A new 10-week mini-course has been approved for J. Taylor Finley Middle School students in the Huntington school district. Topics in Humanities will be offered for the first time next September, with an enrollment projected at 180-200 eighth graders.
“This course will support and motivate student awareness and participation in the political process,” according to the new course proposal. “The 10-week course is divided into two components, each of which lasts five weeks. The course is purposely designed with a project-based learning component.”
The new course was earlier approved by the district’s Education Development Committee, consisting of teachers and administrators. The course is slightly different from one approved in 1998 and never funded. This new model does not require additional staffing since it will replace a public speaking class in the 10-week rotation.
“The course Topics in Humanities is an appropriate replacement for Public Speaking as students in the new course will have similar presentation and speaking requirements, however in this course the topics are focused and contextualized,” states the course proposal. “The course is rich in content and addresses both social studies and English New York State standards. The course is designed to be topical and thus will be of high interest to students.”
In the first half of the course, students will study specific time periods in American history when art and music was utilized to make a call for social change and reform. “During this first five week component, students will be guided in viewing art and music as a catalyst for specific calls for change and progress, with the goal of making one’s own community or nation a better place to live,” according to the course proposal.
Students will study the “abolition movement and its connection to slave spirituals and the blues in the Reconstruction period; the movement and settlement of the West and the interpretation of this change by American painters; the 1930’s Depression era art and music; the protest music of the 1960’s with its calls for social reform and civil rights,” states the course proposal.
In the course’s second half, students will identify a local or national issue, research and examine it and propose potential solutions. The course concludes with a presentation of a student portfolio that argues for a change in public policy.
“The course has reading, writing, listening and speaking tasks connected to self-selected topics and as such will not only have a positive impact on their (students) performance on the English and social studies state assessments, but will also enrich students’ content and skill development,” according to a course rationale that accompanied the proposal submitted to trustees.