After much deliberation, three new courses were approved this summer for the 2007-2008 academic year. These three courses: Modern Arabic Poetry, Abnormal Psychology and Health and Wellness all add unique characteristics not previously seen in the course catalog.
Modern Arabic Poetry
One of the new courses offered this year will be Modern Arabic Poetry, taught by Mr. Easton. It will be offered in the winter term and count as a Global Studies credit. The course will consist of studying translations of poems by Arabic poets such as Darwish, Al- Maghut, Adunis, and Qabbani. The last weeks of the course will be spent reading poems by modern Muslim women poets, who are less well-known. The poems often include imagery of desert lives and depict unique aspects of Muslim Life that is often hidden by the American Media.
Mr. Easton said his motivation for teaching this course was a trip he took to Israel and Egypt five years ago. The trip allowed him to realize the richness in Arabic culture. His interest in religions affected his belief that the poems will paint a different picture of Muslim life.
“These poets are critical of their government, and believe they (the government officials) are dictators. Therefore the poets are often exiled for their works.” Mr. Easton replied. Yet these poets are also very popular with citizens; as love the works of these Arabic authors. During public readings of poems, the listeners often get emotional. Some reply back to the poet verses of the poem, or sing aloud. “This course will be experimental and interactive. Instead of just reading a poem then writing a paper, students might keep journals and try their hands on poems too.” Mr. Easton explained, “I believe this course will offer the students a window into a different world.”
Abnormal Psychology
Jennifer Smaldone is excited about her new course, Abnormal Psychology. In both Intro to Psychology and AP Psychology, teachers touch slightly on the topic of mental disorders; however, so many loved the subject that the school decided to offer it as an elective in the spring.
Abnormal Psychology is an introductory course that explores the basics of abnormal behavior in humans and treatments for these disorders. Class activities will include watching videos of patients that suffer from various mental disorders and diagnosing specific cases of disorders using descriptions of a symptom. The students will also give suggestions of treatment of the disorders.
OCD and schizophrenia, two common disorders, will be featured in this class. Abnormal Psychology will be offered in the spring term.
Health and Wellness
Another new course this year at Choate is the Health and Wellness course. This course is required of all fourth formers. It meets in the Rosenthal Digital Video Room in the Humanities Building once a week and runs for two terms. Health and Wellness is a pass/fail class that takes up one free period a week for sophomores and replaces work crew. Some course topics include nutrition for adolescents, physical fitness, mental health issues like stress and sleep, tobacco, prescription drugs, and relationships and communication.
The course comes with a complete syllabus including class content, reference websites, and homework assignments. Because of this thorough syllabus, no matter who teaches the class, all class content and homework will be the same. So the question remains, why was this course implemented?
Ms. Pashley, director of community service and course coordinator for Health and Wellness curriculum, says, “There was a concern that these kinds of conversations [discussed in Health and Wellness] would not be happening without the class. The hope is that students will begin to understand that their decisions affect their overall Health and Wellness long into adult life.” Pashley believes that “we would be doing the students a disservice by not discussing and addressing the topics brought about by this course.” This class replaced the previous “health” requirement in Introduction to Psychology, which is being phased out after the class of 2009.
As to what is expected of students in this course, Ms. Pashley says that “there are expectations for students to participate actively on a weekly basis, and they are to receive about 45 minutes of homework per week.”
Pashley says that “Overall, we’re looking for students to make educated decisions. There are a lot of temptations for kids to be engaged in risky behavior, and we just want them to be informed, happy, healthy and safe kids.”
“Because we only meet once a week, it’s difficult to get the whole group to come together. It’s difficult, but we’re working on it,” says Pashley. “The feedback initially has been mixed, and that’s not unexpected. Students didn’t know what to expect.”
These three classes complement the current curriculum well, and with the enthusiasm of these three sets of teachers, the future of these courses looks bright.
