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The following course has been updated for 2011-12
Last Update: December 28, 2011

For daily schedules for fall 2011, go to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and PSEO at YEAH pages.

CRITICAL THINKING COURSES;

OTHER English & Language Arts Classes at The Academy

 
Intro to Critical Thinking: World Views

Full Year Course 

This course is NEW for 2011-12; open to mid-year entry, space permitting
Tutor Name:  Mrs. Denise Mackey  
Target Group: 6th-8th Grades  
Class Size Limit: Minimum: 6 students  
Prerequisite: none
Class Type: Full Year course; new students are welcome to enter mid-year  

Class Description:

  
In this course, we will define worldview as a way of understanding and making sense of our world.  Each student will begin to comprehend why everyone has a worldview and how it influences their behavior, values and beliefs.  We will spend our time learning how to think about the big questions of life.  What's right and wrong and who decides?  How do things learned relate to what you do when you're with your friends?  Does what you learn at church stay at church?  Can it mix with the culture?  Or, must it stay separate?  Are they connected or disconnected?  Where did everything come from?  What you rely on to answer these, and similar questions, is what gives your life direction.  We will also explore the basics of several worldviews.  Parents are invited and encouraged to attend as often as possible.

TEXT for students: Lightbearer's Student Workbook, 3rd edition, Revised 2008, ISBN 978-0-936163-12-3 www.summit.org, cost $14.95 

Total Due:
     $195.00 per semester 		 Students must purchase text and provide consumables such as paper and pens/pencils. 
Payment Options: $195.00 due with Registration per semester - paid in full per semester at the time of registration.  
Payable to: Mrs. Denise Mackey
 

 
Critical Thinking: Essays in Ethics

Full Year Course 

This course is NEW for 2011-12; open to mid-year entry, space permitting
Tutor Name: Mrs. Danielle Lee  
Target Group: 9th - 12th Grades  
Class Size Limit: minimum 10; maximum 24  
Prerequisite: none
Class Type: Full Year course  

Class Description:

  
The objective of this course is to challenge students to weigh tough questions through a course that relates critical thinking to real life. Students will learn to think critically: to understand the difference between fact and option; to consider other perspectives and bias; to evaluate ideas found in literature, movies, and the media; to compare current issues with historical events; to predict long-term consequences for ideas; to examine fallacies in logic; and to support ideas with reliable resource and logical arguments. 

As writer, student will then learn to communicate their ideas in essays, drawing from supporting details, outside sources, and personal reflection.  Taught from a Judeo-Christian worldview, this course will challenge students with tough ethical topics such as bioethics, moral relativism and tolerance, the value of animal and human life, definitions of art, "revisionist history," censorship, and much more.

During spring semester, we will focus on ethics in media, examining such texts as news reports, movies and advertisements, as well as the corporations behind those messages and values.

This course will teach students how to read for meaning and comprehension; how to ask questions; how to identify values and worldviews through symbolism, metaphor and allegory in the medium; and how to perform interpretive, but supported meanings. Students will learn useful terms and tools, such as fact vs. opinion, absolute truth, direct vs. indirect claims, and persuasion vs. propaganda.  The coursework focuses on reading, writing, research, and critical thinking activities, as well as application and creative presentation of ideas. 

TEXT: Required

  • Think: Tough Questions for Essays in Ethics, by Danielle Lee (included in course fee)
  • How to be a Christian in a Brave New World, by Joni Eareckson Tada and Nigel M. de S. Cameron
  • ONE of the following books (TBA for a small-group project)
    • The Crucible, by Arthur Miller
    • The Giver, by Lois Lowry
    • Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
    • The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis
Total Due:
     $210.00 per semester 		 Tutor compiled course materials are included, including text above. Additional texts above to be provided by students. Students must provide consumables such as paper and pens/pencils. 
Payment Options: $210.00 due with Registration per semester - paid in full per semester at the time of registration.  
Payable to: Olive Press, Inc.
 

 

 


OTHER English & Language Arts courses at The Academy

 

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