In each of the three supplemental interdisciplinary core classes, students earn three high school humanities courses; a student who completes all three yearlong courses will have accumulated 3 years of English, 3 years of Bible, and 3 and half years of History/Social Science for a total of 9.5 years or 95 units toward high school graduation.
Torrey Academy is now offering Logic. This course is highly recommended for those preparing to enter and those already enrolled in Torrey Academy. This is offered as a full year class only and not available as a mid-year enrollment. It is an elective class for 10 units.
Listed by Grade Level:
Course Completion, Units and Grades
With the support of parents, tutor, and peers, students are expected to read an average of 125 pages of primary source material each week, to complete at least one substantial written assignment each week, and to participate actively in weekly group discussions. Completion of assigned course work for Torrey Academy students is required. Students receive documentation of course completion and a grade for their efforts. Each core class is worth three high school humanities courses; a student who completes all three yearlong courses will have accumulated 30 units of English, 30 units of Bible, and 35 units of History/Social Science for a total of 95 units toward high school graduation. (See individual course descriptions below for more specific information.)
* NOTE: Not all courses are offered at every site.
The 2008-2009 Curriculum Summary Chart will be available in May 2008.
Logic
(9–12)
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This course introduces students to Torrey Academy by exploring the importance of clear thinking for Christian spiritual development. Students learn why great Christian leaders have traditionally seen the life of the mind as a key component of spiritual growth. Students examine the basics of Socratic Logic, including terms, syllogisms, and evaluation of soundness and validity. The class also explores how argumentation plays out in everyday life, including a lengthy study of informal fallacies. Students end the year by exploring good methods for reading and engaging essays and literature using logical principles. Readings include With Good Reason by S. Morris Engel, How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren, and works by Plato, C.S. Lewis, Washington Irving, William Shakespeare, J.P. Moreland, and others. We recommend that parents and independent study programs count this class as meeting the requirements for ten high school academic units for Logic/Critical Thinking.
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Torrey Academy Writing Lab
(10–11)
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The Torrey Academy Writing Lab is designed to guide students through the writing assignments required for the various Torrey Academy classes. Requiring separate registration, the Writing Lab complements Inklings and Foundations of American Thought class work by helping students to develop the skills needed to be successful in
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The Inklings
(10–12)
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Designed to spark a passion for critical thinking and for the beauty and wonder of the Triune God, the content of this first-year Torrey Academy class focuses on issues of faith, learning, and culture. The Inklings texts are provocative, challenging, and packed-full with theology, poetry, and apologetics.
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Foundations of American Thought
(11–12)
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A natural progression from the Inklings, the Foundations of American Thought class takes students to the next level of academic, intellectual, and spiritual development. Following the same format as the first-year class, this second-year class changes only the content, not the amount of reading and writing. These readings and discussions focus on issues in American Literature, History, and Government from the pre-colonial period through the antebellum period in order to impart to students an understanding and vision of their own country and society. This course is aimed at helping students become responsible, knowledgeable citizens both in our democratic republic and in the City of God. Politics and literature are examined through a Christian perspective.
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Faith of Our Fathers
(12)
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A core class for any Christian student who wants to understand the history of the Church in the West, the third-year class builds on the first two classes to strengthen students’ critical thinking abilities, writing and oral presentation skills, as well as their Christian worldview. As a natural next step in student development, the amount of required writing is reduced while the expected quality of work is higher. Class time continues to focus on Socratic discussion as in the first two Torrey Academy classes, and student research presentations are also added. The Early Church, Medieval, Renaissance, and Reformation texts are pervasively thought-provoking, beautiful, and challenging as they elicit deeper discussions of Theology and Christian culture that were initiated in the Inklings class.
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Accreditation Disclaimer
Torrey Academy, although offered as a ministry of Biola University, is not an accredited high school; as a result, it neither offers nor grants academic credit for classes offered. Most families enrolled in our homeschool courses are members of transcript-issuing private independent study programs or file their own school affidavit. It is through these schools that academic credit is received and transcripts are issued when parents, who remain the primary instructors, can demonstrate their student's completion of coursework to warrant granting credit. Torrey Academy does provide documentation to parents to help validate the classes through course descriptions and syllabi. Students enrolled in Torrey Academy are required to complete all work assigned for which they will receive full quarter and semester grade reports. Parents, as the primary educators, are on their honor to report on their student's transcripts the grade given by Torrey Academy; Torrey Academy does not provide transcripts. Torrey Academy and its advisors avow that completing one year-long course as offered by Torrey Academy is equivalent to completing all three of the following honors level courses: Literature, Bible/Theology, and History/Philosophy. (Other humanities courses may be substituted for one or more of the above.)
Note on Course Content
Parents, please note that the reading material includes books written for an adult audience which occasionally contain mature themes and language. Each text has been carefully selected with a mind to the significant impact certain authors have had in shaping the ideas and culture in which we live. However, some of the authors studied in the Foundations of American Thought class, for example, were not Christians or were Christian in name only and espoused anti-Christian worldviews. The Faith of Our Fathers class likewise includes more mature content with time devoted to understanding Pre-Reformation Medieval spirituality and theology. With all of the texts studied in Torrey Academy, however, we believe that, overall, the curriculum is wholesome, instructive, and redemptive. It is our objective to help students understand and critically address ideas and worldviews in light of Scripture while staying firmly rooted in the basic creeds of "mere Christianity," as C. S. Lewis coined it. As expressed in the Torrey Academy theme verse, we desire that students become prepared to be sent out "as sheep in the midst of wolves," disciples of Christ who are "shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16). Torrey Academy tutors and staff are dedicated to upholding the Biola doctrinal statement. As the primary educator of your student(s), we strongly recommend that you preview all course material and discuss it with your student(s) as they go through the course.
