Spring Courses

Instructor: Linda Rodriguez
Materials: 

• De Blij, H.J., Alexander B. Murphy, and Erin H. Fouberg. Human Geography: People, Place, and Culture, 11th ed.
• Diamond, Jared.  Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies.
• Grant, Richard. Dispatches from Pluto.

Grade Level: 11th-12th
Tuition: $475

Instructor: Jim Foley
Grade Levels: 11th-12th
Tuition: $475

Instructor: Emmi Sprayberry
Grade Levels: 10th - 12th
Tuition: $475

Instructor: Dr. Carolyn Brown
Grade Levels: 12th
Tuition: $475

Instructor: Scott Albert Johnson
Grade Levels: 9th-12th
Tuition: $475

Songwriters and Songwriting will be an elective course that combines a survey of some of the great songwriters of the last 100 years (from multiple genres) with a component in which students write their own song(s). Students will use as their primary textbook "Songwriters on Songwriting" by Paul Zollo and his sequel, "More Songwriters on Songwriting," which include interviews with well-known artists (including Bob Dylan, Kenny Gamble, Paul Simon, Randy Newman, Herbie Hancock and many more) about their creative process.  Students will explicate the lyrics of well-known songs, from the Jazz Age to modern hip-hop and everything in between. They will also have a project where they write their own song, either individually or in partnership with another student. While the primary focus will be on the lyrical aspect of songwriting, students will also be expected to understand basic musical structure and (very light) theory.

This course will also offer an adults only section which will meet at an alternate time from the student section.

How could climate change disrupt your production and supply chains or impact your consumer markets? Will tariffs help or hurt your business? How embedded is social media in your marketing plan? Is your company vulnerable to cybercrime? What 21st century skills are you cultivating in your leadership team? Students in this course will tackle real-world problems facing businesses large and small in today’s fast changing global marketplace where radical reinvention is on the minds of many business leaders. Students will work collaboratively and independently on case studies, exploring business issues through varied lenses including operations, marketing, human capital, finance and risk management as well as sustainability. As they are introduced to the concepts and practices of business, students will identify, analyze and propose solutions to business problems, engaging in research of traditional and emerging industries, from established multinationals to startups.

What makes a message persuasive and compelling? What helps audiences and viewers sort and make sense of information? This course explores the relationship between information and influence from a graphic design perspective. Using an integrated case study and design-based approach, this course aims to deepen students’ design, visual, and information literacies. Students are empowered to design and prototype communication projects about which they are passionate. Topics include: principles of design and visual communication, infographics, digital search skills, networks and social media, persuasion and storytelling with multimedia, and social activism on the internet. Student work will include individual and collaborative group projects, graphic design, content curation, some analytical and creative writing, peer review and critiques, and online presentations.

Macroeconomics is the study of economic units as a whole rather than of their individual components. The aggregate unit is usually a national economy and that will be our focus in this course. Students will learn to better understand how to measure national economic activity with concepts like gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation and the strengths and weaknesses of these statistics. Students will then study theoretical methods of influencing national economic activity with monetary and fiscal policy and will learn about some of the controversy surrounding these policy tools. The advantages and disadvantages of international trade and of methods of setting exchange rates will also be introduced. The course will include an individual student investigation of a national economy other than their home country. Students will identify their economic findings and present resolutions in their final report.

Target Grade Level: 11-12
Prerequisite: None
Instructor: Ellen Johnson, Ph.D., Wilmington Friends School, Wilmington, DE

This course will focus on such cases as environmental sustainability, global energy and food resources, gathered from sources in literature, journalism, and film. The academic study of ethics examines how people make the decisions. Curricula will build on a foundation of theoretical moral theories, more specifically, how one makes decisions when faced with complex, often controversial, issues. No prior knowledge of philosophy is assumed, however, authentic assessment of students’ initial facility with logical analysis will ensure that all students are challenged to grow and deepen their theoretical and practical understandings of the subject.

Target Grade Level: 11-12
Prerequisite: None, but some familiarity/experience with logic helpful
Notes: Netflix subscription required
Instructor: Joyce Lazier, Canterbury School, Ft. Wayne, IN

Have you ever had a realistic dream that you were sure was true and then work up confused? How do you know that you are not in the Matrix? What is real and what is not? This course will investigate the nature of existence. It will combine classic philosophic works, like Descartes, with contemporary movies like The Matrix and Inception, to contemplate what it is to exist and what the meaning of life is or should be.

Target Grade Level: 11-12
Prerequisite: None
Instructor: Emily Philpott, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, Jackson, MS

Germany has played a major role in the global events of the past century. World War I was fueled by German aggression, and during the interwar period, the failures of the Weimar Republic and the Great Depression led to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party. At the end of World War II, a divided Germany became the center of the Cold War that lasted until reunification in 1990. Today, Germany remains at the forefront of many contemporary issues, such as immigration, environmental sustainability, and remembrance culture. In this course, students will investigate the last 100 years of history through a lens of Germany. Students will connect virtually with experts and eyewitnesses while developing a better understanding of the world as they encounter people and ideas that are different from their own. This course was designed in partnership with the Transatlantic Outreach Program, and students will have access to the most recent scholarship and virtual experiences from within Germany. Founded in 2002, TOP seeks to be the leading provider of curriculum and experiences relevant to contemporary Germany and their partners include the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, The Goethe-Institut, Deutsche Bank, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, and the Siemens Corporation.