<p>It’s interesting to see how different schools handle the humanities. At SPS, humanities sequence (which goes through junior year) is required, and structured to provide both material and critical thinking/expression skills. Humanities is a double credit course that covers both history/social studies/religion and English. On top of that, humanities-oriented students can start taking electives in sophomore year with adequate grades or permission. The only required elective beyond the 3-year program is an additional term of ethics or religious studies. </p>
<p>My daughter has always been very strong in humanities and she was certainly challenged in this course. </p>
<p>Humanities doesn’t lend itself to the same kind of tracking as math, in my view. An earlier poster brought up the example of an incoming freshman who had already received a 5 on the AP English literature test. Reaching that kind of achievement of thought and expression requires a certain level of maturity that 14-year-olds do not bring. Humanities isn’t something that you can master just by learning the material or reading the right books; it’s something that takes time spent in writing, thought and discussion. Moreover, it’s a subject where a good high school level teacher can get each student to challenge themselves regardless of their level. I just don’t think that any student entering a rigorous boarding school as a freshman or sophomore would be too “bored” by 9th or 10th grade-level humanities.</p>