Speyer’s Elective Program

Elective classes are an essential piece of a Speyer education, as it provides our students with an opportunity to drive their learning experience. Perhaps they want to explore a new topic or challenge themselves further by examining an area they are already well versed and interested in. Regardless of their path, the Elective Program at Speyer is an exciting way to deepen their learning and pursue their passions.

Our Middle School faculty design these courses with our school mission at the center, recognizing ways in which they are able to tap into the needs of our gifted learners through these experiences as well as share their own passions with students they may not have in class. In some elective classes students are afforded the opportunity to examine a topic more extensively, be exposed to new ideas and concepts, or unwind by participating in a hobby that allows them to recharge after a long and rigorous day. 

Elective classes, which meet two times in the six-day cycle, give students a say in their curriculum, with their choice of an elective. Some electives are per semester, while others may be a year-long intensive option. Our Middle School elective offerings have included everything from Programming Explorations to Social Justice, Women in History to Rock Band, Odyssey of the Mind to Weaving. A Speyer student might work on publishing a literary magazine one semester and learn the ancient game of Go in the next.

To give you a better understanding of our Elective Program, below you will find more detailed information on just a few of the electives we offered our students in prior years.

Community Outreach 
The Community Outreach Elective is a student-led organization, which offers its members opportunities to provide service, build character, and develop leadership. These opportunities are done through various events and numerous initiatives during the course of the school year, including hosting movie nights, the Speyer Shout Out program, and more.

Critical Game(r) Theory: Games in Art, Design, and Society  
This elective will be both a survey of critical theory surrounding interactive media and a practical in exploring the strategic space set up by successful game scenarios. Are games entertainment or art? Is that a meaningful question to ask? How do new economic models affect the potential for artistry in interactive media? What makes some board games last for generations and others fizzle out over a year? Do games impact society in new ways or do they play the same role entertainment always has? How do we create space for strategy and creativity within the same set of rules? In this elective, students conduct a brief anthropological survey of gaming from ancient times to modern day. Paying special attention to interactive media since the 1980's, they explore the divergence in genres, the move from niche to mainstream, and the interactions between electronic gaming and traditional pen, paper, and tabletop games. Along the way, they play a number of games that are either historically important, uniquely successful in setting up a particular strategic situation, or exemplify an area of great artistic merit. They also pay attention to non-electronic games which combine art, strategy, and theory or play with the distinction between the competitive versus cooperative nature of games and social dynamics created by them.

Rock Band
In this elective, students make music with the guitar, bass guitar, keyboards and drums. Students will learn to sing lead, background and ensemble vocals. They perform rock standards, explore improvisation, and compose original rock and pop compositions. The ultimate goal of the course is twofold: to perform in front of an audience and to record our original works in the studio. In this course, the students not only learn the discipline required to make music, they also learn the importance and joy of working together as a team. 

Life’s Little Mysteries: A Speyer Podcast Series
“All’s fair in love and war” - or is it? Does “time heal all wounds’?  Should Goldilocks be in jail? Is Goofy a dog? How much wood can a woodchuck actually chuck? Are smartphones making us smarter? From logic puzzles to legends and lore, students discuss, unpack, and try to solve some of life’s little mysteries. In this elective, students take on the roles of detective, historian, proponent, critic and judge through a variety of thought experiments and activities designed to encourage empathy, advocacy, and the examination of new perspectives.  The group works toward recording a series of Podcasts on their favorite topics, using techniques and formats from successful Podcast series.

Ethics, Empathy, and Genocide
Philosophy is said to consist of three basic questions: What exists? How do we know? How should we behave? This last question is the foundation of Ethics and is concerned with what is good for individuals and society. In this elective we will ask what “good” means. In this elective, students investigate how different schools of thought approach the decision-making process and explore whether the outcome of an action, the motivation behind the action or perhaps or something else entirely drives the “goodness” of an action. They will wrestle with these issues through the lens of a truly traumatic and real event, the Holocaust. They will learn what happened, and how, and then consider some difficult ethical dilemmas that arose and think about how various ethical schools of thought might have responded. They will also wonder how such a massive lapse of ethical judgement could have happened but also see that there were some, Rescuers, who retained a moral dignity and goodness despite, or perhaps in response to the situation. Ethics isn’t easy. It doesn’t always give a clear answer or even only one answer. But a study of ethics should help us to pinpoint what our points of disagreement are. Furthermore, because the heart of ethics is a concern for something other than ourselves, it should help hone empathy and the ability to see different points of view.  This course is intense and real. Participants should be ready to dive deep into difficult materials, but always with hope and the understanding that we must learn so that future mistakes can be avoided. 

Hip Hop History
Many have heard of Drake, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, and Jay Z, but Kool Herc and a group of early pioneers paved the way for these familiar Hip Hop artists. Students learn why 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, NY is an address that is synonymous with Hip Hop. Starting in the 1970s and touching on music of today, students explore the evolution of Hip Hop. Students will dive into the early beginnings of New York City Hip Hop and learn about the influence it has had on language, politics, and culture. Through the course, they analyze some of the most impactful individuals and groups that have informed Hip Hop. At the end of the semester, students present on who they deem to be the most important Hip Hop artists based on their semester long exploration.

The Dragon’s Hoard: The Speyer Literary Magazine
As a part of the Speyer Literary Magazine, The Dragon's Hoard, the members write poems, short stories, create games/puzzles and also create original works of art. They work with peers to revise and edit each other's work, and at the end of the semester, they publish the magazine and each Middle School advisory will receive one for their classroom libraries. 

National History Day 
Students flex their intellectual muscles by joining this elective and then participating in New York City History Day. They create a paper, exhibit board, performance, documentary, or website to display their research on your chosen topic. Students receive guidance from Speyer faculty members in gaining research skills that will help them prepare for this competition (and then these skills will continue to serve them well through high school, college, and beyond). On the first Sunday in March, students present their work to a panel of judges as they compete against students from across the city. This competition is a great day and if they win, they will move on to the state, then perhaps, national competition.

The Ancient Game of Go
The Game of Go originated in China more than 5000 years ago. Although the mechanics of the game are very simple -- players take turns placing circular stones on a grid -- the strategies for winning are monumentally complex. Over the centuries, many deep thinkers have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of Go's challenges and secrets.  This elective is open to both novice players and experienced ones. Students gain strength not only through the experience of playing the game, but also by practicing techniques ranging from the ancient to the very modern. Go teaches a student to compete both vigorously and honorably. By tradition, a player must maintain fighting spirit, but balance it with respect for the effort and the feelings of one's opponent.

All About Soccer
Soccer, football, fútbol. This elective is dedicated to the most popular sport worldwide. Students learn about the rules and history of the game, analyze team strategies and personal styles, and unlock the keys to its secret language, from Brazil's jogo bonito, to Barcelona's tiki taka and the Netherlands' total football. Students will have the opportunity to track and discuss their favorite teams and players; design their own game plan and tactics; write game reports; and collaborate and learn from each other. By watching documentaries and discussing historic games we will tackle important questions like "Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar?"; "What is positional play?" and "What is the most effective defensive strategy?" This elective is ideal for soccer players and fans and for the soccer-curious.

Theater Design Workshop 
Theatrical Design Workshop allows students to explore all areas of design for the stage. They learn the processes used to design the sets, lights and costumes for theatrical productions. Theatrical Design Workshop explores the history of theater design, how to interpret the script toward visual imagery and metaphor and techniques and skills needed to communicate our ideas. From reading the script, defining the visual language of design to model making and costume rendering, students work independently and collaboratively to envision and execute designs for plays and musical performances. This class is ideal for students interested in digging deeper into art, history, theater, architecture, fashion, and literature.

E=MC2 
Almost everyone has probably heard of the equation E=MC2. This elective launches into exploring what it means, starting with viewing the video "Darwin’s Big Idea" (based on the excellent David Bodanis book E=MC2: A Biography of the World’s Most Important Equation) getting acquainted, in a hands-on way, with the work of some of the scientists (Faraday, Lavoisier, duChatelet, etc) who contributed to making this equation. This leads students into the heart of the atom, nuclear chemistry, and radioactivity. What is radioactivity? How does it work? How does it affect the world? This nuclear chemistry serves as a foundation for further work in chemistry, based on student interest.

Perspectives through the Foreign Lens 
In this elective, students critically analyze different genres of film (documentaries, shorts, drama, etc.) from around the world as a platform to discuss current and recent historical events and explore what social commentary the filmmaker or photographer is making. They watch works that question the standards and mores of society and ask: Can film be an effective means of actively challenging injustice?

Odyssey of the Mind
Students who are aspiring engineers, technologists, thespians, and creative STEAMers are ideal members of the Odyssey of the Mind teams. Speyer assembled a team of creative thinkers who are willing and able to commit to this elective for the whole school year. The objective: to participate in the NY State Tournament this spring.The mission is to choose one of five long-term problems and solve it in an unique, fun, and collaborative way while maintaining a strict budget. Collaboration, creativity, ingenuity, grit, and a love of fun are key skills to bring to and develop.

Historical Fiction Book Club
It has been said that historical fiction tells stories of ordinary people living in extraordinary times, and of extraordinary people living in ordinary times. The voices of the past can teach us a lot about our lives today. In this elective, students read historical fiction novels as a group and explore the era in which the books take place to identify with other voices and cultures.

Dance
Over the course of the semester, students learn about different styles of dance. As an intro to each style of dance, students learn about the style's history as well as some prominent people and influences, which then are followed by learning a combination. Throughout the semester, students also research a choreographer or dancer of their choice. The elective ends with students choreographing their own dance and performing it for the class.

Table Tennis 
Learn the exciting, dynamic and strategic sport of table tennis. The American Youth Table Tennis Organization’s (AYTTO) program incorporates more than table tennis. Through the sport that everyone loves to play, AYTTO teaches leadership, fitness, teamwork, and fair play. Table tennis is one of the most played and most popular sports in the world and is great to play recreationally and competitively and rewards athletes who are strategic. 

Open Art Studio
Open Art Studio gives students the chance to dig more deeply into the tools and techniques of their art making. Students decide what they want to explore, develop their own projects, and see them to completion. Open Art Studio is aimed at students who are serious about making art and want to have the time to develop new skills toward the creation of finished art pieces.