Collegium Study
Collegium Elective Courses
for High School Students
Classical Christian
Studies:
In ancient times the trivium was the
first course of education that a student pursued and it included Latin
grammar, dialectic (logic) and rhetoric which were all applied as they read
history, literature and philosophy. Students wishing to continue
the studies they began in the grammar and dialectic stages should look here
first. The quadrivium built on the earlier study in the trivium and
included studies in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music.
We offer a similar set of electives but adjusted to suit the needs of
modern
students.
TRIVIUM
COURSES:
(Click on links to see texts and supplies)
Western Civilization
1: Ancients At the Dialectic level students are
introduced to the great works
of Western Civilization in this
first course. We seek to guide the student in bringing all
knowledge subject to the
Lord Jesus Christ, and so
we combine ancient history, literature, Scripture study and
writing into a single rigorous
but enjoyable
course. Students will learn to read closely in preparation
for classroom discussions and learn to
write effectively about what
they've read. Prospective students need to have an enthusiasm for rigorous work,
be able to work independently, and be able to manage their time
well. Parents of prospective students should be willing
to conduct specific Old and New Testament studies from the text at
home and work with their student to develop good daily study habits. In
school year 2010-11, this class is open to students 9th grade and up,
and is appropriate for those who are new to Collegium Study
Center. (Eighth grade students who can demonstrate writing proficiency
will be considered.)
Nota
Bene: Interacting with the great works of Western Civilization
requires a certain amount of maturity in the student.
While we feel that the
texts selected are appropriate for students at the 8th grade
level, all students are different and it is
ultimately
each parent's responsibility to determine if the student
is ready. Please review the book list prior to enrolling your
student and
contact the instructor if you have any
questions.
Prerequisites: Students
should have good reading skills and solid expository essay
skills.
Class meets Mon/Thurs
Home study expectations: A
minimum of 6 additional hours per week outside of class.
High
School credit value: (1 history, 1 literature, 1 composition, and 1 Bible
credit if home study completed.)
Tuition: $309 per semester
Material
fee: tbd
Book lists and
materials
Western Civilization 4/5A: Ancients/Medieval
: This course in our Great
Books series will explore more works of ancient history and literaturein the
first semester and then continue the second semester with a study of the works
of some of the Early Church Fathers and early medieval writers. As with our
previous courses, our goal is to examine the normative questions these books
raise, evaluate them in light of Scripture, discuss, write about, and
debate them. This course will place more emphasis on public speaking, writing,
and leading discussion. (Listed
as Western Civ 4 when registering)
Prerequisites: Successful completion of a previous Collegium
Western Civ course OR instructor's assessment of student's preparation.
Class meets Mon/Thurs, 8-10:00 am
Home Study
expectations: approximately 9 hours per week.
High school credit
value: (1 history, 1 literature, 1 writing. See instructor for other
possibilities.)
Tuition: $371 per semester
Material fee: tbd
Book lists and materials
Western
Civilization 6: Modernity: This course is a continuation of
previous Western Civ courses and will explore the Great Books of
history and literature of the Modern Era with an emphasis on America. As
with the other courses in this series, our goal is to examine the normative
questions these books raise, evaluate them in light of Scripture, discuss and
write about them. This course assumes previous study in philosophy, history, and
literature of the Ancients through the Enlightenment and is therefore
only appropriate for continuing students.
Prerequisite: Successful
completion of previous Western Civilization courses in the series.
Home Study
expectations: 6-7 hours per week (1 credit history, 1 credit
literature)
Tuition: $371
Book list
and materials
Classical Rhetoric: Using
Aristotle's Rhetoric as the spine for this class, the student will
explore a unique blend of rhetorical and communication principles touching on
the psychology of persuasion and effective use of logic in arguments and figures
of speech for impact. Continuing in the Classical Writing series, students
will learn additional essay formats such as the encomium, invective, and
comparison plus essay writing for SAT's.
Prerequisites: Classical Writing
at Collegium or permission of instructor
Class meets Thursdays
Home Study
Expectations: 3-4 hrs per week
High School Credits: 1 credit
Tuition:
$139 per semester
Material fee: $10 per semester
Text and Supplies
Latin 1 : Latin, traditionally, has been at
the heart of classical Christian studies, and even though many have
abandoned it as irrelevant for modern people, we see great value in maintaining
this tradition. Latin studies are essentially about language study,
and while other languages might work as well, they cannot connect us to our
past the way Latin can. Latin is also difficult, and like all worthwhile things,
it comes to us only with great labor. That hard work sharpens
our learning skills in the process. We learn from that
experience, not just Latin itself, but what we're made of. If we conquer
it, we know we can learn difficult things; if we fail, we know we can
survive defeat and keep learning. This is what the tools of learning are
all about: learning how to learn anything.
This
course can either be a more rigorous continuation of the Latin for Children
series, or a first course
in classical language study for the dialectic level
or older student. Latin history, myth and language acquisition are
the
focus as students master the first four conjugations of verbs and
five declensions of nouns.
Prerequisite: Basic understanding of the
parts of speech is necessary.
Class meets Mon/Thurs
Home Study
Expectations: 3-4 hours per week
High school credit: 1
credit
Tuition: $155 per semester
Text and
supplies
Latin 2 : This is the second year of the
two year Latin sequence. See the description above for the reasons
why every student should take Latin.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Latin 1 or instructor
permission
Class meets Mon/Thurs
Home Study Expectations: 3-4
hours per week
High school credit: 1 credit
Tuition: $155 per
semester
Text and supplies
Art of
Argument: (Not offered 2010-11) Logic is at the heart
of classical Christian dialectic studies and this first logic course gives
students a great start by focusing on informal fallacies and faulty
reasoning. Skill in logic is an essential tool to equip students to analyze the
world views around them and to hone their own communication skills.
Class meets tbd
Home
Study Expectations: 2-3 hrs per week
High School credit: 1 credit
Tuition: $77 per semester
Text and
supplies
Traditional Logic 1 : This
course is an introduction to formal logic, dealing with the form or structure of
arguments,
and an in-depth study of the categorical syllogism. It covers the
theory of knowledge, logical statements, equivalent
propositions, and the
validity of syllogisms.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Art of
Argument or instructor permission.
Class meets
tbd
Home Study Expectations: 2-3 hrs per week
High school credit: 1
credit
Tuition: $77 per semester
Text
and supplies
Traditional
Logic 2: (Not offered this semester) In this
course students continue their study of formal logic
by
examining the valid forms of categorical and conditional
syllogisms, polysyllogisms, sorites, epicheirema,
dilemmas
and
oblique syllogisms.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Traditional Logic
1
Class
meets: tbd
Home Study Expectations: 2-3 hrs per
week
High school
credit: 1 credit
Tuition: $77 per
semester
Text and supplies
QUADRIVIUM
COURSES:
Geometry : This is a course in Euclidean geometry. We will
spend time on the development of proofs and the application of geometric
principles.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of
Algebra 1 at Collegium or entrance exam.
Homework Expectations: 3-4 hrs per
week
High school credit: 1 credit
Tuition: $232 per semester
Text
and supplies
Algebra 2: This
course will continue the study of functions begun in Algebra I. We will examine
linear, quadratic and exponential functions as they relate to real life. New
concepts include matrices, determinants, and logarithms.
Prerequisite:
Successful completion of Algebra 1 and Geometry at Collegium or entrance
exam.
Homework Expectations: 3-4 hrs per week
High School credit: 1
credit
Tuition: $185 per
semester
Text and supplies
Functions, Statistics, and
Trigonometry - (Not
offered 2010-11) Better known as FST, this is the first half of a
comprehensive pre calculus course. It covers polynomial functions, trigonometric
functions, and other elementary functions such as logarithmic, exponential, and
the power functions. It explores all these functions in detail through graphing,
identifying their domains and ranges, finding roots, and applying the functions
to practical problems. The course also emphasizes modeling, in that each of the
functions is used to model real-life problems and there is enough work in the
Statistics section to enable the students to perform statistical modeling.
Students will study the general quadratic in detail with analytic geometry. They
will also study matrices, complex numbers, and polar coordinates. FST is a
fast-paced course, providing an excellent background for those wishing to take
calculus and those who want use mathematics as a problem solving
tool.
Prerequisite: Successful
completion of Algebra 2 at Collegium or instructor permission.
Class meets Mon/Thurs
Home
Study Expectations: 3-4 hrs per week
High School Credit: 1
credit
Tuition: $232 per semester
Text and
supplies
Calculus: This course, while maintaining traditional mathematical content,
will incorporate technology to study limits, derivatives, integrals, and
applications.
Prerequisite: Functions,
Statistics and Trigonometry
Class meets Mondays and Thursdays
Home Study
Expectations: 3-4 hours per week
Tuition: $185 per semester
Text and
supplies
Biology: This course is
designed to be the student's first high school science lab course and is a
college-prep biology course that provides a detailed introduction to the methods
and concepts of general biology. Heavily emphasizing the vocabulary of biology,
it provides the student with a strong background in the scientific method, the
five-kingdom classification scheme, microscopy, biochemistry, cellular biology,
molecular and Mendelian genetics, evolution, dissection, and ecosystems.
Hands-on labs will be facilitated to reinforce content learned at home. Students
will gain valuable experience and skills related to a variety of life science
fields through microscopic and macroscopic investigative
studies.
Class is open to students 9th grade and
older
Class meets tbd
Home Study Expectations: 2-2.5 hrs per
week
High School Credit: 1 credit
Tuition: $139 per semester plus lab
fee
Text and supplies
Chemistry: This first semester of a
two-semester sequence in first year high school chemistry gives the student the
first half of a rigorous foundation in chemistry, in order to prepare him or her
for a college-level course. The course covers topics including significant
figures, units, classification of matter, the mole concept, stoichiometry,
thermochemistry, atomic structure, Lewis structures, and molecular
structure. Students will perform labs from the Apologia text and some
additional labs of the instructor's choice.
Prerequisites:
Successful completion of Algebra I (student must be able to algebraically
rearrange equations to solve for unknowns.)
Class meets tbd
Home Study
Expectations: 2-3 hrs per week
High School Credit: 1 credit
Tuition:
$232 per semester
Text and
supplies
Physics: This first semester of a two semester sequence in college-prep physics
provides a detailed introduction to the methods and concepts of general physics,
heavily emphasizing vector analysis. Topics covered include
one-dimensional and two-dimensional motion, Newton's laws and their application,
gravity, work, and energy.
Experiments: The text includes
experiments designed to be performed at home. The instructor will assign
most of the experiments to be completed in conjunction with the appropriate
lessons. Parents and students will decide before the semester whether or
not individual students will perform the experiments. For participating
students, the instructor will give guidance for keeping a laboratory
notebook and will assign a qualitative grade for the experiments, which,at the
discretion of the teacher, may work to improve a student's grade.
Prerequisites: Algebra I, basic Geometry and basic trigonometric
functions (sine, cosine, tangent).
Class meets Mondays,
tbd
Home Study Expectations: 3 hrs per week
High School Credit:
1 credit
Tuition: $185 per semester
Text and
supplies
Advanced Physics (NEW
for 2010-11)
In this two-semester sequence, students will
study detailed descriptions of kinematics, dynamics, rotational motion,
gravity, oscillations, waves, optics, thermal physics, electrical forces,
electrical potential, DC circuits, magnetic forces, atomic physics, and nuclear
physics. The student is also given an introduction to the fascinating
topics of special relativity and general relativity. When added to the
first-year course, this course "fills in the gaps" and gives the student the
equivalent of one year of university-level physics.
Prerequisites: Trigonometry
Class meets Mondays
Home
Study Expectation: 4-5 hours
High School Credit: 1 credit
Tuition: $108
per semester
Text and
supplies
Music History and
Appreciation: Focusing on western music and culture from Ancient Greece to
the 20th Century, this course will enable students to appreciate great music and
composers through the lens of a Christian world view. It uses the same textbook
as a similar course offered at Wheaton College. Though the primary focus is
music, art history and philosophy will also be incorporated to help understand
each time period. Students will complete reading assignments from the textbooks
and spend time each week listening to the pieces we are studying. In-class
discussion will enable students to evaluate their own reaction to the music and
the ideas of the finest composers of classical music. Tests will cover music
listening identification and analysis of style characteristics. Term papers
focusing on 4 different composers from each of the major style periods will be
included.
Class meets tbd
Home Study Expectations:
3-5 hrs per week
High School Credit: 1 credit
Tuition: $139 per
semester
Text and
supplies
GENERAL ELECTIVE
COURSES:
We offer
these additional courses because they normally expected for college-bound
students, and more than that, they just make for a well-rounded
education.
Spanish 1: Spanish 1 presents the basics of the Spanish
language as spoken in
Class meets Mon/Thurs tbd
Home Study Expectations: 3 hrs per
week
High School Credit: 1 credit
Tuition: $185 per
semester
Text and supplies
Spanish 3: Spanish 3 builds on the
grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation skill achieved in the second level of
study. Students continue to develop proficiency in speaking and
understanding conversational Spanish as they cultivate an appreciation for
the various Latin cultures.
Prerequisites: Successful
completion of Spanish 2 or instructor permission
Class meets:
Thursdays
Home Study Expectations: 2 hrs per week
High School
Credit: 1 credit
Tuition: $185 per semester
Text and supplies
Economics 1: (Not offered
2010-11) Learn the underlying
principles to practical economic questions such as, "Why did unemployment reach
25 percent and American corporations, as a whole, operate in the red for two
years in a row during the Great Depression of the 1930's?" or "Why did Russia
have to import food to feed its people in Moscow, when some of the richest
farmlands in the country were within easy driving
distance?"
Taking complex principles and speaking in
plain language, this basic economics class will explore economic theories of
capitalism, socialism, feudalism, and their effects and cover such topics as
money, the Fed, banking systems, price controls, national debt, and
international economies. Expect lively discussions on current
events.
Home Study Expectations: 2 hrs per week
High School Credit: 1/2 credit
Tuition: $93
Material fee:
$15
Text and
supplies
Personal Finance: (Offered in Spring
2011) Dave Ramsey's high school curriculum covers the essentials of
debt-free living to include the benefits of savings and investments (and their
nuances), myths of credit and debt, budgeting and check book balancing, career
assessment, insurance basics, real estate financing, and giving. This
course will entail viewing the course DVD weekly, engaging in discussion, and
completing workbook assignments.
Home Study
Expectations: 3-4 hrs per week
High School Credit: 1/2 credit
Tuition:
$116 Spring semester
Class meets: tbd
Material fee:
tbd
Text and
supplies
Prerequisites: none
Class meets: Thursdays, 3pm to
4:30 pm
High School Credit: 1 credit Fine Arts: Drama
Tuition: $115.50 per
semester
Material fee:
$5
