Curriculum

"The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives." -Robert M. Hutchins

Pre-Grammar Stage:

To lay the foundation for the stages of the Trivium, the pre-grammar stage (sometimes referred to as the Primary Stage,) is central to a scholar's success at John Adams Academy. In this stage, scholars are taught the fundamental skills through which all subsequent learning takes place. In the pre-grammar stage scholars are taught the fundamentals of reading, writing, mathematics, social interaction, and important foundational facts about the world in which they live. Scholars will also be introduced to the principals of Self-Governance, Personal Responsibility and Accountability, and other core values that will continue to be emphasized throughout their time at John Adams Academy.

K-2 Curriculum

“The object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful” -Plato

Grammar Stage:

"The first years of schooling are called the 'grammar stage'--not because you spend four years doing English, but because these are the years in which the building blocks for all other learning are laid, just as grammar is the foundation for language. In the elementary-school years...the mind is ready to absorb information. Since children at this age actually find memorization fun, during this period education involves not primarily self-expression and self-discovery, but rather the learning of facts and training in basic thinking skills: rules of phonics and spelling and how how to use them, rules of grammar and understanding good sentence structure, poems, the vocabulary of foreign languages, the stories of history and literature, descriptions of plants and animals and the human body, how numbers work and the basics of mathematical thinking."1

1 Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2016), 13-14.

3-6 Curriculum

“You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself.” -Galileo Galilei

Logic Stage:

"Somewhere around fourth or fifth grade, children begin to think more analytically, Middle-school students are less interested in finding out facts than in asking, 'Why?' The second phase of the classical education, the 'logic stage,' is a time when the child begins to pay attention to cause and effect, to the relationships among different fields of knowledge, to the way facts fit together into a logical framework. A student is ready for the logic stage when the capacity for abstract thought begins to mature. During these years, the student begins the study of algebra and applies mathematical reasoning to real-life situations. She studies the rules of logic, and begins to apply logic to all academic subjects. The logic of writing, for example, includes paragraph construction and support of a thesis; the logic of reading involves the criticism and analysis of texts, not simple absorption of information; the logic of history demands that the student find out why the War of 1812 was fought, rather than simply reading its story; the logic of science requires the child to learn and apply the scientific method."1

1 Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2016), 13-14.

7-8 Curriculum

"It is absurd that a man should be ashamed of an inability to defend himself with his limbs, but not ashamed of an inability to defend himself with speech and reason: for the use of rational speech is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs." -Aristotle

Rhetoric Stage:

"The final phase of a classical education, the 'rhetoric stage,' builds on the first two. At this point, the high-school student learns to write and speak with force and originality. The student of rhetoric applies the rules of logic learned in middle school to the foundational information learned in the early grades and expresses her conclusions in clear, forceful, elegant language. The student also begins to specialize in whatever branch of knowledge attracts her; these are the years for art camps, college courses, foreign travel, apprenticeships, and other forms of specialized training."1

1 Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2016), 13-14.

9-12 Curriculum

"For the sole true end of education is simply this: to teach men how to learn for themselves; and whatever instruction fails to do this is effort spent in vain.” -Dorothy L. Sayers

Senior Capstone

The Senior Capstone is the culmination of a scholar's educational path at John Adams Academy. Consisting of three main parts, (the Senior Service Project, the Senior Thesis & Defense, and the Senior Speech,) the capstone allows scholars to demonstrate the extent to which they have internalized the educational vision of John Adams Academy. During their senior year, scholars take a "Senior Capstone" course to provide sufficient time, training, and support as they seek to produce what should be the finest work of their academic career. A brief description of each element of the Senior Capstone is provided below:

Senior Service Project:

The Senior Service Project, which is planned, coordinated, and executed by the scholar, displays the scholar's commitment to Servant Leadership. Scholars showcase their Creativity and Entrepreneurial Spirit by identifying a need in their community, and attempting to address it through a targeted project. Additional academy core values are on display as scholars regularly demonstrate Public and Private Virtue, an Appreciation of our National Heritage, and an Abundance Mentality as they carry out their projects. Scholars actively strive to Build a Culture of Greatness by freely giving of their time, talents, and energies to improve the lives of those around them.

Senior Thesis and Defense:

The Senior Thesis, a 15-20 page academic thesis which critically engages one or more of the classics a scholar has encountered at John Adams Academy, is a concrete demonstration of the High Standards of Academic Excellence to which all John Adams Academy Scholars are held. Scholars are expected to formulate a meaningful question of fundamental importance to mankind for research, conduct the necessary investigations to adequately answer the question, and then present the findings of their investigation in a logically sound, rhetorically persuasive paper. The oral communication skills of the scholar are also displayed, as the argument of the thesis must be verbally defended by the scholar in front of a panel of faculty members. In addition to allowing scholars to display their commitment to High Standards of Academic Excellence, the senior thesis is also the crowning example of John Adams Academy's commitment to Scholar Empowered Learning, as scholars are provided with an opportunity to dive deeply into a topic of their choosing and independently synthesize the knowledge they have acquired during their time at the academy into a cohesive whole. 

Senior Speech:

The Senior Speech, a 10-15 minute inspirational speech on what a scholar has learned during their time at John Adams Academy, is prepared and delivered by all departing seniors. The speech takes place in front of a collection of scholars, faculty and staff, and community members invited to attend by the scholars. Scholars are encouraged to view the opportunity as an act of statesmanship, by which they are to inspire those in attendance to become better members of their families, communities, organizations, and country.

"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." -Joseph Brodsky

Keep Books:

As part of their studies at John Adams Academy, scholars are given personal copies, or “keep books” of some of the classics read in their courses. It is the hope of the faculty and staff at John Adams Academy that these books will form the core of the scholars’ own classical library that will continue to grow as they engage in lifelong learning. Scholars are typically given two keep books per year through their elementary school years, and up to two books per class during their secondary studies. All keep books are selected by the Director of Curriculum in consultation with department heads and are given to every scholar who attends the academy. The core keep books per grade are as follows:

Kindergarten

• Little Red Hen
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit

1st Grade

• Children’s Book of Virtues

2nd Grade

• Little House in the Big Woods
• The Courage of Sarah Noble

3rd Grade

• Charlotte’s Web
• Because of Winn Dixie

4th Grade

• Cricket in Times Square
• By the Great Horn Spoon

5th Grade

• Little Women
• The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

6th Grade

• Julius Caesar
• The Trojan War

7th Grade ELA

• Beowulf the Warrior
• Henry V

7th Grade History

• Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
• Magna Charta

8th Grade ELA

• Animal Farm
• To Kill a Mockingbird

8th Grade History

• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

9th Grade ELA

• The Iliad
• Macbeth

10th Grade History

• The Prince
• Beginnings of Rome
• Selected Works of Cicero

10th Grade ELA

• Divine Comedy
• Richard II

11th Grade History

• Man’s Search for Meaning
• Uncle Tom's Cabin

11th Grade ELA

• The Scarlet Letter
• The Great Gatsby

12th Grade History

• Abolition of Man
• Plato’s Republic
• Democracy in America

12th Grade ELA

• Hamlet
• The Odyssey