Our Interdisciplinary Approach
At Rise Out, we do not offer year-long classes with boring titles like "Biology I," "Survey of U.S. History," or "Western Civilization." Our classes operate on six 6-week terms and have titles like "1492," "Science Fiction and Social Issues," "Red State/Blue State," "The Cold War," "Scientific Ethics," "Introduction to Linguistics," and "Writing Fanfiction." (See a full list of what we’ve done in the past.) We cover the traditional high school curriculum, but we do it more efficiently by arranging topics thematically and chronologically, and by incorporating many different skills and content areas into each course. Students read poetry in their history classes, make art in their science classes, and discuss logic in writing classes.
The majority of colleges expect high schoolers to take 4 years of English, 3 years of science, 2-3 years of social studies, 2-4 years of foreign language, 1-2 years of fine art, and math through Algebra II. Most states also require students (including homeschoolers) to take P.E. and health. Rise Out does not offer math or foreign language, but we offer classes in all other subjects.
SOCIAL STUDIES
There are many extracurricular programs and even whole-school academies devoted to students with talents in STEM subjects, sports, and the arts. But students interested in history are often brushed aside. Under No Child Left Behind, social studies was an untested subject at the high school level, which made it almost an afterthought in many public schools after the year 2000.
That is not true here. Social studies is the backbone of Rise Out's programming. History and politics are what we do. All of our courses -- even those in science and the arts -- have a social justice focus, and all of them are global in nature. As an organization based in the United States we do prioritize the American experience, but we put it in its international context and include a diversity of perspectives. For example:
We teach the American Revolution alongside the French and Haitian Revolutions, which were happening at the same point in history; all three reflect Enlightenment ideals.
In our "1492" class we spend 12 weeks exploring how this single year was experienced around the globe. We begin in East Asia, which was the most powerful part of the world at the time, followed by study of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, the Songhai Empire in West Africa, the Aztecs and Inca in South America, and Spain and Portugal in Europe.
Our "Immigration in America" class includes study of the Irish experience in the 19th century, the Mexican-American War, Italian and Jewish experiences in the early 20th century, Japanese internment camps during WWII, the post-1965 generation, and Muslim experiences after 9/11.
PLEASE NOTE: Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, history classes will be taught chronologically and may come with prerequisites.
SCIENCE
Rise Out is excited to partner with Wild Hearts Education to add science content to our programming, with a special focus on environmental biology. As an organization committed to social justice, Rise Out believes that climate change and climate justice will be key issues that students face in the coming decades. With the arguable exception of avoiding nuclear war, no generation has confronted a challenge as grand or as daunting as the one that current teenagers have before them.
Rather than study biology, chemistry, and physics as distinct school subjects with haphazardly overlapping content, science education at Rise Out begins with our adaptation of the Big History curriculum. In keeping with the "Physics First" philosophy, freshmen in their first trimester study the history of the universe from the Big Bang through the formation of the earth and the solar system. Big History 1 offers an overview of elementary physics, astronomy, chemistry, and geology. In the second trimester, Big History 2, students learn about the beginning of life and human evolution through the development of the first agrarian civilizations. This class offers an overview of elementary biology and ecology. In both classes they will learn about the history of science and scientific discovery and make connections between the role that science and technology have played in political and economic history. No math is required at this level.
Wild Hearts science courses will be led by Alyssa Hartson, an educator and outdoor professional who has been working with youth for over a decade. The first course in this sequence, Wilderness Philosophies, introduces students to environmental biology and high school-level lab science, and encourages students to think critically and urgently about the environment and humans' place within it.
Additional classes will be added in the future in subjects such as scientific ethics, climate justice, biochemistry, oceanography, and the science and politics of global food production.
Students who begin taking Rise Out science classes in 9th grade will have completed 3 years (including 2 with lab) by the end of 11th grade. This meets the science requirement for most colleges, but those who want to apply to highly selective schools will have 12th grade free to take math-heavy classes such as AP Physics.
ENGLISH
In a traditional high school, "English" is taught separately from other subjects. We do not do that here; our literature program is incorporated in our history and science programs. Students read Animal Farm when they study the Cold War; To Kill a Mockingbird when they study segregation and Jim Crow; The Diary of Anne Frank when they study World War II and the Holocaust; Braiding Sweetgrass when they study Wilderness Philosophies. We also include film, poetry, art, and drama in our history and science classes.
We offer additional courses in research and composition, book clubs and independent reading options, and self-paced modules to help students master essential elements of grammar.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Unlike school-based P.E. programs, our focus is on helping students develop individualized fitness plans. As a homeschooler you are not limited to running laps around the gym! You can study martial arts, take up parkour, or get credit for swimming, skiing, or skateboarding. And because health includes much more than exercise, we plan to add modules in cooking, nutrition, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.
ART
Finally, art is threaded through many of our core subjects. We recognize that many students who take Rise Out classes are already gifted artists and have no need for additional instruction in this area. But for those who do not have such a background, our classes in nature drawing and art history are an accessible way to earn fine arts credit (even for folks who don't think of themselves as "artsy").
More importantly, blending art into history and science classes encourages students to develop a respect for beauty and design. It is easier to understand the scientific accomplishments of Charles Darwin or Leonardo da Vinci if you can appreciate their artistic gifts and their attention to detail; likewise, it is easier to appreciate the historical importance of what is now modern-day Mali, in West Africa, if you understand the art and architecture behind the Middle Ages mosques that residents there still work to preserve.