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Students pursue class presentations, group projects and writing tasks in a variety of genres, with a major written project (but no exam) due in the second trimester.

The third trimester focuses on students’ writing a longer analytical essay on a topic of their own choosing—either a text or an event of cultural significance. For this essay, texts include novels, graphic novels, webtoons, plays, short stories, films, poems, TV shows, music albums, works of visual art and other works of fiction. An “event of cultural significance” is an occurrence or a set of closely related occurrences that, when analyzed, surface a new, nuanced understanding of the culture in which they occur. Topics may include events in the realms of politics, social justice, technology, environmentalism, sports, etc.

While the first two trimesters of this year rely on literary and cultural theory, students may choose whether or not to deploy theory in the writing of this essay. One goal of this assignment is for students to produce essays they can enjoy writing and of which they can be proud—essays drawing upon their own intellectual interests and their studies in other disciplines, such as history, science, art, economics, music, etc. Another goal is for students to refine their creative thinking and expression so that they can go forth as creative, intelligent thinkers with something significant to say to the world.

Students not only read and write, but they also explore models of effective writing, read and write about the writing of their peers, write metacognitively about their own writing and participate in writing workshops on selected pieces of student work.

The English Department offers three course options to seniors: 

Students rank their preferences first, second and third when they register. While the department makes every effort to accommodate student preferences, both scheduling conflicts and the necessity of maintaining a favorable student-to-teacher ratio mean that some students will be enrolled in a second choice and a few may be enrolled in their third choice for English 12.

The English Department offers three course options to seniors: 

Students rank their preferences first, second and third when they register. While the department makes every effort to accommodate student preferences, both scheduling conflicts and the necessity of maintaining a favorable student-to-teacher ratio mean that some students will be enrolled in a second choice and a few may be enrolled in their third choice for English 12.

In addition, The Vision will offer published students the opportunity to read their work (or have it read) for an audio CD that will accompany the printed magazine. Students working on the publication will help support the recording process and oversee the creation of the CD. Throughout the process of presenting both online and print versions of The Vision, students will learn to combine and manipulate different types of media, such as text, audio and graphics. They will employ microphones, scanners and other input devices to gather information. 

While students will be enrolled based on application for specific roles in the editorial structure, where they will hold primary responsibility, students will participate in and learn all aspects of the project.

“Life, friends, is boring,” writes John Berryman in his fourteenth Dream Song. “We must not say so.” And yet, clearly was Berryman compelled to do so in this poem and the 384 other poems that make up his masterwork. The Dream Songs is many things—confessional, angry, sullen, sensual, jazzy, offensive, compassionate, elegiac—but it is first and foremost a work that is inimitably Berryman’s.

Advanced Creative Writing, then, will provide a setting for proven (but still learning) writers to explore those topics, themes, ideas and utterances they feel compelled to put to page. It is a course in which students will learn the further use of the creative tools they will need in composing what might turn out, one day, to be their own masterworks. It is a course that will train creative writers to recognize creative voice—in canonical writers, in each other and in themselves.

Students will read and write in a range of creative writing genres, including poetry, short fiction, plays, screenplays and song lyrics, but they will also focus on a self-selected topic or aspect of craft—akin to the sort of concentration a student might develop and pursue in an AP Art Studio course.

The workshop experience will be the cornerstone of the course: students will submit their creative pieces for peer review and discussion. Peer creative writers will read those works prior to workshop and will prepare some feedback in advance. As personal reflection helps foster the development of a distinct unique voice, students will reflect in various ways on their own works and creative processes. Finally, students will encounter a variety of creative practices by reading widely from canonical and contemporary sources, which may include volumes from The Best American Poetry series and such literary journals as Poetry, American Poetry Review, and Tin House. The course may include occasional texts about the writing process, such as Dillard’s The Writing Life, Hugo’s The Triggering Town and Dobyns’s Best Words, Best Order.

Focused on the practical, immediately useful basics of writing, “Foundations of Reading, Writing and Thinking” is intended for students who want to improve their skills as readers and writers. 

Language allows us to communicate our ideas and to learn those of others. The more skillfully we put our ideas into words, the better we can understand ourselves and the world around us. Focused on practical reading, writing and thinking skills, the goal of this course is to help Upper School students develop and strengthen their reading and writing skills, and through them to strengthen their thinking and communication skills. We will examine both published and student-generated writing. 

We will begin by working on introductions and theses: what to include in them when writing and what to look for in them when reading. Next, we will work on organization and support of ideas within paragraphs and organization of paragraphs within essays: how to organize to express ideas clearly and how to read actively to discern the organization and meaning of others. Then, we will take up the often-neglected conclusion, giving it the same attention. In the process, we will focus on close reading skills and on developing sensitivity to diction, syntax and tone. 

As the year progresses—and in response to student needs—we will also work on editing and proofreading skills, which will involve learning the necessary grammar and punctuation. As much as possible, we will deal with grammar through online exercise and quizzes. In the second and third trimesters, the teacher will provide students with individualized instruction and feedback.

Understanding human behavior, whether it be that of others or of oneself, is at the core of all of life’s endeavors. This introductory course in psychology is designed to explore human behavior, social development and mental processes and how they are portrayed in film. Students will learn how biological heritage, surrounding environment and experiences influence development and behavior.  Through viewing documentary and commercial films, as well as through the examination of psychologists and their research, students will gain a clear understanding about what motivates human behavior and how we perceive, remember, adapt, solve problems, form relationships and find our place in the world.

Topics of focus will include development, learning, memory, intelligence, motivation, emotion, personality, social psychology and abnormal psychology. Theorists of study will include, but will not be limited to, Freud, Piaget, Erikson, Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura, Kohlberg, Gilligan, Maslow, Gardner, Rogers, Milgram and Zimbardo. Students will connect psychological theory and experimental findings to the films viewed in class to help unravel the history of the field of psychology.

Some of the films viewed will contain an R rating or may not have a rating. As such, these films may contain violence, brief nudity and strong language. Specific clips or films in their entirety will be chosen to scaffold and reinforce our discussions about the history of psychology and psychological theory. With this in mind, caregiver permission is required for this course.

This course will assist students in developing better public speaking skills through the use of voice, speech and presentation techniques. Topics covered in this class will include: 

Students will be required to write their own speeches throughout the course of the year. They will watch and analyze great inspirational speeches, as well as those of their classmates.