A “Typical” Day at YIHS

THE MORNING CIRCLE
At the start of each day we meet as a school, share announcements, celebrate birthdays, and sit silently for 10 minutes. We’ve found that the consistent practice of meditation teaches students the importance of contemplation and self-knowing in a busy, distracted world and gives them a wellspring of mental and spiritual energy to draw from throughout their day.

MAIN LESSON BLOCKS
Classes begin with in-depth study in main lessons, which are core academic classes that rotate subject matter quarterly. They are focused toward developing academic and intellectual skills and cover a range of subjects in Science, History and Literature and Composition. Guiding questions for each grade level are based on Steiner’s principles for education at the high school level.

  • 9th Grade: What is there?
  • From karst geology to comedy and tragedy, freshmen develop skills of keen observation and precise description, discovering they have the ability to generate knowledge about the world around them.
  • 10th Grade: How does it work?
  • Sophomores take things apart, explore process, and combine observation with critical thinking to discern the connections that compose the whole. From the history of technology to ancient civilizations, students peel back layers to analyze and understand complex processes at work.
  • 11th Grade: Who am I? What is important?
  • Juniors question assumptions about the world and themselves. Whether it’s Parzival’s grail quest or the physics of electricity, students go far below the surface to find stable ground, conceptually and within themselves.
  • 12th Grade: What other perspectives are there?
  • Seniors are ready to synthesize and bring alternative perspectives together. To solve the world’s challenges with creativity and pragmatism, students learn to see the truth from radically different viewpoints and to chart their own path forward.

SKILL-BASED PATH CLASSES
After main lesson, students take skill-based path classes. Whether required (language and mathematics) or elective (movement and music), these classes help students build up skill and discipline over time.

Languages (Spanish, French, Language Independent Study, EFL)
Mathematics (Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus, Calculus)
Movement — past and current offerings include Spatial Dynamics, Sports, Yoga, Circus, Archery, Walking, and Qi Gong
Music — past and current offerings include Rock Band, Music Theory, Sound Recording, Songwriting, and Ethnomusicology

AFTERNOON BLOCKS
In the afternoon, students engage in studies of the arts, including practical arts, visual arts and performing arts. These classes are mixed-age, elective and often punctuated by public showings and performances. Art inspires students’ discipline and creativity. Through practicing arts, students not only learn to create and appreciate beauty, but also become more agile and innovative in their thinking.

Visual Arts — past and current offerings include Photography, Figure Drawing, Block/Screen Printing, Stained Glass, Sculpture, Jewelry, Ceramics, Comics)
Performance Arts — past and current offerings include Biannual Plays, Playwriting, Circus Arts, Theatre from Scratch
Practical Arts — past and current offerings include Carpentry, Agriculture, Auto Mechanics, Woodcraft, Knitting, Sewing, Quilting

INDEPENDENT STUDIES
YIHS encourages students to follow their passions.  Students in good academic standing are able to pursue courses of study with the approval their Care Group.  Students design and evaluate their own class under the tutelage of a mentor. Students are required to submit and get approval for proposals through an intensive process. The Independent Study process allows YIHS to maintain academic excellence while allowing students to study subjects as varied as Japanese, Survival Skills, Songwriting, Marine Biology, and many more.