Campus Connect Articles
Curriculum Matters in the Upper School
Dennis L. Calkins
Head of the Upper School
During the past four years, I have written more articles dealing with curriculum in the Upper School than any other subject – articles dealing with matters of curriculum as well as articles explaining why curriculum matters at Holland Hall. The quality of the curriculum in any school takes second place only to the quality of the faculty who deliver that curriculum. For the past few years, curricular changes in the Upper School have occurred in virtually every discipline and subject area – changes that reflect what we now understand about how students learn and what skills and attributes are important for survival and success in the 21st century. In this article, I hope to summarize important points I have made in the past about our curriculum and how we have arrived at this point in 2012.
There is no shortage of literature detailing the important skills/qualities/attributes/capacities (choose your favorite word) that students must possess in order to be prepared for college and life after college. In an article from three years ago, I listed Tony Wagner’s Seven Survival Skills for Teens Today from his 2008 book, The Global Achievement Gap. It is worth repeating them again.
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Collaboration across Networks and Leading by Influence
Agility and Adaptability
Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
Effective Oral and Written Communication
Accessing and Analyzing Information
Curiosity and Imagination
In the most recent issue of the Independent School Journal, we are reminded by Robert Witt that the NAIS Commission on Accreditation has distilled its research into seven “Essential Capacities for the 21st Century”. Those capacities are:
Analytical and Creative Thinking and Problem Solving
Complex Communication – Oral and Written
Leadership and Teamwork
Digital and Quantitative Literacy
Global Perspective
Adaptability, Initiative, and Risk Taking
Integrity and Ethical Decision Making
While the two lists are not identical, there are striking similarities that have guided much of the discussion about curriculum and assessment in the Upper School during the past few years.
Additionally, I offer the following quotes from an article I wrote a year ago:
● “The curriculum needs to focus on what students need to be able to do with their knowledge.”
● “Critical thinking skills are considered essential for advanced college courses and jobs in today’s information-based economy.”
● “More real learning takes place if students spend more time going into greater depth on fewer topics, allowing them to experience problem-solving, controversies and the subtleties of scholarly investigation”.
These quotes come from Advanced Placement (A.P.) test writers in History and Biology, offered as criticism of their own courses and as evidence that their curricular offerings need to be updated because they do not reflect the skills and attributes listed at the beginning of this article. A. P. Biology and A. P. US History are among several Advanced Placement (A.P.) courses that we no longer teach in the Upper School – courses that have been replaced by other offerings, some required and some elective, that more closely align with our mission statement at Holland Hall and with the skills and attributes listed at the beginning of this article.
In a Campus Connect article from two years ago, I quoted another article from the Independent School Journal: “The families who entrust their sons and daughters to our schools (independent schools) do so because they believe in what we value in education (see the bold print from above), and because we take pains to know who our students are and what they most need to succeed academically, socially, and personally. Why, then, would we outsource the top end of our curriculum to a third party (Advanced Placement) that does not know our school, does not know our students, will specify what we have to teach and the evaluation we must administer, and then charge us a fee to let us know how successful we have been in administering their curriculum to our students?”
College admissions officers have been consistent in their responses to our questions about the Advanced Placement program. They tell us that all students need to take advantage of the most challenging courses their school has to offer that are in line with their strengths and abilities and that it makes no difference in the college admissions process whether or not these course have the A.P. label attached to them. Some college admissions officers have gone so far to say that they would be disappointed to find that an outstanding school such as Holland Hall would settle for A. P. courses when we have the creativity and expertise among the faculty to create curricular offerings that are more relevant, and that address the skills and attributes we all believe are important.
It will always be our goal in the Upper School to offer courses that challenge your sons and daughters to develop their higher order thinking skills, to become adept at solving problems, to learn to communicate effectively, to provide opportunities to be imaginative and creative, to learn to lead and collaborate with others, and to lead lives of integrity.
Archives:
12-7-11 Learning About Curriculum From Reading Comments
11-2-11 News from the Upper School
10-4-11 What We Teach, How We Teach, How We Assess
9-6-11 Summer Reading – Raising Cain
8-9-11 The Home-School Partnership
5-3-11 Lessons Learned from Performing and Competing
4-6-11 The Most Important Goals of American (and Japanese) High School Education
3-2-11 Life in the Upper School – What Students Are Saying
2-7-11 How We Raise and Educate our Children- What’s in the News
1-11-11 Want to Know Something Just Google It Now What
12-7-10 Adolescents, Sleep, and Advice for Parents and Students
11-2-10 Excellence in Teaching – My Definition
10-5-10 The Modular Schedule Revisited Again
9-7-10 Thursday Morning: A Snapshot of Life in the Upper School
8-10-10 Musings on Circles and Cycles
5-19-10 What I Tell New Parents About the Upper School
4-20-10 Endings
3-23-10 The A. P. Discussion…Continued
2-23-10 Success in Athletics – What Does it Mean?
1-26-10 Right Brain Thinking
12-15-09 A Whole New Mind
11-17-09 Gifts
10-20-09 Grades and Grading
9-22-09 The Upper School Curriculum – 20 Questions
8-25-09 A Great Beginning Thanks to Outstanding Student Leadership
5-20-09 Endings
4-21-09 What is Art? Who is an Artist?
3-26-09 Enrollment in Courses for 2009-10
2-24-09 Skills for the 21st Century
11-20-08 The Modular Schedule at Holland Hall
10-23-08 A Great Day of Community Service in The Upper School
9-24-08 More About the AP Curriculum at Holland Hall
8-28-08 New Students and New Enthusiasm
