Curriculum

Curricular Overview  

The "core" curriculum will be composed of the following major courses: 1) Science, 2) Math, 3) Engineering, 4) Social Studies, 5) English, and 6) Philosophy. In addition all students will enroll in 7) Spanish Language Arts, 8) Creative Arts, and 9) Physical Fitness minor courses that meet twice a week. Creative Arts and Physical fitness will consist of rotating minicourses on varied subjects or themes. For example, Physical Fitness will have yoga, jogging, pilates, ultimate frisbee, swimming, weightlifting, etc. minicourses. Creative Arts will have experiential minicourses such as: Architecture in the City, MOMA, Rock and Hip Hop, Ethnic Foods, etc. Students will also choose from a pool of in-school elective options (currently we are considering the following options: Science Fiction Literature and Film, Marine Biology, Computer Technology, Environmental Science, Multimedia Design) and an optional Afterschool Electives program with offerings such as: Robotics, Chess, Journalism, Typing, Webpage and Multimedia design, and Research. The school will have an extended day schedule 8:00 am - 4:00 pm and on Tuesdays and Thursdays an OPTIONAL afterschool enrichment program from 4:00 - 6:00 pm. This afterschool program will include enrichment electives and in-school tutoring and study periods.  An optional Saturday Academy program meeting from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm will provide additional opportunities for academic enrichment and special academic support.  

The school’s curriculum will be distinguished by:  

  • Participation in Columbia University’s vast academic and cultural offerings. (Advanced upper school students, for example, may take courses at the University);
  • Science, math, and engineering focus with research and service learning opportunities at Columbia University; 
  • A writing intensive and public communications focus. Students will learn public speaking, become adept at using multimedia to communicate and become effective writers;
  • A Philosophy-Scientific Inquiry core course that will address critical thinking, moral reasoning, and personal and ethical decision-making skills; 
  • An advisory program that provides students with mentoring, guidance and support necessary for academic and personal excellence;
  • A comprehensive Field Expeditions and Travel Abroad program will allow students to explore the world’s natural and cultural diversity; and 
  • Afterschool science, math, and technology electives and Saturday Academy programs.

THEMATIC WEEKS

IDENTITY 

Who and what makes each of us the person we are? We are each products of our parents, our larger families, our ethnicity, and our nationality. It is a useful exercise to ask ourselves who we are, and how we came to be who we are. And when we do this, two good things will happen. We will want to investigate our heritage to better understand our roots, and we will want to ask ourselves whether there is anything about ourselves that we would like to change.  And that will lead us to deeper, and more fun, philosophical questions. Are you the same person that you were at aged 5? Of course, you probably have the same name, but it could have been changed. So what makes you the same person? Is it your memories? But would you not be you if you lost your memory? All tough, but fun, philosophical questions.

 

EVOLUTION (coming soon)

 

WAR

When we look at the history of human civilization, two things should strike us. First, virtually everyone agrees that war is a terrible thing. Second, there has not been an extended time in recorded history when there has not been a war on this planet. How can we reconcile these two things? Is making war an essential part of human nature, or is there any hope for reaching a peaceful state of affairs? People speak of “just wars” and “rules of war”, we need to ask whether these notions make any sense at all.

 

 

DIVERSITY (coming soon)

 

 

CONTACT (coming soon)

 

 

TOOLS (coming soon)

 

BEAUTY

Is it true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Whether natural or in a work of art, is beauty a matter of taste – something like our taste in food? Of course, there is no point in our arguing about whether someone is right or wrong to like a certain food, yet we do seem to assume that people can be right or wrong in their judgments of beauty. Therefore, is beauty more like a scientific fact?  Is a claim such as “a sunset is beautiful” more like the fact that opposite poles of a magnet attract one another? During our thematic week we will explore the strengths and weaknesses of each position, and we will also explore what makes something beautiful. We will pursue these issues in all of our classes. For example, in science class we can ask whether a scientific theory can be beautiful, and in social studies we can explore different cultures’ conceptions of beauty. Finally we will explore the question of whether there can be important works of art that are not beautiful.