SWS - School Within a School

JUNIOR COURSE OFFERINGS

AMERICAN STUDIES: What do democracy and freedom mean in U.S. history and in our society today?  How does American literature reflect the nation’s values and multi-ethnic and multi-cultural complexity?

Grade 11 - Full Year

2 Credits including:

SWS10E / SWS11E - A Level / Honors - 1 English Credit

SWS10S / SWS11S - A Level / Honors - 1 History Credit

American Studies is a cooperatively taught, two credit integrated U.S. History and American Literature course. Through this interdisciplinary, project-based approach, students will study the Origin of “Race” and Reconstruction, with Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman, Indian “Removal” with Lakota Woman; Robber Barons, Immigration, the Spanish-American War, and World War I with Forgotten Fire, and The Jungle; The Twenties and Great Depression with The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath; the Harlem Renaissance with Their Eyes Were Watching God, World War II, America in the Fifties, the Cold War and Vietnam with The Catcher in the Rye and The Things They Carried; and the Final Four Decades research projects and current events with The House On Mango Street. Classroom curriculum will be augmented with possible field trips and guest speakers. Students will have many opportunities to refine research and writing skills, and will also prepare for SAT’s. Honors students will complete the American Studies curriculum, with the addition of reading and writing assignments, research projects and class presentations.  

SENIOR COURSE OFFERINGS

FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES: Facing History is an active and continuous process that calls on each of us to connect the choices of the past to those we face today.  To build a more just and equitable future, we must face our history in all its complexity:  Are you ready to face history with us?

Grade 12 – Full Year 2 Credits including:

SWS40E/ SWS41E – A Level / Honors - 1 English Credit

SWS40S/ SWS41S – A Level / Honors - 1 History Credit

Prerequisite: U.S. History

Facing History is a cooperatively taught two credit integrated history and English course.  In the fall this project-based class looks at the rise of Hitler through the lens of psychology, propaganda, film, art, and novels, including Stones from the River, Maus I and II, Man’s Search for Meaning, and The Sunflower.  We will also learn about other genocides that have occurred before and after the Holocaust. Why did the perpetrators kill?  Learn stories of courage and compassion, and visit Boston to view German “Degenerate Art”, Holocaust survivor Samuel Bak’s work, and the New England Holocaust Memorial. During the spring we explore the history and legacy of racism in our culture through the psychology of racial identity development, science fiction, advertising, children’s literature, Hollywood film, Disney, television, and novels, including The Giver, Warriors Don’t Cry, and A Gathering of Heroes. Students will also complete college essays and scholarship letters.  This course, as former students have said, “had an amazing impact” on them, one that has continued to affect them long after graduation.

BANNED BOOKS AND THE STORIES BEHIND THEM: Books have been censored and banned throughout history and around the world. Why? What makes a book so powerful to make people and governments fear it? How does banning books impact me?

Grade 12 - Full Year

SWS43 / SWSH43 – A Level / Honors – 1 English Credit 

Each year the American Library Association’s list of banned books increases. This course will explore the reasons behind the banning of books, and the possible legal ramifications of doing so. Books on the list such as There There, The Hate U Give, The 1619 Project, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Bless Me Ultima, and Persoplis will be read and analyzed, and positions on censorship will be debated. Students will choose which books to read, create projects, complete college essays, and have many other opportunities to refine research and writing skills. Honors students will complete the curriculum above, with the addition of reading and writing assignments, research projects and class presentations. 

Each year the American Library Association’s list of banned books increases. This course will explore the reasons behind the banning of books, and the possible legal ramifications of doing so. Books on the list such as The Hate U Give, Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Poet X, and Slaughterhouse Five will be read and analyzed, and positions on censorship will be debated. Students will create projects, complete college essays, and have many other opportunities to refine research and writing skills. Honors students will complete the curriculum above, with the addition of reading and writing assignments, research projects and class presentations.

EXPLORING AND RESPECTING DIFFERENCES I (EARD I): What are stereotypes and how are we driven by them? What makes hate groups do what they do? What are your morals, values and ethics? Learn the tools of how we can effectively mediate conflicts in our own lives and in our society.

Grades 11 - 12

EX10 - ½ Elective Credit - ½ Year

This is a one-semester course that provides an in-depth look at differences in society and how they develop. The course targets these topics, gender issues, sexuality and gender spectrum, and current events driven by student interest. This is a discussion and project-based class.

EXPLORING AND RESPECTING DIFFERENCES II (EARD II)

Grades 11 - 12

EX20 - ½ Elective Credit - ½ Year

This course is built on the exploration of civil rights groups, humanitarian organizations, NGOs, and global activism movements and their impact on the world. This course looks at what YOU can do to become more active in your local, regional community. The class is based on current events, documentary film and guest speakers. An interactive media project will be counted as the final grade, along with in-depth discussion.

EXPLORING AND RESPECTING DIFFERENCES – HONORS

Grades 11 – 12

EX11- ½ Elective Credit - ½ Year

Prerequisite: E.A.R.D. I or E.A.R.D. II

In this class we learn how to become an activist and mobilize for change.  Small groups, and indeed, even just one person can help to change the world.  In this course you will learn how to organize, fund, and implement the changes you want.  We will start school-wide and branch out into the community with an outreach philosophy, understanding that through education, dedication, and living by example, we can make great things happen.  Mass movements start when enough consciousness is raised to change the actual paradigm of how we live, and in what context. The honors designation for this course constitutes your active engagement and implementation in projects in our school and community. This is a half-year course and may be repeated.