<p>Which school has a better/more well-known Humanities Program, Deerfield or Hotchkiss?</p>
<p>Well known? Really? A revisit should tell you. I was very impressed by the evidence of strong writing instruction at Taft on revisit day. I wasn’t looking for it, per se, and they weren’t pushing it; it was just very obvious from classroom observation. Impressive!</p>
<p>krao…, Currrent students who have been there and done that will have more knowledge and experience than you attending a class or two on one day, right?</p>
<p>Of course, but they may be unable to assess the “fame” of their program or compare it to a school they don’t attend. As a parent I’m particularly focused on evidence that students are coming away with key skills, among which is writing. I’d recommend asking students and faculty alike about the steps the programs take to develop students as writers.</p>
<p>Hotchkiss has a very rigorous writing program, especially for lower mids (10th grade). During the school year, the lower mids must write, and are graded on, an essay a week for, I think, 20 or so weeks.</p>
<p>Hi toombs, Do you know if the writing course is in addition to the Sophomore English course? Is it required or optional? Does one need to place into the writing course?</p>
<p>P15, the essay writing is part of every lower mid English course. Ever lower mid must take one of these English courses. No exceptions allowed, to my knowledge.</p>
<p>Hotchkiss has a Humanities program that spans for two years. If I’m not mistaken, it basically provides rigorous work in this field and gets you all your credits by the end of sophomore year.</p>
<p>Is it possible to get permission to take more than 5 courses at Deerfield or Hotchkiss?</p>
<p>How big is the Cambridge English Seminar Class at Deerfield? I know it is by departmental selection, how many do they select?</p>
<p>At Hotchkiss, yes. My son, who is now an upper mid at THS, has taken 6 courses during several semesters.</p>
<p>Deerfield, in my opinion, has a way stronger Humanities program.</p>
<p>Can someone please explain to me the Hotchkiss humanities program and what it is like coming in as a sophomore? Thanks!</p>
<p>Seeing that THS offers more courses per student than DA and has produced a much greater number of national figures in the humanities than Deerfield (e.g., Lewis Laphan. Archibald MacLeish, William Loeb, Justice Stewart Potter, Henry Luce, Paul Nitze, Robert Bork, Yale President Alfred Whitney Griswold, etc.), on what, pray tell, A-Boy, do you base your most learned opinion that DA has a “way stronger” humanities program than Hotchkiss?</p>
<p>Pu-leese, there are much more similarities between HK and Deerfield (particularly academicly) so as to make the differences slight. It is really impossible to rate one as better than the other.</p>
<p>Can someone please explain to me the Hotchkiss humanities program and what it is like coming in as a sophomore? Thanks!</p>
<p>Hotchkiss’ humanities program brings together English/Literature, History, Philosophy and an Art (Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, etc.). The Prep year covers the timeline up to 1815 and the Lower-Mid year covers from 1815 to present. There is not a “catch up” for new Lower-Mids, but I was told at the revisit that it hasn’t been an issue. Overall, the approach seems likely to encourage lateral thinking. If you think about it, each of the elements provides important context for the others.</p>
<p>The most brilliant historians think in the way that the humanities program at Hotchkiss teaches. None of these disciplines make much sense without the others.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>@pulsar15
This is a little late, but I just saw your post. Cambridge is 14 people this year, but it might change year to year, I’m not sure. Rising seniors apply and then the department chooses (this is how a few English/History classes work).</p>
<p>You can take 6 classes with one pass/fail without restriction, but to take 6 graded classes you need to have maintained an average of 90 for 3 terms at DA (so you can’t as a new student). This is supposedly because of the expected drop in your average if you’re going to be taking 6 classes, but personally I think that if you’re taking 6 classes, you should have the time management skills to deal with it anyway.</p>
<p>Also, toombs, control the flames. I think a difference in caliber between DA and Hotchkiss’ humanities would be practically nonexistent. The two schools run their programs differently, but they’re both quite strong.</p>