9-10th grade Humanities
Compass School 2007-08
Teachers: Amir Flesher (amir@compass-school.org)
and Julia Taylor (Julia@compass-school.org)
Dear Students:
Welcome to 9-10th grade Humanities. We look forward to getting to know those of you who are here for the first time, and continuing to work with those who are in their second year. The 9-10th grade years are for building academic skills, examining the history/culture/arts/literature of this country, and working together as a group to create meaningful learning experiences.
We have planned three trimesters that will be academically challenging and engaging—full of a variety of readings, writing assignments, issues in US history, and creative pursuits. You will find yourself taking notes and (acing) tests, discussing ethical questions with your peers, writing poems as well as essays, and reading novels as well as current newspaper articles. You will find yourself taking photographs, creating a 3-D visual, writing in a journal, as well as memorizing vocabulary words or researching the history of fashion or sports in the 1940’s.
Although we have a plan for each trimester, we are always open to hearing from you about what intrigues you or how you learn best, and we’ll talk about how those interests and learning styles may help us tweak or enhance our curricular units. At the same time, we want you to keep in mind that this is a class that attempts to cover US history, literature, and some of the arts. It is a group of 27 multi-grade students, all with individual needs and proclivities. This makes for both an exciting learning experience as well as some challenges. At times, you may feel impatient, baffled, confused, or (heaven forbid) bored. We ask that you stay positive and take responsibility for your own learning. Do you need extra help? More challenge? Do you understand our expectations? Please come and talk to us!