As the tenth graders’ thinking capacity deepens, tension between opposites gives way to a sense for process and transformation over time. Comparative and process thinking – i.e. how one thing relates to the other, how parts work together in the context of the whole, how forms develop, and how substance is transformed – underlie the subjects of the Tenth Grade curriculum.
How the theme of balance informs the Waldorf curriculum of the Tenth Grade can be seen in the study of Greek civilization. Balance and harmony are made visible in the flowering of Greek culture in all the arts, from the elegant simplicity and equilibrium of forces in temple architecture to the classical grace of Greek sculpture. Greek philosophy seeks for the middle way, proportion, and the dynamic harmonies of the music of the spheres revealed in the elements and qualities of Nature.
In light of the underlying theme of balance, Chemistry studies acids and bases and salts. That such volatile and caustic concentrated opposites are transformed in uniting to neutral salt as a precipitate is a wonder. Such experiments are not only fascinating in application to modern industrial processes, but have an inner resonance as well. When Tenth Grade students in Physics study mechanics, the lawful balance of forces makes movement transparent to reason. What confidence in the power of clear thinking arises when a bowling ball rolls down a ramp from the second story to land exactly, predictably, on a cup of water. In Technology, students design their own model bridges (the bridge across our stream was designed and built by a Tenth Grade class) to achieve strength and span without excessive material “costs.” As the model bridges are load tested to see which designs work the best, a living experience of the balance between stress and structure arises.
Similarly, the Fine and Practical Arts as well as the Eurythmy classes reverberate with experiences of balance. The harmonizing of colors in the Goethean “color wheel,” the delicate balancing of the proportions of the head in Sculpture class, singing together in the High School Chorus, working together on the Tenth Grade surveying field trip, the rhythmic activity of weaving – all work toward the harmonizing of opposites in new balance.
|Main Lesson Subjects||Art, Handwork & Special Projects|
- Social Studies
- Fine & Practical Arts
- Foreign Language
- Physical Education
The Odyssey by Homer stands as a literary monument at the beginning of Western civilization. Not only is this a look at Greek heroes from the Golden Age, but also it is an introduction to Quest literature, to be taken up later in Parzival and Faust. The epic throws light on the Greek consciousness while simultaneously revealing how relevant it can still be for a modern person.
We begin by looking at what it means to take a journey, examining both the inner and outer aspects. After a brief historical and geographical overview of Greece we focus on Homer and The Odyssey. The emphasis of the daily reading includes an exploration of the plot, themes, characters, structure, language and style, and the influence of Homer over the millennia. While pursuing the deeper meanings within this epic we try to determine their relevance in relation to our own age and ourselves. Written work – both academic and creative – is assigned throughout the block, balanced by some artistic component.
During this course we explored the art of creative writing from various angles with the aim of freeing our thoughts and finding our own voice. Through a wide range of exercises – approached in a playful manner – we learned to observe our surroundings as well as ourselves. Waking up to the outer and inner worlds fosters clarity of thought, purposefulness, and a sense for the uniqueness in the details of life. Writing creatively helps us to aspire toward greater consciousness in all aspects of our lives. An integral part of this course was to work together as an ensemble – to write together and to listen to one another’s work. This encourages mutual appreciation and a true sense of achievement.
Poetry – Main Lesson
Against the background question of “What is poetry?” and the ongoing attempt to characterize its nature, we traverse the changing consciousness of humankind through the centuries by studying poetry from the earliest to the present time. Along with this literary and historical study, the students are taught the technical aspects of meter and rhythm and are required to write poems in the styles of many of the periods covered. These include Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse, a riddle, a ballad, a Chaucerian character sketch, and a sonnet, as well as free verse and syllabic poetry. Special attention is given throughout to developing metaphoric imagery. This block is both a survey and an opportunity for exercising the poetic ear and voice.
Students explored expository writing with an emphasis on style and mechanics in a seminar style class. Grammar, voice, point of view, mood and structure were covered in exercises including observation, comparison/contrast, and argument. Our reading of Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, resulted in a formal thesis paper. Final evaluation was based on class participation and the successful completion of a folder of assigned writings.
English session III
This session, we continued to explore a variety of expository forms including compare and contrast, persuasive argument and character and place description. Also, students wrote a formal book report on a book read outside of school. The final three weeks of class were used as an extra main lesson for the Government block, which included expository essay writing practice.
The title of this tenth grade geometry block is Curves, Conics and the Coordinate Plane. The block begins with the golden mean and the curve formed by its whirling squares. The conic section curves are first discovered as loci of fixed distances and drawn as curves of addition and subtraction. Then, these same curves are discovered within cuts of the cone. The introduction of the parabola is followed by a discussion of Rene Descartes and his methods. The students are then introduced to the Cartesian coordinate plane including the equations for lines, parabolas, circles and ellipses.
The session includes two units of work. The first unit is the quadratic formula to complement the main lesson work. Coordinate geometry follows the conics main lesson block and included work with plotting point and lines. Coordinate geometry work continues with lines, slopes, intercepts and parallel and perpendicular lines. The tenth grade session concludes the year with coordinate geometry review work and the beginning of the PSAT preparation that will continue in the fall.
The year begins with a review of averages, percentages, proportions and ratios. Work continues with a unit on formulas including algebraic manipulations of abstract variables. Students are assigned a series of problem sets. Each unit consists of an additional review, a practice test and an exam.
The objective of the class is to give positive support to those students whose math skills are particularly weak. Much of the time is spent working one on one with the students. The work done is in parallel with the regular grade 10 Algebra group. Towards the end of the course the students in the remedial group participate with the rest of the class.
Trigonometry covers the basic trigonometric relationships of sine, cosine and tangent. Both theoretical and practical triangle problems are studied, with a significant portion of the class devoted to basic surveying technique. The class concludes with a week long practicum trip to an off campus location, where the students complete a survey and create a map.
Our study of human physiology focuses on themes of human interaction with the environment, and also the relationship between form and function in the workings of the organs. We spend time drawing and learning about the heart and cardiovascular system, the lung, the kidney, and the liver and gall bladder. We also consider the reproductive system as it relates to embryology. In addition to completing essay assignments and anatomical drawings and diagrams, the students participate in hands-on lab exercises, observations, and discussions.
Grade 10 physics is the study of mechanics. Students work with forces, resultants, equilibrants, resolution of forces, and moment. The class spends a significant amount of time with the topics of balance and equilibrium. Our work continues with motion, speed, acceleration, and Newton’s three laws. Students spend time on various mathematical models, including distance, time, velocity and work, power, and energy. The block concludes with independent investigations of simple machines.
The 10th grade chemistry block focuses on the nature and relationships of salts, acids and bases. The block starts with a look into the character of substances in crystalline form. Properties of solutions and the processes of dissolving and crystallizing salts in water are explored. The phenomenon of osmosis is explored. A variety of salts are observed and tasted. This is followed by a deeper investigation into the nature of salts by the thermal decomposition of copper sulfate, calcium nitrate and other salts into their formative acid and base components. These substances, as they were encountered (i.e. the resultant acids and bases), are also explored and characterized along the way. Acidic and alkaline characteristics are qualitatively explored along with an introduction to the pH scale. The class finishes with observations of some reactions between acids, bases and salts in solution and some of the phenomena associated with electrolysis. The main lesson book consists of a number of short write-ups on a couple of different topics in which the students have to express concepts which had been developed through observation and discussion in their own words. Students are also required to write up classroom observations on an almost daily basis. These are included in the main lesson book as notes.
Mechanics – Main Lesson
The Mechanics block covers the fundamental aspects of mechanics including linear motion, force, Newton’s laws, some work with vectors, and projectile motion. Class work includes lectures with observations and quantitative analysis through measurement of speed, acceleration and force.
History through Poetry
Against the background question of “What is poetry?” and the ongoing attempt to characterize its nature, the changing consciousness of humankind through the centuries is traversed by studying poetry from the earliest to the present time. Along with this literary and historical study, the students are taught the technical aspects of meter and rhythm and are required to write poems in the styles of many of the periods covered. These include Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse, a riddle, a ballad, a Chaucerian character sketch, and a sonnet, as well as free verse and syllabic poetry. Special attention is given throughout to developing metaphoric imagery. This block is both a survey and an opportunity for exercising the poetic ear and voice.
Democracy and Government
This civics block explored the foundations and processes of United States government. Students followed the evolution of democracy from its beginnings in Ancient Greece, through The Roman Republic and The Enlightenment to the founding of the United States. Our study culminated with an in-depth look at U.S. government today. Topics included: The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, the Executive Office, the Legislative Branch, the Judicial Branch and the election process.
Humanity’s relationship to the land is emphasized as the class explores the early river valley civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China, covering the time period of 10,000 BCE – 200 CE. Developments in technology, culture, religion, and government are studied through shifts in human consciousness, beginning with the hunter-gatherer and moving on to the birth of agriculture, settlement of first communities, the Sumerian city-state, and technological innovation in Egypt and China. Students examine primary source materials, including myths, laws, maps, treaties, art, and artifacts. Main lesson books embrace ancient technology and take the form of handmade scrolls. Activities included the creation of three scrolls, which take the place of main lesson books.
The rehearsal process researches the art of ensemble building, character development, and performance toward the creation of a full scale production. Last year the class performed Fools by Neil Simon.
In this course, students work with pastels to create pastel paintings, primarily of landscapes. Starting with the essential elements of design and then building layers of color, along the way students learn aspects of composition and color selection, color harmony, balance, mood and contrast. The students work from pictures of their selection, transposing them into pastel paintings. There is also some opportunity to work outdoors, directly from nature.
In this short block the students get reintroduced to color after not painting in ninth grade. The class starts with the Goethean color sequence. After a few preliminary sketches every student decides on a composition for this color sequence and paints a watercolor veil painting of carefully built up soft layers of paint to create a full spectrum painting. The second project of this block is a tissue paper collage, not unlike a veil painting but created out of tissue paper. The students choose an animal and then try with their collage to capture a color mood that represents the animal well. The initial background of this piece is abstract and eventually the animal of choice emerges as a form out of the overlapping colors of paper. Watercolor paint is used to bring the animal to completion.
In this course students make a study of the human face and head, culminating in the modeling of a full size bust in clay. Both anatomical accuracy and an aesthetic approach to the expression of character are emphasized.
With a basic introduction to rigid frame bridge design the students are given the objective of designing a bridge on paper, building the bridge using 1/8th inch balsa strip wood and carpenters glue and then load testing the bridge (resulting in destruction of the model). To achieve their objective students have to work with constraints on dimensions, construction techniques and materials.
Each tenth grader prepares a four harness loom for weaving and completed a scarf.
Eurythmy Ensemble of Music and Poetry: The rehearsal and performance of music and speech eurythmy.
The High School Chorus consists of all the High School students who meet twice each week under the direction of Larry Glatt, accompanied by Cindy Gutter. Early in the semester the group concentrates on easy pieces: Freedom Round, Black is the Colour of My True Love’s Hair, and Yenamanoa. The group performs at the Thanksgiving school assembly. Later the group focuses on movements from Handel’s Messiah, which are challenging pieces.
Session II & III
The High School chorus consists of all the High School students and we met twice each week under the direction of Larry Glatt, accompanied by Cindy Gutter. The class performs Dodi Li, Yenamanoa, and Halle — the latter at the Spring Assembly. At the Rose Assembly the group performs Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar, and at graduation three movements from Mozart’s Requiem.
The goal of our Spanish language program is to go beyond basic reading and conversational skills to develop a living connection to the language and to Spanish-speaking cultures. The students learn not only the grammar of the language, but also the culture, cuisine, geography, basic history, and literary highlights of Spanish-speaking countries, as well as its peoples’ struggles and their impact in other parts of the world. Emphasis is also placed on the development of foundational Spanish language skills so that students are prepared to deepen and expand their Spanish from an exchange or other immersion experience.
The 9th and 10th grades are combined for PE. Activities range from outdoor competitive games, such as Capture the Football and soccer, to indoor dodgeball, kickball, double-Dutch jumprope, soccer, Spacial Dynamics exercises or volleyball, depending in part on the weather. A six-week Social Dance block, taught by Cathy Curry-Gardinier, includes Swing, Tango, Salsa and some modern line dances.
Students in grades 9 through 11 are required to do a minimum of 40 hours of community service. Typically students help out with Hawthorne Valley Association events, work for elderly and less able home owners, volunteer for non-profits, and do other non-paying activities that lend a service to those in need. Students who do not meet the 40 hour requirement have the summer to make up the hours required, bringing evidence of their work on the first day of school.