Critical Analysis of Ideas and Issues

In sixth grade, boys examine original texts to explore essential questions about conflict, compromise, freedom, and citizenship in American history. Through close reading, written reflection, and Socratic seminars, they learn to ground their thinking in evidence—developing the skills to question, interpret, and connect the past to the present.

In eighth grade, boys participate in Socratic seminars that push them to wrestle with complex historical questions—from Savonarola’s revolution in Florence to the power plays of Renaissance popes. Students learn to trace cause and effect, draw parallels, and reflect on how the Renaissance’s ideas, ambitions, and upheavals echo far beyond their time.

In eighth-grade science, boys confront some of the most urgent ethical dilemmas of our time through structured debate—physician-assisted suicide, gene editing, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs. These exercises train students to examine complex issues from all sides, test their assumptions, and articulate their reasoning with clarity and conviction.