THE HIGH SCHOOL

I said in my heart
"I am sick of four walls and a ceiling,
I have need of the sky.
I have business with the grass.
I will up and get me away
Where the hawk is wheeling
Lone and high,
And the clouds go by.
I will get me away to the waters that glass 
The clouds as they pass...." - Richard Huvey


The high school student is awakening to a truly new and independent sense of self. New powers of thinking arise; feelings overwhelm her and her body changes on an almost daily basis. With an unusual mixture of total conviction and overwhelming self-doubt, the adolescent seeks to discover who she really is. To meet this driving need we place apprenticeship at the heart of our high school program. As we become able to expand our programs into the High School, students will go out into the larger work community and discover many opportunities to explore who they are. As far as possible the mathematics and science curricula will support and extend the apprenticeship experience.

GRADE 9, nature/farming apprenticeships are supported by study of earth science, botany, climate and ecology. When possible students will work not only with farmers, fishermen or forest rangers but also in labs and field studies with scientists engaged in research. Mathematical formulae are applied to unraveling questions and problems presented by the natural world. 

GRADE 10 will include a social service apprenticeship in hospitals, schools, community centers and the like. Sciences will support these experiences with the study of human biology/health care, embryology, child development, sociology and "life skills." Here too, whenever possible lab experience with scientists practicing in relevant fields will be included. Math classes take up formal geometry and explore how these principles relate to human community in architecture and city planning. 


GRADE 11 will include a business apprenticeship. Because it is hard to place a student in a meaningful role in business, schools may find it more useful to run their own small business. For example a children's museum for displaying the 6-9 grade projects, a theater for school and public use, an acting troupe, or a farm store could all provide first-hand experience of business and serve the community. Emphasis will be on business math, algebra and computers. Science courses will be combined with the twelfth grade and offer a choice of chemistry, physics or earth science and astronomy. When possible students will work directly with scientists in their area of study.


HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS will choose the apprenticeship of their choice. Math will include algebra and geometry review and practice. Honors courses will be offered, including higher mathematics and science. 

The history curriculum offers the students a way to reflect on the experiences of today by contrasting them with the past. Ninth graders will return to a study of Ancient History, with emphasis on each society's perspective or worldview and the resulting social structure. Cultures from each continent will be included. 
Tenth graders will bring the ancient cultures studied in ninth grade into the context of time by following each up to the present. Eleventh graders will take up comparative religion focusing on how the ideologies of each religion have unfolded over time. Twelfth graders will focus on modern global culture comparing it to ancient worlds. Particular focus will be on how this global culture impacts their lives and their "world view."

Along with the need to make an independent contribution in the larger community, high school students still need to form their own community of peers. To support this, we will work with yearly wilderness trips and with regularly held class meetings. Our drama and music programs will strengthen the sense of high school community as well. 

The adolescent is driven to answer the question, "Who am I?" Exploring her place in the larger community through apprenticeships helps her glimpse some answers. Comparing her world and beliefs to others of the past and present in the history curriculum takes her further. Working with her peers on wilderness trips, in plays and in class meetings adds more to her understanding. Still, ultimately this is a question she must investigate and experience on her own. For this reason all juniors and seniors will have the opportunity to undertake a "vision quest". This is a structured and guided experience of being alone in the wilderness. After careful preparation, students spend 1 - 3 days alone in the wilderness. When they come back together as a group, they will process their experiences together and look at how the experience may impact their daily lives and dreams for the future. This offers the adolescent an experience free from expectations, roles, and demands as well as a chance to touch her own fear and her own courage.