A few weeks ago, an anonymous survey was sent out to the student body asking questions surrounding their favorite class they haven taken at DA. Below are the most common answers from the 55 responses we received.
Honors Environmental Science – Mr Emerson & Mr. Calhoun
11th & 12th Grade: Students will investigate recent anthropogenic climate change, agriculture systems, and comparative biomes while taking advantage of the deciduous forest ecosystem in our backyard.
“It made me look at the natural world with a clearer lens in terms of the science behind it as well as the policy making when it comes to solving the climate crisis and making the right decisions.”
“The course was really engaging and focused on concepts that have everyday implications. We also went on a lot of field trips.”
Accelerated Biology – Mrs. Washburn
11th Grade: Accelerated Biology is a comprehensive introductory survey course organized around the eight characteristics of life.
“Mrs. Washburn makes bio so interesting, and I love the group of students in my class. She is always willing to answer our questions, and we get to do a lot of labs.”
Ethics – Mr. Flaska
9th, 10th, & 11th Grade: In Ethics, students will explore to what extent our ethical understandings are shaped by our identities and life experiences.
“It was always engaging and fun. We would talk about interesting topics, and I feel like I learned a lot from these discussions. The class also went on a few field trips which were fun and unique to this class.”
“It was an inclusive, discussion based class in which I felt supported by my teacher and peers.”
U.S. China Relations – Dr. Friends
11th & 12th Grade: This 10-topic policy course investigates US-China diplomacy in the context of China’s major domestic and international priorities from the Cold War to today.
“The class managed to cover a variety of topics that provided a comprehensive look at this very current and important relationship between these two nations in an interesting manner.”
“It is a summation of all of my interests and passions. I love international relations, and I love specifically studying China and its relations to the world, whether that be through economics, conflict, human rights, etc. The course was holistic and covered not only U.S.-China relations but relations with and situations of surrounding countries too like ASEAN countries [the ten Southeast Asian states] and Taiwan. Dr. Friends is an incredible teacher and I’ve had her for two years. She engages with her students heavily, pushes them to do their best work, and genuinely loves her job. Dr. Friends has been my favorite teacher for the entirety of my time at Deerfield and she has inspired me to pursue an international relations major in college with the hopes of working in diplomacy.”
Africa and Latin America History – previously Dr. Baker, currently Ms. Batchelor
9th & 10th Grade: Using literature and a rich variety of historical sources, this course studies the cultural, political, and economic consequences of colonialism in selected countries in Africa and Latin America.
“Super interesting content; Dr. Baker was a great teacher that loved what he was teaching. I could sense he had a real deep emotional connection with the content.”
“Dr. Baker was a phenomenal teacher. He engaged us well and left behind all kinds of knowledge about the world.”
Defining Literary Traditions – Ms. Matouk, Mr. Romick, Ms. Hodge, & Ms. Westman
10th Grade: Tenth-grade English emphasizes critical reading, and study literature derived from the British tradition.
“I enjoyed it because I learned so much from a wide variety of topics while having a very fun time. Ms. Westman is so engaging and is not overly aggressive with the work that she assigns us, yet makes us work hard nonetheless. Everything we do benefits us in some way; there is no busy work. She has helped me grow so much as a writer and a literary analyzer. She is also such a sweet and incredible human as well.”