Nampa Classical Academy
Curriculum Overview
All students will participate in a common core of learning that will fulfill the school's vision and mission to develop a strong intellectual foundation, a strong moral compass and virtuous, productive citizen leaders who are capable of thinking and communicating their ideas. Nampa Classical Academy curriculum will be based on the Hillsdale Academy Education Model and will avoid textbooks that have been subject to over-simplification, historical revisionism and an obsessive focus on real and imaginary problems of American society. In all grades a special emphasis will be placed on moral development and the development of Western Civilization and American Liberty.
The liberal arts are the great ideas that shape our culture, and preserve the very best that has ever been thought, said, or accomplished throughout history. Predominately found in writings, the liberal arts also include other artistic works such as music and painting; great works that have contributed to the development and growth of society.
The ultimate goal of a liberal arts education is knowledge, skill and wisdom; an understanding of how to live a life that contributes to the overall good of society. The best approach to gaining a liberal arts education is through exposure to the great men and women who have promoted these ideas throughout the centuries. This cannot be effectively done through a textbook. To learn from Aristotle, Plato, and Locke, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and others, one must read their works, follow their line of reasoning, and study their great debates and experience with them their struggles and their triumphs. At Nampa Classical Academy, students will learn from the greatest minds to ever influence mankind in the arts, the sciences, mathematics, and other disciplines of learning.
A Liberal Arts Education does not differentiate learning by subject; rather, it is based on the philosophy that the mastery of one subject is incomplete without the mastery of others. Therefore, while one is learning American history they should study the literature, scientific and mathematical discoveries of the same era. This enables the student to trace the development of ideas through history, discovering how they impacted all areas of study and shaped the development of civilization. At Nampa Classical Academy, we accomplish this through our core classes, where our students spend the majority of the day implementing the liberal arts style of learning.
Liberal Arts students also master the skills necessary for personal and civil freedom gained through scholarship and application. At Nampa Classical Academy, we focus on six specific skills: reading, writing, computation, communicating, thinking, and personal skills. Just as we do not separate subjects of study, we do not discriminate where skills should be practiced. For example, the skill of computation includes the ability to solve problems and justify (proof). These are not reserved for math and science alone, but are essential for evaluating history or writing an essay. In like manner, reading is just as important for understanding mathematics as it is for literature.
Our students will learn to:
- Develop tools for learning;
- Develop oral, written, and rhetoric skills;
- Use knowledge and skills, think logically, and solve problems related to mathematics, and sound decision making;
- Have a working understanding of the scientific method to promote responsible use of scientific information;
- Develop written, listening and rhetoric skills in a non-native language;
- Participate in a comprehensive program of community service that reflects responsible citizens in a democratic society and an interdependent world;
- Understand and apply the knowledge, concepts, principles, and themes embedded in each of the social science--history, geography, civics, and economics;
- Develop the love of learning;
In keeping with Nampa Classical Academy's mission, we recognize that education is more than the assimilation of facts. Proficiency in a discipline means that the learner becomes a capable practitioner and has a sufficient foundation to pursue advanced study. Nampa Classical Academy emphasizes both the acquisition and application of knowledge for the use and understanding of other foreign subjects.
The subjects that make up the curriculum are listed and briefly discussed below. Traditional core curriculum areas; language, history, mathematics and science remain strongly emphasized. The core curriculum will be enhanced with a second language and the fine arts as resources allow.
