Diploma Program Course Content: Science
When you think about science, think about sorting this subject into two categories: organic and inorganic. High school students need exposure to both. From our point of view, they need three units to graduate. The first two courses typically come in the form of biology which satisfies the organic category and physical science which satisfies the inorganic category. These two courses are foundational to what follows.
The trajectory of study often goes like this:
Inorganic: earth science (often taken in 8th grade); physical science; chemistry; physics.
Organic: biology; anatomy and physiology; advanced biology. In place of advanced biology, some students take botany or marine biology.
Be aware that math associates strongly with inorganic science. You’ll need Algebra 2 to do well in Chemistry. It will definitely be needed in physics. Students who are science/math oriented may take more than one science course at the same time.
Many colleges will want to know that you took at least one lab-based science course so don’t ignore doing the experiments included in most textbooks. You don’t have to do all of them. Do just enough of them so the course may be called lab-based.
So what if your student is not drawn to the sciences? Don’t worry too much about it. I say too much because if he or she moves forward into college, they will need to face science as part of their general education requirement. For myself, I sweated through two chemistry classes, two physics classes, and a biology class with a lab in order to meet undergraduate requirements at the university I graduated from in California. Being an English major, I was so glad when it was over.
What about satisfying that third unit? If you don’t want your time dominated by simply reading a book and passing tests, consider doing something hands-on. Below are three ideas.
- Grow a garden. If you’re successful, you’ll find how different food can taste.
- Investigate different diet options and give some a try. Vegan, vegetarian, paleo all have their advocates. Learn about the nutrition behind each one. Cook some meals and see how you feel. Plus, you can find quite a bit of video content on Netflix and Amazon to make the courses come alive.
- Delve into the medicine/science related to an activity you’re involved in. I had one student who learned how to treat minor injuries related to a competitive sport he was really good at. He was good enough to be on payroll where he provided instruction and tennis lessons a local club. Competence in knowing how to recognize and treat small hurts led to his being more confident as an instructor and competitive player.
In my next article we’ll take a look at the last of the four core subjects: social studies.
Thanks for reading!
Curt Bumcrot, MRE
Not doing achievement testing year but still want to formally gauge how your student is doing? The ELO Quick Assessment is an excellent way to do this at home. Available for grades 1-8 through mail or instant download.
