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Our 2021 - 2022 programming was pared down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  However, we still ran robust English, Social Studies, and STEM programming, in addition to weekly field trips that ranged from museum visits to kayaking, and more.  Below is a summary of our academic courses for the year.  Our academic classes were designed to serve academically advanced students who were able to handle the rigors of advanced reading material, research projects, writing assignments, and mature classroom discussions.  

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STEM

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The students worked with their teacher on various projects, including coding video games, soldering, circuitry, and 3D printing. 

 

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Social Studies

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Our students engaged in a year-long course of Indigenous Studies that focused mainly on the United States.  Below is a brief summary of key principles, practices, materials, and lessons the course included:

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                              -We study through a lens of resistance.

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                              -History, culture, literature, music, and food, are taught through own voices. 

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                              -The history of Indigenous nations begins thousands of years prior to European colonialism up until

                               the present day, including Indigenous Futurism.

 

                              -Indigenous People's and nations are still here, and we listen to those voices.  

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                             -We study the slavery, genocide, and colonization of Indigenous peoples, and we name the people

                              responsible for these crimes.

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                             -Key events in our nation's history, such as the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, as studied

                              through an Indigenous lens, provide important insight into the history of the United States.

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                             -The course literature included a combination of nonfiction, such as An Indigenous People's History of 

                              the United States, and several nonfiction books, including but not limited to, Healer of the

                              Water Monster and Indian No More. 

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                             -We also included various websites and documentaries that educate us about Indigenous

                              history and culture.  

 

                             -We made several visits to the The National Museum of the American Indian where the students

                              explored exhibits about popular culture and advertisements, traditional storytelling, and the 

                              difference between fact and fiction in the lives of historical figures. 

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English

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The year was separated into four sections; below are brief descriptions of those courses:

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1. Poetry and music:

                        -Poetic devices

                        -Poetic forms

                        -Are music lyrics poetry?  Who gets to say?       

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2.  Persuasive Writing:

                        -Logic/non sequiturs/fallacies

                        -Organization in writing

                        -Research 

                        -Avoiding plagiarism

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3.  Journalism:

                        -Ethics

                        -Sources

                        -Objectivity—how does that work?

                        -Organization in writing

                        -Facts vs. opinions

                        -Students interview a local author

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4. Shakespeare's The Tempest:

                        -A Postcolonial reading

                        -Understanding the language of the time

                        -Various adaptations, including Aimé Césaire's A Tempest

                        -Students collectively edit the text

                        -End of year no-pressure performance!

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