Next year’s WHS seniors will be offered a new humanities course option called The Global Citizen, designed and taught by English Teacher Ms. Bailey Verdone and Social Studies Teacher Mr. Antony Farag. This two-period block course will fulfill the 12th-grade English requirement and social studies elective.
Unlike the freshman humanities class and junior American Studies course, this class will have a higher focus, said Verdone. It will delve more deeply into new topics such as Eastern literature, while also preparing seniors for college with a unit on life changes. Farag said that while creating this new course, he and Verdone put themselves in the shoes of students and recalled the information they wished they had known going into college and the workforce.
During the class there will be a lot of interactive technology and collaborative projects. An iPad cart will allow students to use Twitter, Google Classroom, podcasts and videos to replicate what students are now doing on the internet.
In his visit to WHS last week, New Jersey Commissioner of Education David C. Hespe said he thought the class was “a great idea,” adding that it “gives students exposure to the greater world that they live in using a number of different types of vehicles.” The Global Citizen will be available for next year’s senior class of 2017.
Junior Sarah Schneider said: “I think it is going to be an engaging class because both Ms. Verdone and Mr. Farag have very positive attitudes and fun ways of teaching. I really look forward to taking it.”