One of the hallmarks of classical education is the breadth of knowledge gained by studying connections across disciplines. Our students don’t specialize in one subject or field but are given the tools to think through any class or job they might find themselves in. But another mark of classical education is the ability to go deep. Our students aren’t simply taught the right answers for tests but are rather given time and space to ask big questions, to converse with teachers and peers, and to find out what interests them.
This January, we launched our first ever Immersives for our High School. These special elective classes allowed students to experience that depth by delving into one subject and one subject only over a period of three weeks. Students attended classes at normal times (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), but only attended one class over the course of the term. This winter, students had 6 classes to choose from: Mesoamerican Studies, Harry Potter Sacred Reading, Psychology, Food: We Are How We Eat, Military History, and Digital Animation. Across the classes, students crafted pizza and pozole, learned how to apply military strategy to chess games, visited Universal Studios for Harry Potter world and to study the psychology of fear, and created their own animated short films.
Due to delays with our new high school building project, our staff and students pivoted to hold classes at a few alternative locations, but even with the non-ideal classroom setup, it seems students gained much from their first Immersive experiences. See what they have to say about it below!
“Simple and a good balance. Helped connect with other people from different grades that wouldn’t normally be in the regular classes.“
—SLOCAHS student
“Focusing on one topic felt luxurious! So great to have time for hands-on activities like cooking and eating together, without the pressure of having to cut things short to fit into a class-period. Students were more relaxed, but we took a deep dive into some life-changing ideas about food and society.“
—SLOCAHS teacher
“Loved how deep we got to delve, the flexibility of the class, the spontaneous class-related excursions, the casual environment, and the sheer amount of knowledge able to be obtained in three weeks.“
—SLOCAHS Harry Potter student
“I really enjoyed going to Universal Studios, I also feel better equipped to annotate and speak in seminars.“
—SLOCAHS Psychology student
“I think it was really interesting to learn how the construct and biology of the brain can affect emotion and mental health.“
—SLOCAHS Psychology student
“A great transition back into a regular work schedule from winter break.“
—SLOCAHS student
“I loved our field trip to Talley Farms! I’ve never been to a real farm or learned about all the processes and thought that go into providing fresh produce. We also did lots of hands-on activities in the kitchen which I quite enjoyed. Also, I found all of our “big assignments” to be really fascinating, and it didn’t feel as stressful or intimidating as regular class projects. We were given a lot of freedom to explore different aspects of food and I feel like I took a lot away from this class.”
—SLOCAH Food student
“I loved Mesoamerican studies. We all had this joy to learn and dive deep into this history. Also the cooking was amazing.”
—SLOCAHS Mesoamerican Studies student
“Personally, I enjoy art, so taking Digital Animation was fun for me because I got to make use of the apps I’ve downloaded on my personal device, and I also have skills that I didn’t have before. There is not anything I can think of that I would change.”
—SLOCAHS Digital Animation Student
“I have always loved history especially military history, so intense learning about something I have always enjoyed learning about was just amazing. Even better, I learned about periods and events I had known little to nothing about before the class. The small size of the class was nice, full of people who were just as interested as I was in the topic.”
—SLOCAHS Military History student
