Academics
The lower and middle school curricula will
prepare younger students
for the demands of high school work. Eastminster maintains that all students
can successfully complete rigorous high school work as long as they receive
proper preparation in the lower school. Hence, the lower and middle school
coursework will rely heavily on students reading, critiquing, and debating
the central moral themes of great literature. Emphasis will be placed
on all kindergarten students reading well and comprehending by the end
of the first semester. All lower school students will leave fifth grade
having mastered works by authors such as Charles Dickens, George Orwell,
Jane Austen, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
The lower and middle school math curricula will likewise prepare students to successfully complete AP calculus in high school. Lower school students will master some algebraic concepts and middle school students will master algebra and some concepts of geometry.
In order to excel in the advanced placement sciences, lower and middle school students will be well versed in the logical sequence of the scientific method, the development of a hypothesis, and the methodical reasoning in testing it. Emphasis will be placed on the life sciences, the fundamental concepts of chemicals and compounds, and the roots of mechanical, electrical, and optical physics.
Lower and middle school students will be
introduced to the beginning
of civilization and world cultures. Lower and middle school lessons of
history will emphasize the American heritage of constitutional government,
the history of the union and of the fifty states, the ideals of limited
government and self rule, and the important historical documents extolling
the virtues of equality under the law and natural rights.
Lower and middle school students will receive Spanish instruction from first through fifth grade. Middle school students will be allowed to choose between Spanish, French, and Latin instruction, and beginning in seventh grade, will take a foreign language as a core class. Foreign language instruction in the eighth grade can count toward the foreign language requirements for graduation.
Advanced Placement courses will comprise the core of the high school curriculum, with AP courses offered in English composition and literature, calculus, biology, chemistry, physics, European history, American history, economics, and foreign language. Graduates will be required to have completed three years of a foreign language.
