Course Guide

Required Courses

HONORS ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (required) How might we characterize the relationship between humans and the natural environment? In order to explore our understanding of human interaction with the land, we will begin by examining the natural processes that have shaped the Earth and New England, specifically. The course will begin with a series of primers on a few sciences related to the natural environment including geology, geomorphology, climate, and ecology. Once we establish this foundation of scientific knowledge, we will delve into case studies of human presence and disturbance of various landscapes including the land on which the Mountain School exists. This part of the course represents an opportunity for students to become familiar with, and curious about, this 418-acre campus. They might choose a unique site on campus to practice asking questions and conduct independent and collaborative research. We will also explore urgent examples of human-land interaction that extend beyond campus boundaries, including climate change, agriculture and food systems, and environmental racism. Our goal is to connect a variety of human experiences on the land with both the science that explains it and the human constructs that influence it.

HONORS ENGLISH (required)
Honors English explores questions that arise naturally in the course of our shared time at the Mountain School: How do our individual experiences of the world create both the limits and the possibilities of creating a sense of community and belonging with one another? How do our relationships to place and nature change over time and in different environments? How does the language with which we express ourselves shape and become shaped by history, culture, and personal experience? Through close reading, class discussion, and frequent writing and speaking assignments, students will learn how to read critically and listen to others carefully, while developing their own writing and speaking voices. Works by the following authors are frequently taught: ZZ Packer, Danielle Evans, Jhumpa Lahiri, Flannery O’Connor, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Layli Long Soldier, Ed Roberson, William Wordsworth, Robert Frost, Jamaica Kincaid, Ross Gay, Adrienne Rich, Pat Mora, Raymond Carver, Gish Jen, Annie Proulx, Julia Alvarez, Amy Tan, and Robin Wall Kimmerer. Assessment is based on a combination of graded and ungraded assignments, including a cumulative final exam or project.

TMS SEMINAR (required)
TMS Seminar is a once-a-week meeting for all students that provides a broader context for the work we do together on the Mountain School farm. Focusing especially on questions of land and labor, we’ll talk about the contradictions that plague the global food system and that show up in our own practices. What does it mean to participate in growing food on the unceded traditional lands of our neighbors? Whose labor is recognized and compensated in the systems that feed us, and whose is not? Is truly sustainable agriculture even possible? What are the assumptions behind the advice to “vote with your fork,” and how does our understanding of those assumptions complicate our relationship to the Mountain School’s deeply-held food values? We’ll explore these questions and others through a combination of large- and small-group discussion, short films, private writing, and group research projects.

OUTDOOR PROGRAM (required)
The Outdoor Program helps every student develop the skills to travel safely and comfortably outside, to camp with minimal impact on the land, and to understand the intricacies of the natural world. On weekly outdoor hikes, students hike and gain proficiency in map and compass skills, basic camping techniques, and animal tracking. A three-day solo camping trip in the early fall or late spring gives each student the opportunity to practice these skills and to connect intimately with one specific place. We have designed a solo camping experience that allows even those who have never previously slept outdoors to thrive. The Outdoor Program also encourages students to try recreational activities specific to our locale. In the spring, students enjoy snowshoeing and cross-country skiing on our campus trails. Safety is always our highest priority.

Elective Courses

ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES
Why so much inequality? Today, there are no shortage of challenges that we face: wealth disparities, racial violence, climate disasters, gendered hierarchies, and social isolation. How do these challenges interrelate, why do they persist, and what are some of the proposed solutions to them? Do we recognize them as problems—why or why not? Are we responsible for creating an alternative to the current state of things, or are these problems natural and immutable? As we ask these questions, this course will explore a variety of topics, such as the economics of capitalism to the history of the police, the origins of racial science to cancel culture, the effects of social media to mental health, and the politics of reform versus that of revolt. We may discuss a range of contemporary social movements from White Nationalism to Antifa, Black Lives Matter and the #Metoo movement; the geopolitics of the Middle East and Caucasus; and Climate Change and Globalization; Abortion and Gun Rights. Our goal is to push past declarations of right and wrong so that we can better grasp the underlying factors that drive these issues into the forefront of our lives. Interdisciplinary thinking, research-based writing, and public speaking are the core skills of the course.

ART & THE ENVIRONMENT
Course Description Coming Soon!

CULINARY STUDIES
Course Description Coming Soon!

Sequential Courses

AP U.S. HISTORY
The fall term begins with a study of pre-Columbian America and focuses on English colonization (1607-1763), the American Revolution (1763-1800), and the sectional tensions that led to the Civil War. The spring term course starts with an examination of Reconstruction as a prelude to the issues underlying late 19th and 20th century America, which we trace all the way to the present. Students develop their ability to ask important and provocative questions; to approach those questions collaboratively; to read purposefully and take notes efficiently; and to see history as a resource for the decisions that they make in their lives. This is not a traditional AP course, but students who complete all the course requirements will be well prepared for the AP and SAT II tests in U.S. History. There are no prerequisites for this course, though we highly recommend that spring semester students take the first term of U.S. History in the fall.

MATHEMATICS
Math classes are designed to prepare each student for re-entry at the appropriate point in the home school's mathematics program while also allowing each student to take advantage of the unique learning environment at the Mountain School. This environment includes small classes, close relationships with teachers, opportunities for both independent and group work, and a physical setting full of potential mathematics applications. Students are divided into math classes based on a detailed questionnaire completed by a math teacher at the home school. In a typical semester we have one section of Algebra II, three to four sections of Precalculus, one section of AB and/or BC Calculus, and one section of independent math. In the spring semester, we also offer a Precalculus/Calculus section that includes an introduction to differential calculus.

LANGUAGES

Intermediate (HONORS) & Advanced (AP)—Spanish, French, Mandarin
The Mountain School offers French, Spanish and Mandarin at the intermediate and advanced levels. A minimum of two years of high school language study is required for each course. Placement is determined by a questionnaire completed by a language teacher at the home school. In intermediate French and Spanish, classes are taught completely in the target language and students build skills through guided discussions, grammar practice, structured reading, and short, focused writing. In the advanced levels, students read major literary works, write analytical and creative essays, and take turns leading discussions. Mandarin classes are run like small-group tutorials and are designed to prepare each student for re-entry into the home school curriculum. Advanced French and Spanish do prepare students for the AP exams in May.

HONORS FRENCH
Students develop an understanding of Francophone cultures and literature through the study of selected texts.Readings include articles, editorials, and short stories from Francophone authors with texts such as Le château de ma mere. The course also includes a selection of movies for discussion.Weekly at lunch, students practice their speaking skills in a relaxed setting at the French language table.

AP FRENCH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
The AP Language and Culture class is for students who have had at least four years of French study. This assumes that students have learned the grammar necessary to communicate their ideas in French. This class will further develop their language skills and enrich their vocabulary, centered on main themes presented in the AP French Language and Culture Framework. The course is conducted exclusively in French to provide students with an immersion experience. Class activities consist of conversations, written and spoken evaluations, and grammar exercises. Final Projects vary: movies, comic strips, short novels, magazines or plays.Students enrolled in this class are expected to read major literary works independently, as well as lead class discussions in French.

HONORS SPANISH

In Honors Spanish, students practice all aspects of learning a language: speaking, writing, reading, and listening. The course is taught solely in Spanish, and students are expected to use Spanish at all times during class. Students study grammar and vocabulary, read and analyze authentic texts from the Spanish-speaking world, and practice writing short pieces that incorporate the language structures we are learning. Evaluation is based on grammar and vocabulary quizzes, short writings, daily preparation, and class participation.

AP SPANISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
The AP Spanish Language and Culture course gives advanced students the opportunity to practice three modes of communication in Spanish: interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational. Using authentic written, audio, and video pieces, students engage the six themes of the AP curriculum: Global Challenges, Family and Community, Beauty and Aesthetics, Science and Technology, and Personal and Public Identities. Students practice reading, writing, listening, and speaking about these themes using the texts as an entry point. Students in this course review grammar systematically, incorporating the topic of the week into their speaking and writing. Evaluation is based on daily preparation, written compositions, current events presentations, and participation in class discussions. 

HONORS PHYSICS
The autumn syllabus includes study of motion, force, gravity, work, and energy and the spring syllabus includes harmonic motion, electrostatics, magnetism, and optics; either can be tailored to meet the requirements of individual sending schools. Laboratory exercises give students hands-on experience with physical principles and build their skills in investigative science. This honors level class covers a rigorous first-year physics curriculum. Since math is used extensively in solving problems, students should have a solid foundation in algebra and trigonometry. The program is designed to meet the needs of students coming from or returning to a rigorous math-based physics class while also developing a solid foundation in conceptual physics. This class is not intended to prepare students for the AP Physics exam.

HONORS CHEMISTRY
This course is designed to provide a challenging second-semester of introductory chemistry to students who have already completed the first semester at their home schools. The course integrates the special opportunity of a working organic farm in its teaching principles. Students use the campus setting as their laboratory: they measure the boiling point of maple sap, analyze nutrient cycling on the farm, and write reports of demonstrations. Typical topics include: molecular geometry, kinetics, equilibria, acid-base interactions, thermodynamics, and redox reactions. Teachers from the home school complete a questionnaire indicating a student’s experience to make the transition as smooth as possible. This course prepares students to take the SAT II subject test but is not intended as an AP course.