Scholé Academy currently offers history courses at the middle-school level and at the upper-school level. It will be important to carefully consider which course is the right fit for your student. We have provided target grade ranges to assist you in your determination; and it should be noted that there will be a substantial difference between middle-school-level courses and upper-school-level courses. Those differences will be experienced both in the content the students will be covering (pacing, amount, and maturity of topics) as well as expectations of the student (grading, independence, responsibilities, etc.).
Depending on the specific course, students will investigate through reading, note-taking, and active discussion, exploring the circumstances surrounding people and their actions during various historical eras. Students will weigh substantial ideas and consider their importance in the philosophies driving politicians, theologians, scientists, economists, artists, writers, and communities. Guided by the instructor, students will compare ideologies in one era with those of others. Such inquiry develops students’ capacity for discerning virtuous motivations and behaviors in the context of culture and society. Using primary sources, including essays, books, and treatises, the teacher will guide students in contemplating questions important to each age of inquiry.
While our history courses primarily feature historical study, they also integrate some study from literature corresponding to the era being studied. Each history class is paired with a literature course, usually taught by the same instructor, and scheduled back-to-back with that course in a “block.” Students who take both courses receive a discount. This course may also be taken as a standalone history study.
Regarding the study of history, “Nothing can be more apt for making [children] see the beauty of virtue and the deformity of vice.“
—H.S. Gerdil, The Anti-Emile