Is there an ideal vision for educating upper school girls?

 

The Upper School curriculum leads the Oakcrest student towards an in-depth understanding of life, of herself, and of her responsibilities to others and to the common good. The first years of Upper School emphasize communicating effectively. Across disciplines, teachers guide students as they seek to develop clear reasoning and rhetoric. In the classroom students are also asked to develop good habits of discernment and reflection. These habits of mind and heart foster greater self-knowledge and allow them to form stronger and more positive friendships inside and outside the classroom as well. 

As they mature in their junior and senior years, Oakcrest students are challenged to turn their focus outward in service and leadership in the school and wider community. Their classes require greater abstract thinking, leading to an increased appreciation of speculative knowledge and the nature of reality. Across disciplines, the curriculum teaches a love and respect for truth, and invites the student to ponder what it means to be human and how to advance on her path towards self-knowledge and wisdom. In their studies and culminating in the senior thesis, students learn to put the art of persuasion in the service of truth and to explain what they know with clarity and beauty.

Outside the classroom, students come to a deeper understanding of virtue through their individual grade level experiences. Through the grade level experiences, classes dive deeply into the themes for their academic year and enrich their classroom learning. They begin in the ninth grade by exploring “Life as a Heroic Journey,” not only in their history and English literature classes, but by competing in a friendly Greek Olympics throughout the first semester. In the 10th grade, students foster a love for beauty and goodness by learning a new hobby that involves both doing and making something beautiful and in turn they teach their newly acquired skills to the younger students. The junior class is honored in a special Junior Ring Ceremony, marking the rise of the class as leaders of the school. They also take charge in hosting the annual all-school Thanksgiving desserts and performances. Similarly, the senior class hosts the annual Christmas party for the students, focusing on community-building activities. The capstone project that is the culmination of the Oakcrest education and grade level experiences is the senior thesis presentation. In the senior thesis presentations,  the senior students share with their classmates and teachers their research and conclusions, moving from the role of student to teacher.

The ideal vision for educating a student in Upper School, is the kind of holistic educational program that Oakcrest School offers. Through her Upper School studies, an Oakcrest student comes to understand herself and human nature, she learns new ways of reasoning, acquires precision in language, and recognizes the beauty of ordered reality. She comes to respect the art of human communication and appreciates the depth and breadth of human experience and aspiration. She learns to listen to others while gaining new ways to express her own thoughts and experiences. She discovers and ponders the workings of God in the world and in her life. With a solid foundation for understanding the world, others, herself and her responsibilities, the Oakcrest student is equipped to live fully and thereby affect positive change within society.

About the Author: