Hey Folks,
Two years ago, I initiated this
Archmere Night School idea, a fun way for parents to experience the excellent teachers their kids have every day. Offering topics from the Archmere curriculum or something of special interest to the instructor, the teachers volunteering to teach these classes enjoy sharing what they know. Why should your kids get all the good stuff?
Below is the entire list of courses from which you can choose over two nights (11/11 and 11/13). Take advantage of this unique learning experience. People really enjoyed this two years ago, and I am sure they–YOU–will again. Please
register and get others to join in, too!
ARCHMERE NIGHT SCHOOL
Tuesday, November 11
Class: Personal Integrity and Social Expectations: A Reading of Sophocles’ Antigone
Description: In the final installment of this Greek trilogy (which begins with Oedipus Rex), readers watch Antigone, Oedipus’ daughter, defy the law. Characters and readers wrestle with which side is right. Download play at ?????
Teacher: Kezia Wolf
Location: SNH 208
Time: 7-8:30PM
Maximum number of students: 20
Class: Jungian Archetypes & Male Spirituality
Description: This course will explore the varieties of masculinities of contemporary American men and their implications for Christian Spirituality. It will place specific emphasis on the major archetypes (King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover) of Carl Jung and their importance for understanding the identity and behavior of men.
Teacher: Michael Burdziak
Location: SNH 116
Time: 7-8:30PM
Maximum number of students: 20
Class: Teenage Parenting 101?–A Close Look at Desire and Control in Tillie Olsen’s “I Stand Here Ironing”
Description: Tillie Olsen’s 1961 story “I Stand Here Ironing” is standard fare in short fiction anthologies. This seminar will discuss the themes of parental control and desire in the context of parental duty. We will consider the narrator’s motivations, regrets, and wishes for her children and in what ways those resonate (or do not resonate) with us as parents.
Teacher: John Jordan
Location: SNH 211
Time: 7-8PM
Maximum number of students: 16
Class: Rugby? That’s like football without pads, right?
Description: This 90-minute course will attempt to de-mystify what is now one of the fastest growing sports in the country. We’ll talk about the history of the sport, it’s relationship to American football, and of course, watch some game footage.
Teacher: Andrew Cocco
Location: SNH 209
Time: 7-8:30PM
Maximum number of students: 20
Class: Counting to Infinity
Description: Come hear the strange story of the Hilbert Hotel, where there’s always a vacancy, even when every room is occupied. Learn about the bizarre world that lies beyond the finite, and answer the question, “Are some infinities infinit-ier than others?”
Teacher: Ethan Levine
Location: SNH 203
Time: 7-8PM
Maximum number of students: 22
Class: A Tour of the Patio
Description: We will discuss the history of the building, its inspirational design and significance, and include conversation about the Raskob family that formerly lived in the home.
Teacher: Michael Marinelli
Location: The Patio
Time: 7-9:00PM
Maximum number of students: 15
Class: Pope Francis and the Evolving Catholic Church
Description: This course will provide a survey of the career of Pope Francis. We will dive into his life, focusing on his major encyclicals, revolutionized actions identifying the Catholic Church with the poorest of poor, and his love for living out a life like Christ, liberating all peoples.
Teacher: Tom Mengers
Location: SNH 119
Time: 7-8:30PM (also offered same time and place on Thursday, November 13)
Maximum number of students: 20
Class: Improv to Scripts – Using Theatre Games as a Conduit to Creativity
Description: Using improvisation games (as seen on shows like Whose Line is it Anyway?) to develop an original script or scene. The class will teach basic improv skills first, then use those skills to build and develop scenes. A good skill for breaking out of any writer’s block. No acting talent needed!
Teacher: Brian Manelski
Location: Archmere Theater
Time: 7-9PM
Maximum number of students: no maximum
Class: Create Your Own Glass Tiles
Description: The process of creating a design, cutting glass, assembling, and then firing the tiles will be the focus of the class. Students will have one square foot of glass to use as the sub-surface. Their work will be fired, ready for critique in two days. I would recommend that students have a working design ready for discussion at the beginning of class. Students will pick up their tiles on Thursday.
Teacher: Hoffman
Location: Manor
Time: 7-9PM
Maximum number of students: 10
Class: Diagramming Sentences and the Objectivity of Grammar
Description: Gain a deeper of understanding of the sentences you read and write by breaking down them down into their discrete pieces. Bring paper and pencil.
Teacher: Tim Dougherty
Location: SNH 206
Time: 7-8:30
Maximum number of students: 20
Thursday, November 13
Class: Pope Francis and the Evolving Catholic Church
Description: This course will provide a survey of the career of Pope Francis. We will dive into his life, focusing on his major encyclicals, revolutionized actions identifying the Catholic Church with the poorest of poor, and his love for living out a life like Christ, liberating all peoples.
Teacher: Tom Mengers
Location: SNH 119
Time: 7-9 PM (also offered same time and place on Tuesday, November 11)
Maximum number of students: 20
Class: The Higgs Boson for Poets: Why Were We Searching For it and What Does it Mean?
Description: The Higgs field and the Higgs boson are recent discoveries from CERN about the deep weirdness of ordinary matter. We’ll discuss bosons and fields, as well as exotic modern physics: spin, antimatter, quantum uncertainty, matter-energy equivalence, etc. Just concepts, no math, and no recollection of high-school physics is required!
Teacher: Jillian Waldman
Location: S12
Time: 7-8:30PM
Maximum number of students: 15
Class: Happy Hour with Watercolor
Description: Eliminate your day’s stress through the magical, transcendental medium of watercolor. Former Delaware Art Educator of the Year Terry Newitt takes you on his spirited “guided tour.”
No experience needed. Watercolor-wash all your cares away. All materials provided.
Teacher: Terry Newitt
Location: Manor 011
Time: 7-9PM
Maximum number of students: 10
Class: What the Heck are Google Docs and How Do I Use Them?
Description: Students will get a brief description about the various uses for Google Docs; discussion will address the specific needs of the participants.
Teacher: Michael Johnson
Location: SNH 008
Time: 7-8:30PM
Maximum number of students: 15
Class: Violence, Fairy Tales and Rock & Roll
Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”: Violence, Fairy Tales and Rock & Roll
Description: We will explore ways of reading Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” a short story we teach in several of our senior electives. It’s an unsettling, suspenseful story, first published in 1966, that can open up discussions about gender and teenagers, about the blend of fact and fiction, about the influence of popular culture. We’ll dive into the story, and the class will be a discovery process. In a broader sense, though, we will also talk about the variety of ways we can read stories and the ways stories can relate to our lives.
Teacher: Mr. Steve Klinge
Location: SNH 211
Length: 7-8:30
Maximum number of students: 15
Class: Revolutionize Your Writing
Description: Learn a variety of sentence patterns that can improve the pace, the structure, the voice, and the impact of your writing.
Teacher: Tim Dougherty
Location: SNH 206
Time: 7-9PM
Maximum number of students: 20