ARTS DEPARTMENT
The arts are an integral part of an
all-inclusive liberal arts education. The
arts collapse distinctions between the young
and the old, the privileged and the
unprivileged. They bring to the experience
of Greenwich Academy students and faculty
the unique capacity to transcend
differences, to make connections and to
create community. Lerone Bennett, Jr.,
executive editor of Ebony Forum says: “On
this level…we all speak Jazz and the Blues
and Gospel and Gershwin and Ellington and
Rap and Macarena. On this level we all
conjugate Aretha and Dylan and Estefan and
Bernstein…On this level, there is no White
or Black or Brown or Red or, to be more
precise, we are all Black and Brown and
White and Red… .” There is no better teacher
from whom to learn hope and no better way in
which to learn empathy than through the
arts.
DANCE:
Dance is a powerful form of nonverbal
communication. It is a way of telling a
story, expressing feelings and illuminating
relationships. Dance has a universal
language that weaves a common thread among
all cultures. More than anything, dance
helps people to understand their
similarities amidst their differences.
Lower School Dance: Each
year, a different culture is highlighted,
and individuals or groups are invited not
only to dance, but also to celebrate aspects
of their culture as are reflected in their
art forms. One year it was African dance,
and this year it was Indian dance. Immersion
in the culture happens through assemblies,
parent participation (bringing in food,
native clothing, etc), as well as classroom
discussions and projects.
Specific dance curricular
activities include the following: Group I
studies and learns dances from Mexico and
Japan. Group II studies Native Americans,
creating a powwow including Native American
dances and movement and creating their own
compositions based on their studies. Group
III studies American folk dances, influenced
by the immigrants who traveled across the
country on the Oregon Trail, and Group IV
studies folk dances from around the world to
complement its immigration studies. Each
year in May, there is a Lower School Dance
Around, which features many of these
experiences and expressions of diversity.
Middle School Dance: The
celebration of differences continues in the
Middle School, incorporating poetry,
multicultural myths, visual art and music
from all over the world into the curriculum.
Whenever possible, guest teachers who
specialize in other dance forms such as
Afro-Caribbean, Latin, etc. are invited
Students in the Middle School are taught the
universal vocabulary of dance and are
encouraged to find their own unique creative
voices and to experience and appreciate the
creative voices of others. Video is a
powerful tool in the Middle School dance
curriculum, used in the performance and
viewing of the students’ dances and also the
art of other prominent choreographers. This
provides a historical perspective on how
dance has existed and evolved since the
beginning of time and how dance as a form of
expression is a universal language.
Each year, at least one
outside dance company is invited for an
assembly performance and master classes when
possible. In 2001, the all-African American
performance group, Urban Bush Women, gave a
compelling lecture-demonstration for the
Middle and Upper School. In 2000, the
ethnically and socio-economically diverse
Doug Elkins Company performed, and in 2002,
DanceBrazil, a renowned dance troupe whose
work is based on the Afro-Brazilian capoeira
art, performed for the Middle and Upper
Schools and held a workshop for Upper School
dance students.
In addition to their in-class
dance experience, Group VII and VIII
students are invited to join dance clubs,
which provide them additional opportunities
to explore their own creative voices in the
creation of dances. Group VII students
choreograph dances for their holiday
program, assemblies and their annual Gilbert
and Sullivan performance, which gives them a
broad experience of other cultures and
historical periods. In Group VIII, students
create and perform dances for the holiday
program and assemblies, in addition to their
annual musical, which often focuses on
uniquely American dance forms from past
eras.
Upper School Dance: In the
Upper School, students are given more
opportunities to focus on dance as a means
of communicating a wide range of feelings,
issues and sensibilities. With more time
allocated to those who choose to take dance,
there are more opportunities to explore
their own ideas and to make connections with
one another. Dance instructors not only
teach technical skills to train the
instrument of expression, but also provide
an experience of improvisation and dance
composition from a variety of vantage
points. The development of movement from
personal imagery is emphasized, and students
are given tools, not only with regard to
understanding the structural aspects of
making dances, i.e., space, shape and time
but also to developing different means by
which to articulate their point of view
through movement.
Dance is often used to
explore issues: some personal and some
global. Dances are created about everything
from inter-personal relationships to social
and political issues. Two years ago in the
Dance II class, students created a work
about the conflict in Bosnia, focusing on
the victims of war called “Sarajevo 12/24.”
For Winterfest 2000, the class created a
dance called ”The Gift,” considering the
different implications of the holiday season
for “haves” and “have-nots.” In December
2001, ”Hijab” was choreographed about the
plight of Muslim women in Afghanistan.
Included in all of these projects is the
opportunity for the students to research,
reflect on and discuss their feelings and
points of view. In spring 2001, a focus of
one new dance used the swing-dance form to
explore of male-female relationships
utilizing the swing dance form.
As in the other divisions,
guest teachers expose students to a range of
ethnic styles and points of view. Through
the use of videotapes, the Upper School
dance program seeks to enrich the students’
artistic experience by providing an
historical perspective as well as a
diversified exposure to a wide range of
aesthetics. To provide as many students as
possible with the opportunity to explore
their creativity through dance, there are
Dance Corps, for the serious
dancer/choreographer, and also Dance
Workshop, which is available to anyone who
has an interest in exploring her dance
potential. New to the offerings in 2002 is
Junior Dance Corps. Often there are
opportunities to collaborate with other arts
disciplines in the Upper School dance
program.
DRAMA
Middle School Drama: Kate
Burt
Drama, by its very nature, requires students
to expand their understanding of the
diversity of human experience. When a
student takes on a role in a play, she must
feed her imagination with the life
circumstances of her character and learn the
dress, manners and weltanschauung of her
character’s culture. She must not only do
research, but also walk in the shoes and
clothes and speak the passions, ideas and
conflicts of another time, people and place.
Acting teaches the diversity of mind, body
and heart.
The goal in choosing plays
for Middle School performance is to include
material from a wide variety of cultures and
time frames. Over the past few years, the
Middle School has performed Scheherezade
(Persia), The Purple Fan (China), Dragon of
the Winds and The Shining Princess of the
Slender Bamboo (Japan), The Wise People of
Chelm (Yiddish stories from Eastern Europe),
Nicholas Nickleby (19th-century England),
The Palace of the Minotaur (ancient Greece),
The Multicultural Cinderella (versions of
the familiar tale from Russian, Chinese and
Native-American traditions) and many more.
Whenever possible, guests from these
cultures work with the girls. For example,
some visitors from the Japan Society
demonstrated and explained Japanese customs,
manners and pronunciation of words during
rehearsals for The Shining Princess of the
Slender Bamboo. Nearly every piece performed
includes music and dance appropriate to the
culture and time represented in the play.
Students who participate in plays come away
with an understanding of and empathy for the
people they portray.
Upper School Drama: Linda Key
Theater naturally embraces diversity because
the discipline challenges students to become
someone else, to understand themselves by
walking in someone else's shoes.
The Upper School drama
department exposes students to a variety of
theatrical forms and styles. The students
learn to express themselves physically
through period dance, Shakespearean study,
mime, stage combat and Lessac techniques.
They also learn to express themselves
verbally through dialect workshops and vocal
exercises. They learn to express themselves
emotionally through improvisation, scene
study, Meisner technique workshops and mask
workshops.
In the drama cabarets and
fall plays, the students are exposed to a
wide range of authors from different
countries and perspectives--contemporary
plays to classics. Drama club presentations
have included scenes from My Children, My
Africa, St. Stanislaus, Othello, Dead Man
Walking, Twilight, Los Angeles, Cider House
Rules, Jane Eyre, Grimms’ Fairy Tales, The
Crucible, Macbeth, The Prime of Miss Jean
Brodie, Faust and The Reindeer Monologues.
In the last two years, the fall cabaret has
changed to a film cabaret, and in 2002, the
Drama Club plans to do a foreign film
cabaret.
To whatever extent possible,
non-traditional casting is considered
--female Hamlets, male nurses to Juliet,
black starlets in the 1940s, mixed couples.
Special senior projects allow serious drama
students to explore, in depth, the subject
matter of their special performance. In
2000, the project was Quilters, a play that
examined the fates of pioneer women as
represented in the diverse squares of a
quilt. In 2001, the project was the
ambitious and challenging The Laramie
Project, a play about the life and death of
Matthew Shepard culled from hundreds of
interviews with Laramie residents. It is a
play about homophobia, a hate crime and its
effect on a community, which compellingly
demonstrates the power of forgiveness and
tolerance. The seven seniors who
participated conducted research, were
coached by one of the original Laramie cast
members and transformed themselves into over
eighty different characters. Working with
the Student Diversity Task Force, the cast
presented scenes from the show in order to
share this experience with other members of
the community.
Upper School Drama Department
2002-2003
The Upper School Fall Play Arabian
Nights by Mary Zimmerman was a highly
literate adaptation of One Thousand and
One Nights. It told the story of
Sceherezade, a brave and intelligent woman
who saves her own life and the life of her
sister by telling funny, moralistic and
passionate tales to the misogynist king--
literally warming his heart and spirit. In
one of the stories “Sympathy the Learned,” a
very learned woman answers ancient sages'
questions and talks about war and the Koran.
The stories were challenging to understand,
and the students spent much time in
rehearsals discussing their meaning and the
cultural complications. There were
twenty-four students in the cast and four
technicians.
The Upper School Fall Cabaret
presented scenes with a variety of subject
matter, including comedy scenes from Kathy
and Mo that introduced themes such as
homophobia and bigotry and writers from
different cultural backgrounds, including
works by Jose Rivera, Lee Blessing, Mo
Gaffney, David Auburn and Athol Fugard.
Winterfest 2002 will
include a bi-lingual adaptation of The
Little Prince.
The Laramie Project
is ongoing. The Edinburgh production has
been booked to run at the Cochrane Theatre
in London in March. The original cast, now
freshmen at Brown, Davidson, Duke,
Georgetown, Harvard, Skidmore, Stanford,
University of Colorado, traveled to London,
as did Leticia Frazao ’03. The students
conducted workshops with British students
while there and created an email link for
Greenwich Academy, the Cochrane and their
colleges so that students can communicate
with others about issues that the play
addresses.
Group IX Shakespeare Play was
The Merchant of Venice, Shakepeare's
puzzling, haunting play about Shylock the
Jew, a pariah in Elizabethan times. Its
language and subject matter were
challenging. Sixteen students will be
involved in this production.
MUSIC:
Beth Raaen, Paul Raaen and Dianne
Ellis
In looking back at “The Dimensions of Human
Diversity” chart from the initial meetings
in which the faculty began to address
diversity, the music department considered
its mission to be to broaden its definition
of diversity. In the center of the wheel,
the music faculty considered the following:
gender, age, physical/mental abilities,
race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. In
the peripheral wheel, the department added:
financial status, profession, education,
marital/family status, geographic location,
religious beliefs, military experience and
hobbies. The music department is sensitive
to all of the above, but its focus has been
to adapt its curriculum particularly in
consideration of age, physical/mental
abilities, race, ethnicity and religious
beliefs. Regarding gender issues, the
department has worked to include more GA/BR
musical cooperation through joint
performances such as the Martin Luther King,
Jr. assembly.
The music curriculum seeks to
realize the goals of music literacy,
appreciation, understanding and aesthetic
experience. This is accomplished by the
selection and study of repertoire
representing a variety of historical
periods, cultures, styles and composers.
Consideration is given to materials that are
age-appropriate and contribute to the
development of the students’ physical,
mental and artistic abilities at each level.
Increased emphasis has been placed on the
music of women composers, performance of
world music and the broadening of the
community’s cultural celebrations beyond the
Judeo-Christian traditions. The foundation
of our study continues to be western
tonality and classical music theory.
In professional development,
the department seeks out conferences,
classes and workshops that enlarge its
worldview. For example, past workshops have
included African drumming, recorder playing,
folksongs and music and dance at the Spoleto
Festival in Italy. In the summer of 2002,
Beth and Paul Raaen attended the Sixth World
Symposium on Choral Music, which featured
choirs from 23 countries, premiered the new
works of ten composers and offered lectures
on a range of topics from the Gregorian
chant to music of the Arab world.
Perhaps one of the best ways
to demonstrate this department’s diversity
efforts is to look at representative
programming in recent years. Following is a
partial list of past, present and future
program selections as well as sample
programs. (e.g., Last spring, Mrs. Raaen’s
students performed “Earthsongs,” a cycle
that included a Buddhist prayer and a text
from the United Nations Environmental
Sabbath Program.)
DIVERSITY IN UPPER SCHOOL
MUSIC - Fall 2002
1. Selection of repertoire
studied and tested:
MADRIGAL SINGERS and WOMEN’S CHORUS
Hebrew: “Bashana Haba’ah” and
“Hanerot Halalu”
Latin: “Personent Hodie, Hodie” and “In
Dulci Jubilo” (for Latin Carol Service),”O
Aula Nobilis” (for opening of new Upper
School)
Spanish:“La Virgen lava panales”
French: “Cantique de Noel”
GROUP VIII CHORUS
Hebrew: “Achat Shoalti” (text from Psalm 27)
Spanish: “El canto dels ocel”s
German: Bach duet from “Cantata No. 15”
Latin: “Dona Nobis Pacem”
2. Concerts sponsored:
CZECH WORLD ORCHESTRA on Friday, September
13, 2002
CZECH WORLD ORCHESTRA w/ ST. BARNABAS CHOIR-
Brahms REQUIEM on September 11, 2002
EAST MEETS WESTon Sunday, November 10, 2002
Joel Fan, piano
Yang Wei, pipa
Betty Xiang, erhu
Inbal Segev, cello
3. Field trip and study unit
(Chinese-American cultural assimilation),
including a trip to see Flower Drum Song
(Madrigals) on November 15,2002,a new
libretto by David Henry Hwang (author of M.
Butterfly).
The study unit was based on materials sent
by Students LIVE- Broadway Education
Programs.;
4. Professional Development:
World Choral Symposium
sponsored by International Choral Federation
Minneapolis, MN (August 2002)
Lecture: "The Future of
Educational Assessment: Responding to the No
Child Left Behind Legislative Mandates" at
The Bushnell Center for the Performing
Arts-Hartford (Monday, October 14, 2002);
Speaker: Dr. Elliot Eisner, Professor of
Education and Art at Stanford University
VISUAL ARTS:
Sherry Tamalonis
The visual arts department at Greenwich
Academy is dedicated to incorporating ideas
from many sources into the curriculum.
Visual art connects students to other
cultures through studies of art history and
through projects that directly study other
cultures and are inclusive of women's
contributions to visual art.
The Greenwich Academy student body
represents diverse cultures, and this
department strives to include projects that
represent them.
Lower School Visual Arts:
Deborah Mason
The Lower School art program is a fine arts
preparatory program. Each unit is designed
to build technical skills and to expose the
student to historical or cultural styles of
art and to creatively correlate these
elements in a personal style.
PC/CC concentrates on
introducing the elements of art. Each
concept is illustrated with fine arts
reproductions or design references.
These illustrations are used
throughout the Lower School in the various
lessons and include the full range of art
history and ethnic folk arts. Diverse
cultural styles and historical periods are
represented by example in almost every
lesson at every grade level. In addition,
the following projects imitate the style of
particular cultures:
Group I Japan and Mexico:
origami and Oaxaccan ceramic sculptures
Group II Native American art: Southwest
pottery and design
Group III Russian lacquerware: box
decoration
Group IV African art: design concepts or
masks
Middle School Visual Arts:
In Middle School, the goal is to introduce
the students to a wide range of art skills
from perspective to color theory. Showing
examples of artists who have explored these
issues in their work supports many of these
lesson plans. Since the study of art and art
history has traditionally been connected to
western culture and its artistic development
from Lascaux to Greece to Italy to the
United States and spans many thousands of
years, there has been little attention given
to art studies from other cultures. However,
the Middle School art teacher has been
working to broaden the study of other
cultures in the curriculum by introducing
projects inspired by a greater variety of
cultures.
Middle School Visual Arts:
Beverly Noble
Group V:
1. Mola designs are made for the clock
faces. The style and culture of the Cuna
Indians is reviewed.
2. A project creating wood structures
inspired by the work of Louise Nevelson, a
female artist who continued to contribute to
the art world well into her advanced age,
was undertaken in 2001-2002 because a major
Nevelson work was destroyed in the World
Trade Center.
3. Floor cloths are created in the context
of studying colonial American utilitarian
arts and crafts.
4. Students make early Victorian puppets.
Group VI: A project based on
Kente cloth designs from Ghana, West Africa,
and a mosaic project are created. Mosaic art
is presented as an ancient art form that has
made a modern comeback in the NYC subway
system. The students study the art of both
Roman tiles and images from the Transit
Museum from WPA until now.
Group VII: The students
studied the history of mandalas and their
significance to Tibetan Buddhist religion
and culture and create a kaleidoscope
project using the mandala design.
Group VIII: The students
discuss the significance of masks in many
cultures-- Native-American, African and
Japanese--and create masks of their own.
In every grade level,
students work on a painting project that
involves encouraging each individual student
to find her own voice.
Lower School Parent
Volunteers: Learning to Look, an
introductory art history class that was
developed by two past parents, Sue Ann
Massey and Diane Darst, incorporates
diversity; attention is directed toward
including examples of male and female
artists as well as African-American artists.
More work could be done to enrich the
teaching of diversity in this area.
Learning to Look: Group V and
VI
At the Group V level, Learning to Look has
been integrated with the history curriculum
so that it is not a separate discipline but
rather part of regular class time. Content
areas for Group V include art and artifacts
from ancient Sumer, ancient Egypt, ancient
Greece and ancient Rome; and additionally,
one day a week is spent discussing Islam and
other world religions. The classes naturally
include art history. At the Group VI level,
the Learning to Look curriculum focuses on
medieval Europe. Students also study Ottoman
art through a student docent program and a
grade-wide visit to a Bruce Museum
exhibition.
In Group V and VI art
history, students analyze artifacts to
better understand a particular culture; they
assess materials and techniques to
understand the technology of a period; and
they become acquainted with visual
representations of stories, legends, myths
and historical events (many of which they
are studying in English and history). The
cultures studied include those of the Middle
East, North Africa and Europe. Group V
studies ancient Sumer, Egypt, Greece, Rome
and Islamic art and architecture. Group VI
studies medieval Europe and Ottoman art.
Upper School Visual Arts:
Sherry Tamalonis
In the Upper School visual arts program,
critical thinking is key. Students use ideas
from a variety of sources to create an
original thesis.
1. Students are encouraged to
use ideas from their own family histories to
enrich their projects, which often are tied
to many different places and cultures.
2. GA also has an
artist-in-residence program and a gallery
program that actively look to bring in ideas
from many cultures. Artists-in-residence
come from many parts of the world and have
included Farid Fadel, an Egyptian artist who
showed his work at Greenwich Academy last
year. Randy Williams from the Metropolitan
Museum of Art is considered adjunct faculty
at GA. He is a frequent visitor who has
discussed everything from Caravaggio and
Rembrandt to his own place in the world as
an African-American artist. Mr. Williams
visited Upper School art classes in November
2002 to discuss the Harlem Renaissance.
3. Women artists are well
represented in GA’s artist-in-residence
program and on the walls of its gallery. In
2001-2002, two Greenwich Academy alumnae
participated in this program. Lauren Redniss,
an op-ed artist for The New York Times, was
an artist-in-residence in 2001, and Lee
Massey, a photographer, exhibited her work
the Luchsinger Gallery.
4. Every February, during
Multicultural Month, GA has an exhibit of
children's art from another part of the
world. The Academy has had exhibits from
Tibet, Egypt, South Africa, India and Bosnia
and has also featured Native-American
children's art. In February 2003, there was
an exhibit curated by faculty member Joan
Edwards, entitled In Our Family: Portraits
of All Kinds of Families.
5. In addition to the regular
art program, the Academy also offers arts
cultural enrichment through the
Saturday-in-the-City program for students in
Groups VII-XII, which includes weekly museum
trips to New York City. The following events
were planned for 2002-2003:
9/14 Thomas Eakins and
Gauguin at the Metropolitan Museum
9/20 Museum of Modern Art
9/28 Neue Galerie, New York
10/5 Dia Center and Chelsea Galleries
10/12 Bill Viola - Guggenheim
10/19 Fashion Institute Gallery and
International Center of Photography
11/2 P.S. 1
11/16 American Crafts Museum and 5th Avenue
windows-walk
6. Every other year, the Art
Club travels abroad during spring break. So
far, the students have traveled to London,
Paris and Florence. Students spend a week to
ten days looking at art inside and outside
of museums.
In addition, the visual arts
program has participated in assisting GA
graduate Shaheen Mistri, who has started the
Akanksha Foundation. Shaheen's program to
help children in India is based, in large
part, on the use of art in their curriculum.
There have been two exhibits of Akanksha
children’s art in the lobby of the PAC.
Additionally students and teachers traveled
to India in the summers of 2001 and 2002 to
volunteer at the foundation.
8. Students have been very
involved in art projects expressing their
reactions to the World Trade Center bombing
and to the war in the Middle East. The
artwork of six GA and Brunswick students was
published in The Day Our World Changed:
Children’s Art of 9/11.
Listed below are the history and arts
department courses taught and the diversity
experiences that are part of them, with
lists of required reading that deal with
diversity, including summer books.
* denotes topics and activities that were
new 2001-2002.
AP Art History XII: Carol
Dixon
The curriculum covers art in major cultures
of the world from cave-painting to the
present, having multiculturalism as a focus.
Text: Stokstad, Art History, 2002. This was
selected because it covers not only art in
Europe and the U.S., but also in Asia, all
of the Americas, Africa and Oceania, as well
art by women through the ages and a stronger
focus on Afro-American and Native American
art. Class shelf includes books on these
areas as well as those concentrating on
women artists.
Summer required reading:
Chevalier, Girl With a Pearl Earring (Dutch
art); Figes, Light (French art); The Agony
and the Ecstasy (Italian art);Hogrefe,
O’Keeffe, The Life of an American Legend;
Lipton, Alias Olympia (focuses on a female
artist researched by a female art historian)
Exhibitions:
Student docent training and class visits to
Bruce Museum shows of Ottoman Islamic art
from the Khalili Collection* and "Art of the
American West," which includes works by
women artists, African-American artists and
Native-American artists*; Visit to show of
Monica Gonzalez-Bunster’s paintings, an
early section
of which featured life in Latin America*;
student presentation of
slides from the show of African-American
artist Jacob
Lawrence* and of Spanish artists*.
Gender issues become
especially important in art historians’
interpretations
from the last few decades; socio-economic
issues come to the fore not only in studying
the cultures from which art comes but also
in the inclusion of popular and applied
arts; different learning styles are
addressed, especially when hands-on
exercises make the processes of artists more
understandable.
Architecture X-XII: The
curriculum covers the basics of
architecture; historical and cultural styles
worldwide--again featuring multicultural
examples; individual architects including
women, African-American architects and
architects from abroad; building types;
community design and city planning, which
also deal with socioeconomic issues; and
individual student design projects geared to
each student’s unique learning style. Gender
issues also surface when some of the guest
architects who are women discuss their
training and degree of acceptance in the
field.Architecture to accommodate physically
handicapped people is also studied.
Texts:
Ching, Architecture - Form, Space, and Order
contains examples of building
design from a variety of countries; Bacon,
Design of Cities has studies of
planned cities from Greece to Rome to
Beijing to Brasilia to Canberra.
ENGLISH
DEPARTMENT
How does the GA English
department approach difference?
The mission of the English department at
Greenwich Academy is to create an inclusive
environment and curriculum for the open
exchange of ideas and perspectives that is
the core of diversity. Inquiry-based
discussion focuses on essential ethical
questions posed in literary texts, which
explore interior life and the very nature of
what it means to be human.
As teachers in the oldest
girls school in Connecticut, the Academy
English faculty is aware of its
responsibility to ensure that all voices are
heard. Department members meet regularly to
explore issues of civility, equity, justice
and action. The English teachers firmly
believe that the study of literature offers
an ethical perspective that creates space
for inclusiveness for the diverse and varied
expression of identity and voice. The
department is committed to examining,
through close reading, interpretation and
analysis, the lenses of personal,
interpersonal, institutional and cultural
belief systems, biases and assumptions that
lie at the core of the texts under
discussion. In this spirit, the English
teachers work on a daily basis to raise
personal, ethical, political and social
awareness of the importance of language,
compassion, goodness and informed
confrontation in order to recognize,
understand and value difference and to
appreciate the psychological realities of
the lives of others.
Group V and VI:
English and history curriculums at this
level are interdisciplinary, allowing
evolving discussions of various cultures,
peoples and historical periods. One primary
focus is on an individual’s place within her
culture. Novels, poems, short stories, myths
and plays are used in the English curriculum
to introduce literary conventions as well as
to connect to social and historical trends.
Group V Literature:
Creation myths from various cultures (Norse,
African, Native-American, Greek, Aztec,
Asian)
Golden Goblet (Ancient Egyptian culture)
Earth’s Daughters (Women in Greek mythology)
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Group VI Literature:
A Time of Angels (Religious prejudice, war,
international crisis)
Ulysses, a retelling of the Odyssey
Memoir, a selection of short stories
African-American poetry in public speaking
course for Black History Month
Catherine Called Birdy (discussion focuses
on gender issues in the Middle Ages,
religion, sense of self)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William
Shakespeare
Groups VII and VIII:
Promoting tolerance, deepening understanding
and celebrating the experience of people of
various cultures, ethnicities, ages,
genders, socio-economic backgrounds and
religions are at the heart of the Group VII
and VIII curricula at Greenwich Academy.
Organized according to year-long thematic
units (“Finding Moral Courage” and
“Exploring Adolescent Relationships in
Literature” respectively), these curricula
require students to grapple with issues of
personal and community identity, universal
human experience, prejudice, moral
responsibility and growth. Works include
novels To Kill a Mockingbird, Summer of My
German Soldier, The Giver, Lyddie, The
Catcher in the Rye, A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn, Of Mice and Men; memoirs The House
on Mango Street, Growing Up; plays The
Miracle Worker, Romeo and Juliet; short
stories and poetry.
Upper School English
Department members are advisors of the GAP
and Daedalus, two award-winning publications
that are notable for representing the voices
of the Upper School community. Visiting
writers whose works include the assigned
Brunswick/GA summer reading book have been:
Mark Mathabane, Kaffir Boy
Thomas Mallon, Henry and Clara
Poet laureate Billy Collins
James McBride, The Color of Water
Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost
their Accent
Professor Shelley Fisher-Fishkin, On Huck
Finn
Lucy Grealey, Autobiography of a Face
Ann Patchett, Taft
Lorene Cary, Black Ice
English IX:
In Group IX English, students read a variety
of texts from classics --Greek myths,
Antigone, readings from Genesis, a selected
Shakespeare play, poetry, as well as modern
authors--Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean
Trees, Cathleen Schine's Evolution of Jane.
Several assignments are designed
specifically for interdisciplinary
connections, an important part of the theme
for the year, seeing and reseeing. Students
choose and read novels in small groups, with
selections from authors of countries studied
in history.
English X: The Social Order
and the Self
Living and Learning in European Literature
(2001-2002)
English X offers a range of readings in
European literature from the Middle Ages
through the twentieth century, which examine
the varying roles of the individual and
society. Group X investigates works from
many different genres, including novels,
short stories, plays, poems, essays and
films. The approach to them is
interdisciplinary and makes connections to
European history, art, music, science,
ethics, current events and personal
experience. The inquiry explores essential
questions such as: How shall I live? What am
I seeking? What are my values? What is
freedom? What is education? What does
self-knowledge mean, and how can I achieve
it? How can I live with others in a
community?
The works that address diversity include the
following:
Pygmalion, George B. Shaw
Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
Macbeth, William Shakespeare
A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen
Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
Candide, Voltaire
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
Poetry in The Norton Anthology of Poetry
Films, music, paintings, articles and other
works are occasionally used to complement
the literature being studied.
English XI:
What is “America”? What does it mean to be
“American”? These are questions that
residents have been asking for centuries.
They are questions with which current
residents still struggle, as they seek to
understand their own identity in relation to
the identity of the nation and the world
around them. While it should be obvious that
there are no complete answers to these
questions, and certainly no answers on which
all would agree, it also should be clear why
the struggle to answer the questions is a
central one in understanding not only our
land but also ourselves. In this course,
students explore the ideas of “American”
writers from the 1600s to the present and
develop their own understanding of the
identity of this nation. It is our hope that
with these efforts, students will come to a
new understanding of their own identity as
well.
As diversity is one of the most fundamental
characteristics of the United States, this
course explores the diversity of the nation
from many perspectives. Nearly every text
read may be considered through the lens of
diversity. Authors and texts studied in this
course may include the following:
“A Model of Christian Charity,” John
Winthrop
Selections from The Autobiography of
Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin
The Declaration of Independence, Thomas
Jefferson
“Rip Van Winkle,” Washington Irving
“Self-Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Walden, “Civil Disobedience,” Henry David
Thoreau
“The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar
Allen Poe
The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
“The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins
Gilman
Selections from Up From Slavery, “The
Struggle for an Education”
“The Atlanta Exposition Address,” Booker T.
Washington
Selections from The Souls of Black Folk,
“Our Spiritual Strivings”
“Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others,”
W.E.B. DuBois
“Death in the Woods,” Sherwood Anderson
“The Strength of God,” “Trifles,” Susan
Glaspell
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
“In Another Country,” “A Clean, Well-Lighted
Place,”
“Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest
Hemingway
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale
Hurston
“Big Meeting,” Langston Hughes
“The Time for Freedom Has Come,” “Letter
from Birmingham City Jail,”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The Conversion of the Jews,” Philip Roth
“Cathedral,” Raymond Carver
“Smokers,” Tobias Wolff
The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien
Selections from The Woman Warrior, Maxine
Hong Kingston
“Woman Hollering Creek,” Sandra Cisneros
English XII
The senior English program affords students
the opportunity to select from a list of
electives. Each student is required to take
one English elective each semester of her
senior year. Recent elective offerings have
included the following:
African-American Literature I and II
Lenses into Literature (Literature and Film)
Literature of the Lost Generation
Madness in Literature
Dangerous Liaisons
On the Road to Self-Discovery
Ethics and Literature
Reading and Writing of Poetry
Literature and Politics
Post-Colonial Literature
Asian and Asian-American Literature
Irish Literature
Literature of Combat
Shakespeare
The Rebel as Hero
Dances with Words (Literature and Dance)
The above list represents an extraordinarily
diverse body of literature. The English
department is committed to examining and
revising this list on a regular basis to
ensure that GA students have the opportunity
to study work from all parts of the globe
and all time periods.
HISTORY
DEPARTMENT
Elsewhere and on many other occasions, the
history department that the essence of its
curriculum is an investigation of diversity.
From the youngest children in the school who
think about their families and communities
and compare their own experience with that
of others elsewhere (in Connecticut, in the
United States and in the world) to the
seniors who undertake the AP world history
Course, in GA history courses, students
think about, imagine, interpret and analyze
differences in culture--gender, ethnicity,
economic class, social class--over time.
Group V:
Diversity is an important subject of the
entire course, which is designed to
introduce students to the study and
definition of culture. Among the topics
examined are the ancient cultures in the
Near East; Mesopotamia, which, of course
includes references to Iraq; historical
fiction about ancient Egypt (including
reference to Nubia); and a study of the rise
of monotheism and the Hebrews--all of which
are key elements relating to diversity.
Group VI:
Again as the students study the Middle Ages
around the world, differences in culture and
the meeting of cultures are the primary
focus of the course. Social, economic and
gender differences in medieval Europe are
discussed in some depth--culminating in the
Medieval Festival. Of particular topical
concern is the study of the rise of Islam.
Group VII:
Native-American culture, the origin of
slavery in the Americas and the experience
of women in the New World are highlights of
Group VII diversity issues.
Group VIII:
Diversity is a significant element of the
Group VIII curriculum. The students study
immigration to the United States. Women's
suffrage and progressive reform movements
and the modern civil rights movement are
highlights of this program. In 2002-2003,
the course incorporated Facing History in
the study of WWII and the Holocaust.
Group IX: World Cultures
Summer reading: Things Fall Apart by Chinua
Acebe
The entire course is about diversity. The
students learn about the culture and history
of the Middle East, China, Japan, India,
Latin America and Africa. They complete
projects and a major research paper on
aspects of these cultures. Student
independent topics have included the Moslem
prayer ritual, the Chinese "one-child"
policy and its effect on women, Japanese
education, Latin-American literature and
African sculpture. Films, such as Gandhi,
The Last Emperor and The Gods Must Be Crazy
are shown.
Group X:
European History
Summer Reading: Robert Lacey, The Year 1000;
AP-Albert Camus, The Stranger and Franz
Kafka, The Trial
Again the entire course is about studying
the history of other lands and places
although the students study a place that has
largely shaped the "dominant" culture of the
United States. The students present current
events reports on various places in Europe.
Further, the study of European history is
the study of class systems and includes
colonial control. In that sense, the class
sees how elites have dominated during much
of European history. Students read A World
Lit by Fire by William Manchester.
Group XI: U.S. History
U.S. history presents a variety of
opportunities to consider issues related to
diversity. The students read about the
encounter of the Europeans with the native
people, the introduction of African slaves,
the First and Second Great Awakenings,
backcountry and economic differences,
reform--abolition, women's rights, treatment
of the handicapped, public
education--immigration, the Civil War and
the 14th Amendment, the "destruction" of
Native-American culture, populism and
progressive reform, economic differences in
the Gilded Age and the Depressions, the
modern civil rights movement,
Native-American rights movements, women's
rights movements and finally terrorism and
individual rights.
Readings from contemporary sources and all
sides of issues are included.
Film: Glory, Far and Away, Reds, 4 Little
Girls, Malcolm X
Summer Reading: In the Heart of the Sea by
Nathaniel Philbrick (economic class)
Electives
Economics:
In both the Advanced Placement course and
the electives in Micro and Macroeconomics,
socio-economic diversity is a major concern,
along with theoretical economic thought. The
curriculum incorporates factors such as
poverty, race and gender in relation to
income distribution, employment
opportunities, population shifts and
government policies that foster economic
justice. It also includes global
developments in multinationals, shifts to
capitalism in Eastern Europe, ventures in
capitalism in Asia and trade agreements via
NAFTA, the European Union, and regional
cooperation among African countries. Among
recommended books for the course are:
Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed,
Thomas Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive
Tree, John Kenneth Galbraith's The Affluent
Society, Michael Harrington's The Other
America, Bradley R. Schiller's The Economics
of Poverty and Discrimination and E.F.
Schumacher's Small Is Beautiful, Economics
as if People Mattered.
Military History:
The military history course shows that all
cultures and people have a history of war.
In addition to discussing the military
events in various international conflicts,
the course examines how the particular
histories, cultures, belief systems and
geographies of the participants affected the
outcomes of those conflicts. In addition to
those of Europe and the United States, some
of the cultures particularly highlighted in
the course are those of the Zulus, Aztecs,
Japanese, Chinese, Egyptians and Maoris and
the peoples native to Brazil, the Americas,
Central Asia and the Middle East. In all
cases, the military history course shows
that underlying cultural factors and the
reasons behind a battle are essential to
understanding the sequence of events in the
conflict and the results derived from it.
These diversity considerations are presented
in the text, discussions and numerous videos
used in class.
American Cultural Studies:
Any study of American culture is necessarily
a consideration of diversity. First
semester, the class reads about the
African-American contribution to ragtime,
blues and ultimately jazz as well as Master
Jura and the birth of tap-dancing in New
York. It also considers differences in
gender and economic class during the Gilded
Age particularly as one finds such issues in
the Triangle Shirt Waist fire, stories by
Kate Chopin and the Montgomery Ward
Catalogue. This semester the course
addressed the issues of race in the accounts
of travel through the deep South; economic
class in Nickeled and Dimed; religion in
Democracy in America.
Listed below are history and
arts department courses taught and the
diversity experiences that are part of them,
including lists of required reading that
deals with diversity, including summer
books. * denotes topics and activities that
are new this year.
AP Art History XII: This
entry appears in the Art Department section
of this document.
FOREIGN
LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT
Notes on Diversity in the Foreign Language
Department, January 2002
Introduction to the Foreign Language
Department found in the Course Catalogue:
In the required levels of a
chosen language, all four language skills
are equally stressed: listening, speaking,
reading and writing. Emphasis is placed on
the acquisition of vocabulary, the
fundamentals of grammar and on the
development of cultural awareness,
sensitivity and appreciation.
Classes are conducted in the
target language: the use of English is kept
to a minimum. The goal is to lead students
to a level of proficiency that enables them
to interact with linguistic and cultural
accuracy with native speakers.
Classes are designed to
provide optimal learning experiences for all
students. Audio-visual materials (laser
disks, videos, audio cassettes) are used
frequently in the classroom throughout the
program to strengthen students' language
skills, to provide them with immersion
experiences and to present culturally
authentic material. After students complete
their requirement for graduation (through
level III), they are encouraged to pursue
their language studies through more advanced
courses. Students may elect to study more
than one language on either campus. Final
decision about the placement of students is
made by the department heads on both
campuses.
In an effort to hire fluent
speakers of the modern languages taught at
GA (French/Spanish), this department has
become a more culturally diverse department
and includes faculty members of different
nationalities, cultures, religions and ages.
Textbooks: The texts in
Spanish, French and Latin are chosen with an
eye toward the teaching of culture and
diversity. Texts with specific lessons as
well as visual images representing various
cultures and peoples are chosen.
LS Spanish: While no one text
is used for this program, the curriculum
closely follows that of the Lower School
core courses. The studies that the girls are
involved with in LS are reflected and
reinforced in the Spanish program. The
teacher provides her students with authentic
realia, songs, stories and traditions from
Spain as well as from other hispanic
nations.
(One of the reasons that Spanish is
introduced in the Lower School is to provide
GA students with a professional
Spanish-speaking role model.)
MS/US Spanish: Cultural focus
on the history, traditions, art, literature
of Spanish-speaking cultures in the United
States, Central America, Mexico, South
America, the Caribbean and Spain.
The cultural focus in Upper
School classes introduces or expands upon
the history, art, literature and
celebrations of Argentina, Puerto Rico,
Spain: Andalusia, Pais Vasco, Cataluña, Perú,
Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba
and the Aztecs.
In Upper School classes,
discussions are broader and more profound
than those in the Middle School. Among the
essential facts about countries being
studied, discussions and/or research on the
politics, economics, social conventions,
religious beliefs, etc., of the
peoples/nations being studying are an
integral part of each course. Literature of
the Hispanic world is introduced by Level
III (Group X) and may include novels, plays
and/ or poetry by Spanish-speaking authors.
Films shown in Upper School
classes may include: La historia official,
El Norte, Stand and Deliver, La Casa en
Mango Street.
MS/US French:
In the Middle School French classes, an
effort is made to acquaint students with
many of the peoples and places where French
is spoken beyond the borders of France. The
text programs enable students and teachers
to discuss France as well as French-speaking
Canada, Haiti, Martinique, Guadeloupe,
Tahiti, Senegal, Morocco, Switzerland,
Belgium and Vietnam.
In Upper School, cultural
themes are expanded upon and become broader
and more profound (as in the Spanish
program). Among the essential facts about
countries being studied, discussions and/or
research on the politics, economics, social
conventions and religious beliefs of the
peoples/nations being studying are an
integral part of each course. Literature of
the French-speaking world is introduced by
Level III (Group X) and may include short
stories, plays and/ or poetry by
French-speaking authors.
Films shown in Upper School
classes may include: Indochine, Diva, Rue
Cases-Nègre.
MS/US Latin: The study of
history, culture and literature is an
integral part of the Latin program. In the
Middle School, the text program enables
teachers and students to discuss traditional
themes as well as gender issues. In the
Upper School, classical history and
literature provide the impetus for classroom
discussion of all human conditions.
The Internet provides
language teachers with a tremendous
resource. Using the laptops, teachers and
students read about current events in the
country they are studying in the target
language. Teachers and students in Groups
VII-XII develop and complete projects that
enable them to visit other nations in
virtual reality. (Students in Groups V and
VI who don't yet have laptops still do
research using the Internet.)
Language classes are ideally
suited for discussions about all kinds of
diversity: ethnic, cultural, religious,
economic, gender, sexual orientation.
Diversity is woven into the curriculum at
every level. Over the years, discussions
have become more broad-based, and teachers
work harder to provide materials and lessons
that model and teach respect. The
description of the Language Department found
in the course catalogue (see above),
acknowledges the emphasis it places on
"cultural awareness, sensitivity and
appreciation." It had been an integral part
of GA’s mission for years and is constantly
growing and changing as is the contemporary
world.
MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT
Vision Worksheet
Key goals: Mathematics is a pyramid subject
requiring a strong content heavy foundation
to be able to reach the top levels. As a
result, the primary goals of this department
are threefold. First, the mathematics
faculty would like all of its students to
have a strong conceptual understanding of
algebra, geometry, trigonometry and
elementary statistics. Second, it would like
GA students to be good problem
solvers--approach new situations as
challenges rather than obstacles and be
aware of enough strategies for solving
problems so that they will remain confident
math students. Finally, the mathematics
department would like its students to regard
mathematics as something that is fun to do
and hope they will continue their study of
mathematics after high school.
Planning Process: The overall
curriculum is revisited by the department
every two-to-three years. Each course’s
curriculum is rethought, and, the teachers
refer to the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics Standards publication and reach
out to peers at other schools.
Planning Time: This
department does not consider diversity
management as ite plans its courses.
Budgetary percentage spent on
diversity: The department purchases items
intended to expose the students to the
history of mathematics. As much of
mathematics was directly influenced and/or
created by people of varying ethnicity, it
certainly purchases items addressing
diversity, spending on average, 3-5 percent
of its budget on material directly related
to diversity.
Diversity Rating: This
department does not manage diversity in a
conscious manner. It is content driven.
Process is also important, but as the
mathematics faculty thinks about how to
teach its students, it does not consider the
diversity issues that might affect their
learning.
Middle School:
The courses in the Middle School are
sectioned by ability in all groups except
Group V. There are three levels--honors,
accelerated and regular. The curriculum for
each grade is available on the web site. The
material covered in each section is
basically the same, but the way it is
covered varies based on ability (the honors
section covers work at a much more abstract
level, and the regular section covers the
work at a more concrete level). The goal is
to enable students to fluidly move between
sections as they develop mathematically over
the years.
The department is aware that
students have different learning styles.
Consequently, mathematics teachers provide
visual, aural and tactile experiences as
often as possible. Given recent research on
girls' learning styles, the department also
tries to provide opportunities for
cooperative as well as independent learning.
Because GA wants to develop students who are
confident problem solvers, students are
asked to present their work to their peers
at the board. The girls learn that only by
taking risks will they grow. During their
time in the Middle School, students learn
technique and content and develop their
mathematical creativity at a pace
appropriate to their needs.
Possible thoughts for future
consideration of diversity issues:
Textbooks:
In addition to considering clear
presentation of the materials, the
mathematics department will look at them
with an eye to inclusiveness: it will
consider whether the materials use examples
of applications from many a variety of
places and involving a variety of different
experiences?. It will continue to research
more "hands-on" applications of the concepts
being studied, and it will develop more
consistent enrichment work to expose
students to the great works of
mathematicians from all around the world.
Upper School:
The Upper School math
curriculum works at three levels. At the
honors level, it challenges students to work
with abstract math and to focus on
challenging problem solving that requires
insight. Teachers also try to enrich the
students’ experience by accelerating them
through the algebra II and pre-calculus
material in one year. This enables them to
work with through the BC calculus curriculum
and study multivariable calculus during
their junior and senior years. At the
accelerated level, the curriculum focuses on
helping students develop a strong foundation
in fundamental algebraic and functional
skills that will prepare them to take an AP
course in statistics or calculus. At the
regular level, teachers help students
develop a firm understanding of and comfort
in working with fundamental algebraic
concepts as they expose them to a wide
variety of curriculum.
Students develop a firm
foundation in mathematics. The GA math
program offers them the opportunity to
stretch their minds in sections that enable
teachers to work with them at an appropriate
level of abstraction. The students maintain
a high level of confidence in math that
allows them to feel that they are capable
math students.
The math department has not focused on
diversity issues in the Upper School. The
curriculum is content driven. Math teachers
strive to meet the different learning styles
of the students. The department is using
technology to help spatially oriented
students, and it has recently begun to
incorporate more "hands-on" activities to
motivate the application problems.
Possible thoughts for future
consideration of diversity issues:
Textbooks:
In addition to considering clear
presentation of the material, the department
will look at the texts with an eye to
inclusiveness: Do they use examples of
applications from many a variety of places
and involving a variety of different
experiences? It will continue to research
ways to serve the needs of girls in math. It
will offer teachers opportunities to study
the history of math, which will enable them
to incorporate math history into their
presentations.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT
Physical education and athletics know no
color!
The physical education and
athletic department teaches children
regardless of race, color or creed. All
girls participating in GA programs have the
same opportunities. From CC - Group VI, all
take part in the same program where they are
offered sports taught in three-week units.
Groups VII-XII choose the sport or activity
that they wish to participate. For the
majority of programs, a no-cut policy in
place.
The single-most deterrent to
participating in the athletic program is the
lack of transportation for a number of
minority students. In 2001-2002, a senior
began playing basketball for the first time
because she could drive then herself: if she
had had transportation before this, she
might have been a varsity player.
Recently the department has
added volleyball and softball to the
interscholastic program. A number of the
minority students joined these two programs
as they were not comfortable and did not
participate in the traditional preparatory
school sports of field hockey, lacrosse and
tennis.
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Below are the results of the discussions in
the science department related to how it
implements diversity.
Unfortunately, the courses in
all divisions that deal primarily with
physical sciences have few avenues by which
diversity, especially in a multicultural
sense, can be discussed. Obviously, concepts
such as matter, energy, motion, chemical
reactions, etc, do not lend themselves to
diversity topics. The biological science
topics are more conducive toward diversity
discussions. Again, this is less related to
multi-ethnic topics, but more toward the
important role of diversity in all natural
biological systems. The detailed write-ups
below show how diversity can be related to
such biological topics.
As a result of its
discussions, the department put together the
following overview of how all the science
courses implement diversity.
The science department
endeavors to implement diversity-related
topics in a manner appropriate to the age of
the students and the science curriculum.
This occurs primarily in the behavior of the
science teacher and the overall philosophy
of the science department. A basic tenet of
this philosophy is that science is for all
people and that achievement in science is
not limited by factors such as race, gender,
etc. As a result, all students are held to
the same high standard of achievement in
science classes. Whenever possible,
achievements by scientists of diverse
backgrounds are especially mentioned, as the
Science Department recognizes the value of
such examples as role models. Materials for
science courses and for display in science
classrooms are also selected in part with an
eye to promoting diversity. Courses that
study topics in the biological sciences are
especially able to do this, by showing the
prevalence and necessity of diversity
throughout the natural world of organisms.
DIVERSITY STUDIES IN SCIENCE
BY GRADE
Groups I-IV are guided by the above
statement.
Group VI
Diversity in Group VI science involves a
general sensitivity to the backgrounds of
the girls in the class. The various faculty
training programs have made the teachers
more aware of the words they say and the way
they guide the girls in their interactions.
The physical science curriculum of Group VI
does not lend itself to formal opportunities
to discuss diversity.
Working together with Melinda
Heins and combining a Spanish classroom with
a science classroom has given some
opportunity for the Group VI teacher to
better appreciate the growing diversity of
GA. The current teacher reported that she
uses much more of her high school Spanish in
her instruction and conversation with
students. The signs to the classroom say
“Hablas Espanola” and “Hablas Ciencia,
tambien!”
Group VII and VIII are guided
by the principles outlined in the
introduction to this section.
Group IX: Biology and AP
Biology
A. Cell Energetics
Leaf Project: (Honors only) Collecting and
identifying leaves from eight native,
deciduous trees. Part of the project
involved listing the medicinal uses of these
trees by Native-American tribes in this
area. The teacher introduced the students to
a great web site and database for this
information
B. Mendelian Genetics
1. Discussion about inheritance of
characteristics, including skin color
2. Discussion of recessive disorders that
have a higher frequency in certain ethnic
populations, and some of the theories
corroborating this.
a. Sickle-cell anemia: African- Americans
b. Tay-Sachs disease: Eastern-European
Jewish descent
C. Molecular Genetics: Discussion of
mitochondrial disorders with regard to the
Reign of Terror in the Argentina in the
1970s. The abducted children of insurgents
were reunited with blood relatives using DNA
technology. Controversy still brews in
Argentina about this.
D. Plants
Reading select chapters from Tales of a
Shaman's Apprentice by Mark Plotkin, which
discusses this scientist's attempt to unlock
medical secrets of the Amazon rainforest by
living with and interviewing local shaman in
various tribes. This is not a required
reading; it is read only if there is enough
time.
AP Biology:
The film Race for the Double Helix is shown.
This is a great story about the
contributions of Rosalind Franklin to the
discovery of DNA structure by Watson and
Crick. One of the messages of this BBC
presentation is to highlight the struggle
experienced by women in science in the
1950s.
Group X: Chemistry and AP
Chemistry
These courses are guided by the principles
outlined in the introduction to this
section.
Astronomy and Geology:
In addition to discussing the contributions
of scientists from a variety of
non-traditional backgrounds, topics in the
both disciplines are conducive to the
discussion of diversity.
In astronomy, this takes the form of
discussion of the myths from various
cultures and how these are translated to the
constellation patterns perceived by those
cultures. Constellation patterns familiar to
the students are related to how other
cultures view the stars and the different
patterns and myths that result. In geology,
topics such as evolution show how diversity
and adaptability are necessary to biological
organisms. The geology of the various
continents is also discussed, and this is
related to the history of the human cultures
that live on them.
LIBRARY
Basic Beliefs:
The mission of the libraries at Greenwich
Academy is to provide a program of library
and media services that supports the mission
and the curricula of the school and guides
the students to become effective information
users. The librarians seek to further the
teaching and learning process by providing
diverse resources without prejudice as to
format. They strive for quality in resources
and services, for developing independent,
life-long learners and for promoting reading
as a habit in the lives of all students. To
achieve these ends, the librarians
understand the library as a unique place in
the school community: physically inviting;
familiar and comfortable for its users;
encouraging to independent learners;
accommodating to all; a place for
enrichment, social, and academic functions;
forward-looking and flexible space; a place
that fosters academic excellence; a place
that respects the needs of all users. In
short, the libraries will be powerful
symbols of the core values of this
institution.
Goals:
*To provide support for the entire learning
community by creating a robust and balanced
collection of materials in support of the
curriculum and goals of the school.
*To provide access to information outside
the school walls through appropriate use of
technology; to train the community in the
use of these technologies.
*To move the library forward, always with
the intent to improve, respond to,
collaborate and reach out to the community.
*To administer the programs and services of
the library in the best way.
*To manage a large and complex OPAC (online
public access catalog) for all users.
*To provide a haven within the bustling
atmosphere of the school for all who need a
quiet orderly atmosphere, a place where
people can work or read or compute,
comfortably and quietly, individually or in
small groups.
*To respect and honor the needs of all
people in the learning community that is
Greenwich Academy.
*To be an advocate for everyone.
Methodology:
The librarians see themselves as a service
and support component for the GA community.
The planning process is to always think
about how the library serves the needs of
its patrons, who are the teachers and
students, and to be an advocate for everyone
as learning resources specialists and
concerned faculty members.
In the past ten years, two-thirds of the
collection in the Middle and Upper School
Wallace Library has been replaced and
infused with current, relevant, diverse
materials and bringing current technology
applications to its users. The library
provides a worldview on culture and
diversity through relevant resources that
build the social and emotional fabric of the
community. The balanced and robust
collection of carefully vetted information
sources, many of which are outside the
library walls, support all GA constituents
and help create a community where members
can exchange ideas, have equitable
discussions and where divergent perspectives
are respected.
Ongoing Projects:
Reading widely to locate new materials for
purchase.
Removing dated and unused materials from the
collection.
Posting diversified booklists for our
community on web pages.
Continuing to purchase broadly in relevant
areas of need and interest including
multiculturalism, gender issues and
socio-economic perspectives.
Displaying a wide range of new titles for
check-out.
Collaborating with colleagues to support
projects like the Grade IX interdisciplinary
curriculum and the Grade VI history
curriculum.
Using the resources on the GA Library Page
to direct users to reliable broadly sourced
internet options. See
http://www.mail.greenwichacademy.org/~linda_wilson/libhome.html |
