History

Course Descriptions

Conflict Resolution

The mission of this course is to help ninth grade students acquire the skills, attitudes, and knowledge necessary to be successful in high school, to meet social obligations of community life, and to promote self-actualization through intensive reading, writing, public speaking and role-playing.  The course uses literature, current events and tenets of social justice to facilitate understanding of leadership and conflict resolution in students’ lives, the community and the world. While this class seeks to nurture students entering high school, it is also very demanding and functions as a “boot camp” to push student’s critical thinking and encourage them to realize how to compete in the educational and “real” world. 

Social Justice

This class will focus on the meaning of social justice.  To be socially aware and active within your community, city and state starts with self-management.  You will learn how to be effective in your school and home life; how to successfully resolve conflicts and develop positive leadership skills.  In practicing elements of self-management, you can become a leader within your community, city, state, and even nation.  The other half of this course will focus on social awareness and social justice.  This includes dealing with race, ethnic, gender concerns and focusing on those concerns that are specific to your community. At the end of the year, students should be able to successfully master self-management, improve conflict resolution skills, and become more socially active.

Global History

The Global History and Geography course is designed to focus on five themes of social studies standards, common themes that reoccur over time and place, and eight historical units. Students will study cultural diffusion, belief systems, migration, multi-regional empires, trade and conflict. Students will have an opportunity to develop an understanding of traditional and modern Asian, African and Latin American countries by studying the geography, history and culture of those nations.    

U.S. History and Government

This course will provide students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of U.S. history by studying the growth of America. Emphasis will be placed on the following areas: the peopling of America, the American Revolution, and the development of the American government, the civil war and reconstruction.      

African American Literature

 The first objective of this class is to teach students to become critical thinkers of life and literature. Students will accomplish this goal by reading and analyzing works of literature that are challenging and thought provoking. The second objective of this class is to assist students in improving their writing skills.  The final goal of this class is to prepare students for success in college. During this course students will explore the ways in which our society has been programmed to see people of color. Students will use literature as a way to examine their ideologies, and the ideologies of our society. Students will look at ways in which we have been socialized to see people of color. By the end of the course, students should be able to appreciate and respect their history, as well as the history of people around them. 

Participation in Government

As students prepare to enter the real world, they must be prepared to meet the challenges associated with being an American citizen. This course is designed to give students a basic understanding of the American government, civics and citizenship. Students will study history as it happens, through newspapers, elections and other sources.