In Year 10, the students reach sixteen years of age. In dealing with their emerging sexuality and particularly for boys, their growing awareness of physical power, sixteen year olds are faced with a threshold experience which presents an opportunity for the healthy development of individuality.
The sixteen year-old yearns to understand the world and to find their sense of purpose within it. The earlier Class 9 search for balance and harmony now begins to bear fruit. The development of greater clarity of thought and an increasing ability to form balanced judgments helps students to extricate themselves from the unstable nature of their emotional lives. There is a greater capacity for reflection, which can lead on the one hand to self consciousness and the pain of growing existential awareness, on the other they become capable of great feats of compassion, endurance, intellectual and physical prowess. The students begin to discover their own inner freedom to determine their pathway through life. Relationships between the sexes form; social relationships can be healthy or get lost in group activities. Self esteem is very important to develop
English
The ‘Birth of Literature’ Main Lesson provides an overview of the relationship between the development of human consciousness and literary forms. Students are given the opportunity to develop an understanding of the importance of literary expression by tracing the evolutionary growth of the mythological sagas through significant cultural periods. The study includes an exploration of the characteristic features of the heroic style of writing. Inspired by the language-rich context of the epic stories students experiment with writing their own creative versions of the sagas; they discover the important role language plays in bringing their inner imaginative world of experience to expression.
Mathematics
In Year 10 Mathematics, the student’s concept of number beyond the finite is extended. The Mathematical theory for Arithmetic, Geometric and Harmonic Sequences and Series is developed as a logical extension of the basic principles of number patterns. Practical applications of this theory are studied from sources as diverse as art, architecture and music, as well as the natural, built and business worlds.
Students also work to consolidate and strengthen their understanding of Algebra, and discover areas in which Mathematical disciplines which previously appeared separate begin to overlap and merge. Students are also exposed to different number bases and their applications.
Students learn about Trigonometry and its applications to areas as diverse as surveying, mechanics, navigation, engineering, physics, astronomy, mapping, military operations and construction. A thorough picture is presented of the historical significance and development of Trigonometry and Surveying, with emphasis on practical work, applications, mathematical theory and worked examples.
Science
Chemical Reactions
Students now learn to use the periodic table and the reactivity series as a tool to predict the outcome of chemical reactions. They use their understanding of the periodic table to form ions in compound. Students demonstrate their understanding through art and understanding the results of experiments.
Classical Physics
Students gain an understanding of the classical physics through a series of stem projects allowing them to work as a team to solve a range of problems while working through the historical development of our understanding energy and power. Students learn about the characters that have shaped our world and where it will lead us in the future.
Geography – The Human Community
This Main Lesson focuses around the student and their place in the world. Students revisit continents and individual countries within, and their diverse cultures. State sovereignty and human rights are explored then a focus study is undertaken on contemporary global issues including the treatment of refugees, child labour and the growth of extremism. This Main Lesson supports the young person to recognise how they can share in the responsibility of caring for the earth, its diverse ecosystems and for other human beings throughout the world. It enables the student to identify appropriate pathways which may inspire and empower them to become aware of the avenues of involvement in bringing about change, and to take responsibility for their personal activity.
Visual Art – Post Modern Art
The journey is started by experiencing Jackson Pollock’s drip and splash paintings, Damien Hirst’s spin paintings, Gerhard Richter’s scrape paintings. Maquette size sculptures are made discovering space, shape, and possible size. Bridget Riley’s Op Art, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein’s Pop Art is explored. Self Portraits inspired by Pablo Picasso and Joy Hester are drawn in dramatic fashion. Barbara Kruger poster-photo-messages are collaged. Finally the class spends time creating Andy Goldsworthy environmental/ephemeral art as a gift around the school. A Case Study of a Contemporary artist is a written assignment.
History – Ancient to Modern
‘We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know it for the first time.’ T S Eliot
In historical studies the students are now presented with a great sweep of the human journey, from the harnessing fire and stone to the first great, social complex civilisations and the attendant changes in the human relationship with the natural world. The students can discern in developments, the foundations of modern culture and the evolution of human consciousness. ‘How have things come to be as they are?’ Historical studies challenge the students’ growing capacity for analytical thinking and reasoning. The complex patterns of relationships between historical events and their consequences are explored. Students are expected to take responsibility for their work, and to self-evaluate product and process. They are encouraged to discuss, reflect and analyse in the process of exploring the relationship between opinion and thinking and truth. ‘The evolution of human consciousness’ qualitatively reflects the changing consciousness of each individual in the course of his or her own biography.’
Sourced from Australian Steiner Curriculum Framework