The science program in Medici Classical supported schools follows a pattern of one full year of Earth Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. With the repeating pattern of aligning 3rd to 7th and 11th grades and 4th to 8th and 12th grades and so on, students spend a full year in Chemistry three times in their time at a Classical K-12 school.
Exposing 3rd graders to a full year of Chemistry raised some eyebrows. Teachers that have followed the Medici Classical model have been surprised at the excitement 8-year-olds have toward chemical reactions, states of matter, and the periodic table.
All the concepts covered in state end-of-year assessments are integrated into the full-year immersions found in the Classical model. Refreshers during testing years are embedded in the curriculum mapping to ensure mastery is attained.
The Medici Classical Curriculum Program has built lessons around the new National Science Standards in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, and other states.
The keys to a Classical Education science program involve a heavy dose of hands-on learning, the fundamental skills of gathering data, and the ability to report on what has been learned through written, oral, and group projects. The scientific method has changed the way we find, test, and discover new advancements in the four scientific disciplines. Scholars learn about the early pioneers in science and advancements that have occurred over the ages.
Unchecked, science can be all-consuming. Our science program prompts the students to have big debates around advancements and discoveries. For every great advancement the ethical dilemmas around testing, pricing, availability, and so on are important to understand.
The unit cards, consistent with all of our other Ethos Logos subjects, outline the big areas to cover for the month. In our model, your student will see Biology three times (1st, 5th, 9th), Earth Sciences three times (2nd, 6th 10th), Chemistry three times (3rd, 7th, 11th), and Physics three times (4th, 8th, 12th). Each time concepts and content grows deeper and more nuanced.
Remaining consistent with our goal of building upon prior knowledge and exploring deeper rather than wider, by the time your scholar is in the upper grades, the debates, ethical dilemmas, and understanding of not just terms and concepts but deeper meanings behind particular scientific disciplines become more and more pronounced.
Our goal is to instill a love of science within the context of history. Every advancement or advancement is reviewed in the context of the time and place of the creation and with a perspective of today.
In our science units, we include a historical approach to help students appreciate the time, place, and culture in which scientific advancements came into existence. This contextual understanding of historic significance strengthens both their understanding of history as well as the impact inventions and scientist had on their day and our day.
The exploration of inventions, scientists, and the time and place of their introduction to mankind helps to put things we see every day in our lives into perspective. Our goal is to teach scientific topics and fundamentals but through the lens of right and wrong and the ethical implications of particular advancements.
Each unit details a group of famous scientists that spent their lives working on a particular sub-topic of science. Going back to 2500 BC or to modern times, these historic scientists give your student an up close and personal view of what these men and women dedicated their lives to. By exploring their work, the way society accepted or rejected their ideas, and how those ideas were built upon over time, we hope to make science come alive.
Science, like the arts and history, is about people, cultures, and time and place. We think that is just as important as knowing the terms and first principles of a unit.
Can we or should we blindly follow what science tells us?
Are the fields of science being pushed towards a narrative through funding?
What are the impacts of Artificial Intelligence on our society?
Can we still innovate and make advancements in the sciences as we have for the past 300 years?
What role do politics, faith, and global impact have on some of the areas we are exploring in science?
The way our society managed the CoVid19 virus has opened up a number of debates about science, politics, media, and right and wrong. Our goal in this Classical model is to introduce to our scholar historical events like the impact of the Black Plague (1343), a smallpox outbreak in Ancient Rome during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (156 AD), the Spanish Flu in WW1 (1917), and the advancement of Polio vaccines so that they can critically think about how to respond.
Scientific advancements without context and ethical discussions have the potential to destroy our society. We think exposing our students to all sides of scientific debates is important. We try to prompt the big discussion within our curriculum, both print and digital. We are careful not to lead you or your student to a conclusion but rather to present both sides so you and your student can explore all sides. We aim to help our students grapple with tough subjects and form their own judgments.
Within our workbooks, we point out some of the larger debates that occur in science. In our digital platform, we have an entire unit on the big debates of science. We include resources on both sides of an argument and question prompts that can help you review, research, analyze, debate, and present your conclusions at home.
Here are some examples of the topics we include:
Global Warming - Both Sides Of The Debate
The Atom Bomb - Is It A Deterrent Or The End Of Humanity?
Nuclear Energy - Clean And Cheap VERSUS Safety
Evolution vs Intelligent Design
Clean Energy - Does Science and Cost Work Out?
Right To Choose - Experimental Drugs An Patient Choice
Artificial Intelligence - How Do We Innovate But Have Controls?
Autonomous Vehicles - When Are We A Go?
Government Funded Research - Who Owns It?
