Rough notes on curriculum

This is my attempt at writing a two-year arrangement which will yield an Associate of Science degree.

The design of our school is to aim at the Catholic presentation of Science according to the precepts of Newman who saw its proper place among the Liberal Arts, and to further the work of Chesterton, Duhem and Jaki in the enlargement of the correct awareness of science as it touches and is touched by human culture...

The student will receive an introduction to the major branches of science - Astronomy, Geology, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics - with supporting tools in mathematics, philosophy and history, will have a systemic view of the various scientific disciplines and their points of contact among themselves, their supporting tools, and to their practical extensions in engineering; the introduction provided will permit the advance into the more rigorous study of any of the branches of science, or (if not a scientific major) will give stable footing to the philosopher, historian, theologian or literary scholar.

The work will include the major developments of science, the names of the great scientists, and a sufficient variety of hands-on laboratory work in each of the branches.

Summary: Four semesters, 15-18 hours per semester. 60-72 credit hours or 20-24 classes.

I was going to make an attempt at listing classes, but it is too early. I will try to list things that we need to include.

1. Mathematics: calculus (limits, differentiation & integration, discrete math including automata, combinatorics and boolean algebra; probability & statistics)
2. Philosophy of Science (the links to scholasticism; the heresies and other such messes)
3. History of Science (ancient; medieval; Galileo, Newton; 19th century;Einstein & Planck; modern)
4. Astronomy (earth, sun, moon, planets, stars, galaxies, cosmology)
5. Chemistry (atom; elements; reactions; inorganic/organic/biological)
6. Biology (taxonomy; plants;animals;cells;molbio; human)
7. Geology (minerals, rocks, morphology; hydrology, possibly meteorology & related)
8. Physics (mechanics, sound, optics, EM; relativity;quantum)
9. Extension stuff: "Engineering writ large".

One of the things we might do is arrange to have it so the calc comes first and physics comes AFTER that. We also want to keep part of the philosophy for later, so as to provide retrospect and summary of what has been considered previously. Both Physics and Biology I think will require multiple classes: the physics divide to have the mech and perhaps sound & optics first, then the EM and other stuff second.

There are a number of "dependence" issues to be considered. The cell part of bio requires having had enough chem first. Astronomy also requires mech, optics, relativity, atom stuff (spectra!) Geo needs chem. I will have to work up how the branches need to be ordered....

Gosh this is a lot for just two years. The sad thing is that some of this ought to be happening in HIGH SCHOOL.... but who has the foresight and the "Chestertonian" (meaning wide, or "catholic") vision to see the whole in that way?

"Perhaps the weapon was too big to be noticed," said the priest, with an odd little giggle.
[GKC "The Three Tools of Death" in The Innocence of Father Brown]