‘Humanities’ class debuts

A class called “Humanities” probably does not sound too familiar, at least not at the middle school level. The first time I remember hearing a class called Humanities was at the college level. So, what is it? How does it fit into a middle school curriculum? More importantly, how does it fit in at Spencer Middle School?

First off, when we think of Humanities, we should think about language, literature, art, history and philosophy all rolled into one. It is a class that takes the traditional thoughts of English and history and applies them to the human race. It is the study of human culture and society through the lenses of English and history.

For example, in teaching eighth-grade students about the American Revolution, part of the eighth-grade history curriculum, we also explore the human side of war in English/ Language Arts instruction. We immerse ourselves, through literature, into World War II through the eyes of a young bright-eyed, compassionate young woman whose life was cut way too short by reading “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.” Using a workshop type of model for this class, students become active historians. They take the information about the American Revolution and what our soldiers endured in establishing our country, then they take what Anne Frank is telling them through her journal to come up with some really interesting discussions about war and human nature.

This process puts the students in charge of their learning and discovery, allowing them to be active learners. Instead of feeding information to students, I am simply a facilitator guiding and supporting their analysis of the new-found knowledge.

Our next journey into Humanities is to read, learn and digest the Constitution; not a small task for an eighth-grade student. Again, putting the learning into students’ hands, we will be reading and discussing the Constitution but also discovering and writing about the Constitution. Through a research project, students will select any part of the Constitution that they have questions about and dig deeper to truly understand what this living document does for them. Through the Humanities ideal, students are active historians, researchers and writers.

Although this is a fairly new concept at the middle school level, it is proving to be extremely beneficial for student learning. It is working very well and has been a nice transition in Spencer Middle School. Here through this newly designed class, students work collaboratively, develop critical thinking skills and discover evidence based explanations.

It might not sound like your traditional class list from middle school, but the class is adjusting to the needs of our students. Blending history and English/Language Arts into a class entitled, “Humanities” allows students to take all of these skills, and more, into the real world.

-- Christa Hoheisel, Middle School English/Language Arts