Survival Living 258 (2 credits)
Juniors and Seniors only
Requirement: A current physical examination report is required prior to beginning this course. A school sports physical examination completed in the fall is acceptable.
This after-school course provides students with the necessary skills and self-confidence to cope with a situation in which they must live with minimal food and equipment. Topics will include: group dynamics, fires, edibles, shelters, first aid, orienteering, and keeping warm. Many of these topics will be studied in an outdoor experiential format. The culminating event will be a three-day solo camp-out. The class meets for three hours after school twice each week, and camp-outs are part of the curriculum. This schedule precludes student participation in spring athletics. Students in music and drama groups often have performance conflicts that make participation in this course very difficult or impossible. This course cannot be taken for physical education credit.
MSAN Sociology Seminar 159 (2 Credits)
The Minority Student Achievement Network(MSAN) joins schools from across the nation to study the gap in achievement between white students and students of color, and ARHS is a member of this network. While a small number of students attend the MSAN Leadership conference every September, this elective provides a larger number of juniors and seniors the opportunity to study, identify and act on issues related to this achievement gap. Students will analyze a variety of academic sources within the framework of sociology, in order to examine how social constructions of race, gender, class and ethnicity intersect with one another, and to determine how schools, the media, and the state create and maintain inequity. In addition, the seminar format of the course requires daily participation, independent research, and collaborative presentations. Leadership opportunities are a requirement in the form of action plans, as students will collaboratively study our local systems, create plans to address local inequity, and then act to close the existing achievement gap.
Cross Cultural Communications A180 (1 credit)
Note: This course will be scheduled as an ALP. See page 9.
Cross Cultural Communications provides an opportunity to explore issues of race and class with participants of all backgrounds – to have conversations across differences of race and class. Through facilitated discussions that protect and support students, students will engage with each other to challenge assumptions, learn from one another, gain new information and participate in dialogue that too often just doesn’t happen on these topics. Thought-provoking videos, key-issue prompts, and brief readings help to further the dialogue. Students will have an opportunity to initiate a group action project related to these topics. Students who have completed this class may become eligible to be trained as facilitators to help lead a future class. This class meets during long E period one day per week. On other days, students electing this course will be enrolled in a Directed Study. Enrollment in this class is also possible for students enrolled in Experiential Education, College Class, or Work Study, depending on the individual’s schedule.