No one expected the work of two South seniors to prompt a program so popular that students had to enter a lottery to enroll. As a part of their WISE project, the two seniors applied for a grant to create smaller learning communities at South, evolving into what is now the Modern Global Communities curriculum.
This relatively new three-year curriculum incorporates all curriculum levels into linked English and history classes. With its growing popularity, the
sophomore Modern Global curriculum has expanded from one linked class to two.
At the time of the WISE proposal, South was transitioning from a school of 1100 students to one of 1800. “[South] lost the feeling that everyone knew each other,“ assistant principal Mary Scott said.
Sophomore Ellen Barrett chose to enroll in Global because she thought it would be an effective way to establish a community at South. “I thought it would be helpful to stay with the same kids throughout high school.”
Others, like sophomore Michaela Regehr, enrolled in Global for a different reason. “I thought a linked curriculum [that connects] to the world today would be cool to study,” Regehr said.
A particularly controversial aspect of Global, though, is the mixed curriculum levels it offers in each class. Regehr, an honors history and English student, finds this diverse blend of students to be beneficial. “It’s great being with ... different kinds of people who think in different ways,” she said.
Sophomore Modern Global Communities teacher Michael Kozuch believes the multi-curriculum atmosphere of the classroom is a perfect way to address the "global" aspect of the course.
“[Part of the goal] is that we have a lot of different people in the world, with a lot of different learning styles, and we need to recognize that we’re all in this together, and anybody, no matter who they are, can make a contribution,” Kozuch said.
Barrett, who takes honors history and curriculum I English, also enjoys the constant support system she gets from the mixed groups of students. “If you don’t understand something, you can ask others to help.”
Concerns include whether each level receives comparable work to the single curriculum courses. According to Kozuch, however, teachers adjust assignments based on curriculum to ensure that everyone is doing an appropriate amount of work.
“Sometimes I’ll have less [questions] for [lower level students] to answer ... sometimes the honor [students] may have to do more,” Kozuch said.
Race Class and Gender teacher Lisa Soo Hoo also thinks that the inclusion of honors, curriculum one and curriculum two students in her class creates an ideal setting.
“For the course to be successful, it is essential to have a diverse student population [in the course],” she said. “Students often say that [Race Class and Gender] is the first time they have had a truly diverse learning environment in their high school careers.”
Sophomore Tori Bryan, a Global student in curriculum I English and history, believes that being in a mixed curriculum class does have its difficulties.
“During class discussions in history it’s easy to notice who’s in honors because [many honors students] are more active,” Bryan said.
Sophomore Global student Lily Maltz agreed. “When teachers are calling on people randomly it’s often honors kids they call on. Often it’s honors kids that participate more in class,” Maltz said.
Junior Tatiana Medina-Barreto, who is taking curriculum I English and curriculum II history in Global, has found that Global has done a good job of treating every student fairly. "If students were treated differently based on their curriculum, I'd feel more self conscious and ... like I have to prove to everyone that even though I'm in a different curriculum level, I'm able to do just as good as them and get all the work done," Medina-Barreto said.
Junior Sam Kropp, who is on her second year of the Global course, sees a difference in her class dynamic from that of Maltz's and Bryan's. “It’s more that kids who are interested will say something.”
Soo Hoo also feels that the mixed curriculum setting of RCG does not stifle the participation of non-Honors students in the class. Instead, Soo Hoo said that the “rigorous academic environment” of the course encourages students in curriculum II to “put forth a lot of effort.”
Similarly, Medina-Barreto finds motivation from those in different curriculum levels. "Sometimes, [my curriculum level] is a touchy subject to me because I don't want to be viewed as dumb if I'm in a lower curriculum level, but all that means is that I have to work harder to show people that I'm not," she said.
This separation among curriculums, however, increases due to work done outside of class that is more particular to each curriculum level. “In other honors classes you discuss books [everyone is] reading outside of class, but we have to do it on our own because we can’t talk [about outside reading] in class, since we’re not all reading the same thing,” Barrett said.
Junior Nate Kropp, an honors history and curriculum I English student in Global, feels that although different curriculum levels experience different workloads, the class still maintains a sense of unity.
“It’s not like the teacher says everyone in curriculum I in this room, everyone in curriculum II in this room, all honors in this room … [Mr. Thompson] splits us up into groups evenly balanced with [all curriculum levels],” Nate Kropp said.
Medina-Barreto also finds that Global's promotion of class unity has helped the course run smoothly. "Everyone has friends in different levels," she said.
Although the differences in amount of work may complicate some aspects of the Global class, most applaud the diversity of learning styles Global creates and the environment in which “everyone learns from each other,” Sam Kropp said.
The advantageous and disadvantageous of mixed curriculum classes are also seen as useful preparation for the outside world. “[Mixed curriculum classes are] a good experience because you’re not always going to be working with people at the same level as you,” Nate Kropp said.
“It’s great being with multiple different kinds of people who think in different ways,” Regehr said. “It just brings more ways to look at different problems we’re facing with our world or in history.”
