UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY

UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY

Connect The Thoughts history courses are global in their orientation, rather than covering only a single nation or segment of history. Our Upper School (ages 11-adult) History courses cover, in sequence and as they occurred, major movements and discoveries found in all corners of the globe. These include each major religion in detail as it appears in history, scientific discoveries; political movements; philosophical ideas and movements; social changes; artistic schools and movements including the works and lives of great artists; the history of economics; the tale of nationalism, wars and peace; and the development of literature.

These are all presented as an integrated whole rather than as separate subjects. We experience them as an integrated whole, we call it "life". They should be taught as such, and not as separate and unrelated subjects. Each course is filled with exercises and field trips to be done by the student, to help him fully understand and evaluate for himself the vast history of our world.

HISTORY COURSES OVERVIEW

History (including a very complete study of politics, religion and philosophy) for Upper School is a very thorough four year program, comprised of eleven courses, including a vast, expansive American Civics course (optional for students from other nations).  Courses are largely self-contained, and offer a global-centric view of history.  Students learn history in a linear manner, everything right where it belongs in time and space, from start to today.

As to religion, students learn about each religion thoroughly as they arrive at the point in history where the religion was born. A complete experience is suggested, with the student going to temples, churches and mosques, and speaking to worshipers as part of their studies. This removes the "unknown" quality in religion and makes others more easily accepted by the student.

Students watch many documentaries and films as part of their history studies, each one broken down with words defined, and exercises, just as their reading materials are! A student who completes these courses is going to really understand who we are and how things became the way they are!

The next-to-final history course is largely based on Will and Ariel Durant's The Lessons of History . (The Durants were America's greatest historians.) The student will decide for himself what he has learned while studying history, what was and is important to him, and how he can use what he knows, today. Then he will do a survey to discover the condition of the world, to this minute. He'll research how many wars are being fought and where and how,. He'll discover where there is poverty and hunger, and where there is not. He'll look at what modern civilization prizes, and what it is discarding. Then the student will act on the information as he or she sees fit.

The end result of our history program is a student who has real knowledge of, and who understands history. The student is aware of "when" they are in the scheme of history, how the civilization that they are a part of came to be and why it is in the condition that it is in. The student will have decided what changes they may wish to make in the world, and how they'd like to work to help make those changes occur.

Please note – Many of the required films or music have links provided so that there may be no need to secure them. However, we cannot guarantee that all the links will be "live" or active when you use them. You may need to secure films or music in other ways. No film or music selected is very hard to secure. Any book required will need to be secured by you, though a great deal of reading material built in to the courses is built directly into the courses and so do not need to be secured.