“If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.”
– Pearl S. Buck
Connecting is the focus of the Encinitas Country Day (ECDS) Middle School History program, connecting past to present: examining universal human traits and activities, and bringing lessons of the past to bear on today’s world. Our courses cover the details of history – the leaders, inventions and innovations, wars and empires that form the tapestry of our human heritage. We also examine social, economic, and geographical issues, looking always for the common themes, the universal needs and desires that drive human behavior.
ECDS History courses are aligned to California Standards and lead our students on journeys through cultures and periods at once alien and familiar. We learn that even “ancient” civilizations are not really far removed from us, just around a bend in the river of time. Students read beyond the textbook – primary source materials, historical documents – and write a variety of journal entries, essays, and commentaries; they conduct research and write papers in MLA format; they create PowerPoint presentations and teach lessons. Through study of the past, our students become today’s – and tomorrow’s – knowledgeable citizens, neighbors, and leaders.
This course covers the political, social, cultural and economic developments around the world from approximately AD 500 through the 1700s. Students examine the history and cultures of Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, from the fall of the Roman Empire through the Age of Enlightenment. The diversity of cultures, the rise and fall of empires, and the universal issues of human progress are examined. This course is the second in the World History sequence that began with sixth grade Ancient Civilizations and continues through to the tenth grade course on the Modern World.
This course covers the political, economic and social developments in the United States from colonial times through 1914. Particular emphasis is placed on examining the political values on which our nation is based. Students will examine the development of democracy, cultural contact and conflicts, technological and industrial progress, expansion of borders and influence, and “American dreams.” A trip to Washington, D.C. in the spring helps bring United States history to life for our grade 8 students.