The Met as Classroom

Boys in Grades Four and Eight visited The Metropolitan Museum of Art last week, one of many visits that our boys in several grades make throughout the year.

As the fourth graders explored what it means to be a civilization, they visited the Egyptian Wing of the museum. There, the mummies, pyramids, Cleopatra's Needle, and all of the artifacts they encountered and discussed, deepened their understanding of that ancient civilization and helped make classroom concepts spring to life.

Our eighth graders make four trips to the Met during the year, all related to their learning in the capstone humanities course. The first, in October, focused on Greece and Rome. Last week's, introduced the boys to the Renaissance, which they will explore and research in-depth this year, with a focus on how the Renaissance thinker is relevant to our conception and definition of a good man today.

This study will culminate in the Eighth Grade Spring Study Tour of Rome, Florence and Assisi, where the boys will see works by several of the masters, like Giotto, whom they were introduced to on Friday.

Enabling our boys to learn in ways that break down the walls of the classroom is a priority at Saint David's. We are fortunate by our location to be able to avail of the great campus that is New York City and we collaborate thoughtfully with a multitude of cultural, scientific, and educational institutions.

Whether it be The Met, the Native American Museum, The Frick, The American Museum of Natural History, The Rubin, the N-Y Historical Society, the Gilder Institute of American History or DNALC, our boys are out and about, not just to "get out of the classroom" but because we've carefully integrated such visits to extend their learning and broaden their minds.

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