have an opportunity to do science and see it at work all around them. The course sequence also invites students to investigate/research and write position papers on controversial topics like cloning, stem cell research, genetic engineering, and intelligent design.

The TAS sequence satisfies the science graduation requirement for all students except those in the Math, Science and Technology (MST) Honors School.  Non-MST students have the option of fulfilling their science graduation requirement by completing two of the four year-long courses required of MST students in Grades 9 and 10, as well as of taking additional science courses offered as MST electives.  To do this, however, they will normally be expected to take Geometry as freshman and Algebra II as sophomores.

 

ELECTIVES

Each Honors School will offer electives in addition to their core academic courses. Students from any Honors School may enroll in another Honor School’s electives. Of course, some electives will have pre-requisites. And, even as students begin to specialize in one of the Honors Schools, they will want to maintain a broad approach to their course work. Therefore, to qualify for the most competitive colleges and universities, even a Math, Science & Technology student will want 3-4 years of a foreign language.  Each Honors School will also cultivate a number of independent study and internship opportunities.

 

SWITCHING HONORS SCHOOLS

Even though each student enters an Honors School in 9th grade, there will be ample opportunity for the student to change or switch specializations during the 9th and 10th grade years. The one significant exception to this will be for students who are enrolled in the Theoretical and Applied Science sequence; students will not be able to switch into the Math, Science and Technology Honors School without being enrolled in the MST science courses for 9th and 10th grade (physics and chemistry).  By the 11th grade year, however, students will need to maintain their Honors Schools classifications so that they can successfully fulfill the School’s requirements for graduation.

 

HONORS SCHOOL IN MATH, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

 

Grade 9:

Humanities I	2 credits
Geometry I or Algebra 2	1
Physics	1
Applied Science (labs)	1
2 Electives (1 should be a language)	1
Athletics or PE	1

                                                         

Grade 10:

Humanities II	2 credits
Algebra II or Pre-Calculus	1
Chemistry	1
Introduction to Engineering	1
2 Electives (1 should be a language)	1
Athletics or PE	1

Grade 11:

Humanities III	2 credits
Pre-Calculus or Calculus AB (AP)	1
Biology (AP)	1
AP Chemistry or AP Physics or	1
AP Programming	1
2 Electives (1 should be a language)	1
Athletics or PE	1

Grade 12:

Humanities IV	2 credits
Calculus BC (AP) or Statistics & Probability (AP)	1
AP Chemistry or AP Physics	1
Independent Study	1
2 Electives	1
Athletics or PE	1

MST SEMESTER ELECTIVES:  Astronomy, Environmental Science, History of Science, Programming, Computer-Assisted-Design, Space Science, Geology, Marine Biology, Molecular Biology.

 

HONORS SCHOOL IN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE & LANGUAGES
(Greek & Latin or Spanish & French, possibly Italian, or Japanese & Mandarin Chinese)

 

Grade 9:

Humanities I	2 credits
Mathematics	1
First Foreign Language	1
Second Foreign Language	1
TAS or MST course	1
Athletics or PE	1

Grade 10:

Humanities II	2 credits
Mathematics	1
First Language	1
Second Language	1
TAS or MST course	1
Athletics or PE	1

 

Grade 11:

Humanities III	2 credits
First Language	1
Second Language	1
Author/Author*	1
2 Electives (Math and Science recommended)	1
Athletics or PE	1

Grade 12:

Humanities IV	2 credits
First Language	1
Second Language	1
Independent Study	1
2 Electives (Math and/or Science recommended	1
Athletics or PE	1

NB:  Languages are offered on four levels.  To move from one level to the next, students must pass oral, written and reading comprehension proficiency exams.  After Level IV, the Honors School offers seminar electives in selected authors.  A summer or semester abroad is required after Level III.

*CL&L SEMESTER ELECTIVES: Courses based on the writings of selected authors from each language area.

 

HONORS SCHOOL IN STUDIO AND PERFORMING ARTS

 

Grade 9:

Humanities I	2 credits
Mathematics	1
TAS or MST course	1
Studio Art: Drawing 1 & 2 or Performing Art:  Stagecraft 1 & 2 or Instrumental 1 & 2 or Voice 1 & 2	1
2 Electives	1
Athletics or PE	1

Grade 10:

Humanities II	2 credits
Mathematics	1
TAS or MST course	1
Studio Art: Watercolor & Oils or Performing Art	1
2 Electives (1 should be a language)	1
Athletics or PE	1

Grade 11:

Humanities III	2 credits
Studio Art: Sculpting 1 & 2 or Performing Art	1
2 Electives (1 should be a language)	1
2 Electives (Science and Math)	1
Athletics or PE	1

Grade 12:

Humanities IV	2 credits
Studio or Performing Arts	1
2 Electives	1
2 Electives (Math and/or Science recommended)	1
Apprenticeship or Independent Study	1
Athletics or PE	1

ARTS SEMESTER ELECTIVES:  Art History 1 & 2, Ceramics 1 & 2, Stained Glass, Screenwriting 1 & 2, Cinema, Photography 1 & 2, Advanced Drawing, Advanced Painting, Advanced Sculpting, Woodworking, History of Architecture

 

HONORS SCHOOL IN MARKETS, ENTREPRENEURS & GLOBALIZATION

 

Grade 9:

Humanities I	2 credits
Geometry or Alg II	1
TAS or MST course	1
Intro to Economics	1
2 Electives (1 should be a language)	1
Athletics or PE	1

Grade 10:

Humanities II	2 credits
Algebra II or Pre-Calculus	1
TAS or MST course	1
Understanding Markets	1
2 Electives (1 should be a language)	1
Athletics or PE	1

Grade 11:

Humanities III	2 credits
Pre-Calculus, Calculus or AP Statistics	1
Introduction to Accounting	1
2 Electives (Language and/or Science)	1
Athletics or PE	1

Grade 12:

Humanities IV	2 credits
Creativity, Entrepreneurship & The Business Plan	1
Apprenticeship	1
2 Electives (Language and/or Science recommended)	1
Athletics or PE	1

 

M&E SEMESTER ELECTIVES: Business, Business Biographies, Business Classics: Adam Smith, Matthews, Marx, Keynes, Veblen, Drucker;  Managing Money, The Stock Market Game, Modeling & Programming, Principles of Accounting

 

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES HONORS SCHOOL

The Village School will be applying for status as an IB diploma-granting institution. The process will take 2-3 years in order to benefit our first graduating class, which will be eligible for IB course work during the 11th grade year.

NB.  IMPORTANT: This is a “proposal.” We are actively exploring its viability. The Honors School courses and electives described above are intended to be illustrative, not definitive.  We would work with our teachers as well as outside experts to define and design these courses and their prerequisites and standards.