The Curriculum

To meet the demands of education in the 21st century, NMH provides an innovative and challenging curriculum. The following is a summary of significant highlights.

Humanities courses
Our humanities courses integrate the study of English, history, and religious studies within the context of one or two class periods so that students learn to synthesize different bodies of knowledge and to apply varied perspectives in their inquiry. Two teachers (each from one of the disciplines) share approximately 30 students and plan the course work collaboratively. Students must take a two-credit core program in the ninth grade.  Students who enter NMH as sophomores must take the two-credit core program in the tenth grade.  All other students may select humanities options in each of the next three years. 
Ninth graders: English and religious studies
Sophomores: International perspectives—world history and world religion (world literature taught separately)
At the junior and senior levels, students may choose courses from the broad spectrum of humanities options.

Major courses
Major courses are primary academic courses with a significant homework component. They are scheduled in periods lasting from 80 to 120 minutes, depending on the course. Full-credit courses are yearlong equivalents that meet within a semester model, while half-credit courses are the equivalent of a half-year of study. Students take either three full-credit or two full-credit and two half-credit courses each semester for a total of six credits per year.

THE STUDENT LIFE CURRICULUM
The student life curriculum represents our continuing commitment to providing students with a comprehensive learning environment, one that encourages them to reach their full potential in nonacademic as well as academic pursuits. In order to do so, that environment must recognize students’ individuality, allow choice in school life, and encourage respectful relationships among all members of our educational community. It is essential that the residential and social aspects of life at NMH contribute significantly to each student’s intellectual and personal growth and well-being.

Through dorm programs and school and class meetings, the student life curriculum provides a formal setting for discussions. Students meet with faculty and professional staff to explore topics essential to the development of healthy adolescents and a healthy community. Through the day-to-day work of the dorm staff and other faculty, the program emphasizes personal support, accountability, recreation, service, leadership, community building, and spiritual development.

The work program
A student work program has been an essential aspect of the curricula of the Northfield and Mount Hermon schools since their founding by the American evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody (1837–1899). An early version of the Mount Hermon School Catalogue underscores Moody’s interest in character development, as the work program was intended to “form habits of industry, and to inculcate right views of manual labor.” Moreover, conditions in the schools’ formative years meant that self-sufficiency, while virtuous, was also a necessity in the production of essential services.

Along with instilling respect for various types of labor, the work program is designed to help students develop practical skills and constructive behaviors for both personal and vocational enhancement. It is also viewed as the primary pedagogical tool for emphasizing the value of self-reliance and service to one’s community. This program—still critical to school operation—adds to the distinctive quality of an NMH education. Indeed, our students continue to provide significant work for the school’s essential services, including the dining, custodial, administrative, academic, and technological departments. Through supervisory coaching and graded evaluation of performance in every work context, the program dovetails with the student life curriculum in providing students with myriad opportunities for personal support, leadership, and accountability.

Technology as a tool for learning
Northfield Mount Hermon prepares students for the future by providing them access to today's technology. Our students become proficient with computers as learning and research tools, and, as they navigate the school’s network or the Internet, they also develop analytical skills.

Across the curriculum, teachers and students employ a variety of different technologies to enhance learning both in and beyond the classroom.

As a learning tool, technology yields quick and effective feedback,—from the teacher, from other students, or from the technology itself. Seeing immediately the results of varying a parameter in an equation can make it easier to understand how a function behaves, and hearing a piece of music or listening to oneself speaking a new language makes it easier to make corrections. Word processing helps students improve the quality of their writing by making it easier to revise work and allowing them to make connections and see patterns more quickly.

International education
Northfield Mount Hermon is committed to developing crosscultural competency in each student. We recognize that the world we live in is increasingly global and that effective citizens will need crosscultural skills and knowledge to function effectively. Our internationally diverse student body,  faculty and staff, led by the Center for International Education, guarantee a program that creates a global climate on campus. In addition, students may elect to participate in study/travel experiences in several off-campus sites around the world.

The NMH library system and information literacy
The ability to access, retrieve, evaluate, synthesize, and present information is an essential skill for lifelong learners. Conducting effective research using a variety of formats as well as using material ethically and appropriately are important components of information literacy in the 21st century.

Schauffler Library provides people and resources, both physically and virtually, to support and promote information literacy and the educational program of the school.  The Library also serves as a crossroads where the academic and community aspects of the school merge.

Schauffler Library provides extensive resources in a variety of formats. The library contains a collection of more than 40,000 items.  It is augmented by online databases and digital reference sources.  Librarians work with individual students, as well as class groups in collaboration with other faculty, teach information literacy skills. Students learn to navigate the research process from gathering information, determining authority of sources, and employing responsible citations, to synthesizing and reporting results via print and electronic means. Schauffler Library’s “Information Commons” provides concentrated access to academic technology tools and support for students and teachers.

NMH librarians develop collections, programs, and services necessary for a strong academic program as well as encouragement of leisure reading and provision for cultural enrichment.

For more information about the NMH Library System program and to view the library's blog, see www.nmhschool.org/nmhlibrary/.

Advising at NMH
At Northfield Mount Hermon every student has an advisor, known as a DL (a reference to our founder, Dwight Lyman Moody). DLs provide support and advice to their advisees. The DL is available to help the student make choices, navigate difficulties, and grow in a healthy way. One of the primary responsibilities of DLs is to oversee the course selection process for their advisees.

Registering for courses
Returning students work with DLs in the spring semester to plan an appropriate schedule for the following year. Students fill out course request sheets and complete any necessary applications for AP courses at that time.

New students complete and return the course registration sheets and questionnaires posted on line by the Academic Office. Decisions on course placement and housing require careful consideration, so it is essential that completed paperwork reach NMH as soon as possible. Faculty are available during the spring and summer to discuss course options. The phone number for the Academic Office is 413-498-3111.