Brown Summer High School

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Educational Program

Teaching Faculty

Courses are taught by teams of students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching and Undergraduate Teacher Education programs at Brown University.

Teaching teams are led by exemplary mentor teachers from local schools. Teacher Education faculty supervise and collaborate with each of the teams.

Essential Questions Courses

Often, people have big questions on their minds. Questions like: What makes you step up to the plate and do something? Whose stories haven’t been heard in U.S. History? How can the design of living things be explained? Most courses in high school do not address such far-reaching questions. There is not enough time, there is too much material to cover, or it just doesn’t fit into one “subject area.” At Brown Summer High School, we focus on these big questions.

Brown Summer High School’s “Essential Questions” courses all begin with a big question that doesn’t necessarily have one right answer. You will have a chance to explore the question by studying it from a variety of perspectives. You will work individually, in small groups, and as a class. At the end of the course, you will have a chance to show others what you have learned, not by taking a test, but more creatively, in a way that you and your teachers design together.

Las clases en Brown Summer High School empiezan con una pregunta esencial para la cual no necesariamente hay una sola respuesta. La mayoría de los cursos en las escuelas ecundarias no logran discutir ideas tan profundas para desarrollar la mentalidad del estudiante. En este programa los alumnos tendrán la oportunidad de explorar las preguntas de forma individual, en grupos pequeños, y con la clase entera. Al final del curso, podran demostrar lo que han aprendido, no con tomar un examen, sino de una manera más creativa que será diseñada con los maestros.

2009 Summer Courses

BSHS students will participate in two of the following courses

How do the people we know, the stuff we collect and the events that happen to us change and shape the paths of our lives? (English)

Some people believe that everything in life happens for a reason; some believe that young people have free will and can choose their paths—what do you think? We will strive to answer these questions as we read, write about and perform The Fabulous Sinkhole by Jesus Salvador Trevino. Stories of living out a life’s dream, battling murderous zombies from Hollywood films, building a pyramid in the middle of the desert, listening to one’s ancestors, and finding true friendship all spring out of the sudden appearance of an enormous sinkhole.

How have the events of 9/11 changed our country as a whole and what, if any, lessons have we learned? (Social Studies/History)

Do you remember where you were or how old you were when the events of September 11th, 2001 unfolded? Did these events personally touch your life or the lives of your friends and family? These are some of the questions we will tackle as we read the graphic novel The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon. We will investigate the government’s response to 9/11, the personal tragedies and stories of survival and the way 9/11 has shaped our collective memory.

How do animals use color to "talk to one another"? (Science)

We will explore how color and perception co-evolved to produce the complex and diverse coloration patterns we observe in animals today. By investigating the language of color and coloration patterns that have evolved in animals, we will also examine the nature of color and light through hands-on interdisciplinary activities in biology, chemistry, and physics.

Advisory

The Future is Now

What do you and your family dream for your future? Through writing, talking about high school courses, and extracurricular activities, and considering options for postsecondary
education or training, BSHS students will work in small groups with a teacher/advisor to actively plan their future. Families will also be invited to participate in a college preparation seminar with faculty and staff at Brown during the BSHS Family and Friends Night.