Philosophy

The Humanities Workshop—a consortium of public, private, and charter secondary school communities—believes in the critical importance of the humanities in addressing urgent social issues. The humanities offers our students dwelltime to understand historical context, engage in perspective taking, hone critical thinking, and generate narrative.  We believe a humanistic approach to social issues develops empathy in our students, inspiring them to engage deeply in the world around them, now and in the future, with their whole selves.

Goals

The Humanities Workshop exists to achieve these goals:

How We Work

TEACHER TEAMS

Each of our consortium schools forms a team of teachers who work in the humanities and the arts. By collaborating with others, our teachers have the opportunity to experience new perspectives from other fields in the humanities, build rewarding relationships with their colleagues in a new context, and deepen their practice with feedback from their peers.

SETTING A THEME

Our consortium teachers come together to decide the theme for the Workshop’s cycle. The theme sets the tone for our work and requires our students to interact with the most challenging issues that now face our society and local communities.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Our consortium teachers integrate the theme for the cycle into their curriculum for at least one unit of the academic year. By focusing on collaboration, iteration, and disciplinary practices, our teachers strive to create authentic learning experiences for all of the students in the consortium.

EXHIBITION

Each Workshop cycle culminates with a curated exhibition. The exhibition creates a dialogue between the work of our students and the community in which they live. We see this experience as the first step on the path towards meaningful civic engagement.