Pharoahs to Farmers: Critical Analysis

This week two classes of Saint David's boys went on field trips closely associated with what they have been studying this fall.

On Tuesday, our fourth graders participated in a guided tour of the Ancient Egypt wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There, museum guides engaged the boys, inviting them to look closely at and critically analyze the works of art, often asking them open ended questions based on observation.

The boys have been studying Ancient Egypt as part of their fourth grade history course focusing on the question "What is a civilization?" Visiting the museum enabled the boys to engage visually with what they had learned in class.

In Omega, our young boys have been learning about the importance of farming. Yesterday, they visited the outdoor Farmers Market in Union Square, where they and their teachers met with the head of our catering services provider who guided our boys around the market, discussing the difference between fruits and vegetables (They were surprised to learn a red pepper is a fruit!), seasonal vegetables, and the importance of buying locally grown foods.

The boys were thrilled to select vegetables to purchase for the school's next-day lunch. Imagine their delight when they saw the sign in the lunchroom today, indicating that the soup of the day was made from their class's vegetables!

Both of these class field trips are in line with our Curriculum Initiative efforts to increase the out-of-classroom learning experiences for boys throughout all grades, in ways that enable them to make meaningful connections between in-class learning and what they see in-situ to deepen their understanding.

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