10th Grade Curriculum

From the turmoils of grade 9, the tenth grader begins to discover a certain balance or midpoint between the violent collision of opposites. Physiologically, one may observe in boys a steadier gait; in girls, a greater measure of poise and self-assurance. Mentally, the sophomores may begin to seek a certain order in the confusion, a midpoint to opposition.

The curriculum responds to this search with subjects that incorporate balance: in chemistry, the study of acids and bases; in physics, the principles of mechanics; in earth sciences, the self-regulating processes of weather patterns; in astronomy, the co-equality of centripetal and centrifugal forces; in embryology, the play of masculine and feminine influences.

Through the study of balance in natural and human phenomena, students can begin to find their own fulcrum. In so doing, they are called to exercise powers of comparison, weighing in the balance contrary phenomena to determine their value and significance -- and also their origin.

Students may discover that in this balancing of opposites, new forms can arise -- whether in clouds and tides, planets and solar systems, male and female sexuality. This discovery may in turn prompt the desire to explore the origins of things, to find the source of their forms in the beginnings of the universe or of history or of human language. In other words, the study of ancient times can now be taken up at a deeper level.

One may summarize the themes of this grade with the central question: How? How does this relate to that? How do these contrasting phenomena interrelate? And how did they come about?