THE CALASANCTIUS SCHOOL CURRICULUM
DEVELOPING A CURRICULUM
It was not enough to recruit students; it was imperative to develop
and implement a well-organized and comprehensive curriculum. The basic
curriculum of the school was planned for a six-year sequence, commencing
usually after the fourth or fifth grade, in preparation for exacting college-level
study. Features of various curricula were incorporated, including the English
grammar school, the central European gymnasium, the French lycèe,
the eastern American private schools and American comprehensive high schools.
While integrating these various approaches, specific features, based on
research in developmental and differential psychology were added. In 1972,
the program was extended downward to include five-year-olds.
At Calasanctius, all students were exposed to a variety of learning
experiences in clearly circumscribed fields early in their schooling. During
their first three years, all courses were required with the only choices
being in foreign languages and some areas of the creative arts.
There was serious resistance to the idea of ten to 15 subjects weekly,
following the college method of scheduling, instead of the usual four to
five subjects uniformly scheduled each day. Considering that one of the
characteristics of giftedness is an insatiable intellectual curiosity,
channeling the interest of children in only a few directions is a questionable
method. If students are not exposed to varied learning experiences from
early childhood, they are restricted to limited resources. Their imaginations
and lives become one-sided. Calasanctius was intended to enlarge the intellectual
and artistic horizons of the gifted.
The students responded to the challenge. They preferred the variety
of offerings, and indeed, a very full school day to the boredom and uniformity
of the daily schedule and the futility of the typical study hall, which
never existed at Calasanctius.
If students are bombarded with many different experiences, is there
room for creativity? To be creative one first needs a great variety of
experiences stored in his mind. Human creativity is, essentially, finding
new combinations and connections. The Calasanctius curriculum tried to
open as many "windows" in the mind as possible and to enhance the richness
of imagination. Similarly, spontaneity comes when children are immersed
in many areas and when, through self-assessment, they find ways to channel
their general interests in more specific areas. This usually occurs at
about age thirteen to fourteen, when their interests become more career-oriented
and when they "fall in love" with certain areas of academic or artistic
endeavor.
From the very first year, the students participated in the Field Study
Trip Program, with study trips lasting two to three weeks and somewhat
less for the youngest children. The trips took place during the school
year. The objectives of the program were to coordinate and integrate school
learning experiences with real life situations; to assist growing children
in opening their minds to the variety of natural beauty in the land as
well as to the exceptional achievements of American scholarship, art, and
industry; to foster among them the spirit of community through the rigors
of camping and outdoor experiences; and, through contact with students
in other parts of the country, to nurture an understanding of the diversity
of the American experience. For language students, extended trips were
available to Germany, France, Russia and Quebec.