“There is no puppetry class in the Upper School (US) course catalog. But if a student wanted to study puppetry, we would find a way for someone to work with them,” Arts Department Head Adam Howarth said.
Through arts independent studies, US students have the opportunity to work one-on-one with an art teacher, allowing them to develop specific artistic skills or pursue a subject beyond the regular arts curriculum. Students typically meet with their teacher once a week during a shared free block or CAB. Depending on the type of study, students may spend two to six hours per week working outside of class time. Independent studies can either span one year or one semester and are intended for juniors and seniors.
Mr. Howarth said an independent study typically begins with a student’s idea, which the student and teacher then develop into a course.
“If a student were to come up to me with an idea that they were interested in doing a study on, I would put together a syllabus with [them],” he said. “I would create a Canvas page and provide all the resources a normal class would have and break down the main project into small sections. Later, if the student has more questions on a certain topic, the syllabus could be adjusted.”
While the role of the teacher is to guide the work, Mr. Howarth said students need to take more responsibility in their independent studies.
“A student has to be self-motivated,” he said. “Part of the independent study is that it’s independent. It’s got to be something that the student is really interested and passionate about taking on the time outside of a normal class structure to complete it.”
US Theater Teacher Ross MacDonald said independent studies enable students to work at a high level.
“The difference between a class and independent study is that it’s a one-on-one course. And it’s an opportunity to really work almost on a collegiate level,” he said. “It’s more or less like a mini AP course exploring art.”
Mr. MacDonald’s own experience as a student influenced his approach.
“It’s so important that we learn the joy of study early on because it was only when I went to drama school that I realized studying can be fun,” he said. “I’m passionate about theater, and I also care deeply about my students. That’s why I do the independent study, because if I’m helping a young person achieve something incredible or help them on their path, then that is a real privilege,” he said.
David Guo ’27 did an independent study with US Film Teacher Christopher Gaines. He used the opportunity to explore different forms of filmmaking and photography. David said the independent study gave him guided freedom to spend more time on areas he wanted to improve.
“Mr. Gaines would teach the general curriculum, but if I struggled with something, we would spend more time fixing that specific thing,” he said. “In a regular class, you might have to move on with the rest of the syllabus. In the independent study, there was more time to refine your work.”
Along with learning techniques such as time-lapse photography and light painting, David continued working on his documentary about xiaolongbao, Chinese dumplings, with Mr. Gaines. His documentary later won third place at the Salem Film Festival.
“I enjoyed the learning process throughout the study and then seeing what I could create after learning those skills,” David said. “For example, with my film about Chinese culture and dumplings, I could use those skills to help other people better understand culture and cultural connections.”
Eliot Saad ’28 is doing an independent study this spring with US Chamber Music and Orchestra Teacher Elliot Cless ’02. Eliot will be studying music composition, a course currently not offered in the US curriculum. Eliot said he and Dr. Cless had briefly discussed the idea before, and over the summer, while thinking about his courses, he emailed Dr. Cless to ask if they could pursue the study.
“Music is a language: in English class, you read and you write; it’s the same for music study,” he said. “It’s only called composition class because so often in music, the focus is on performance.”
Eliot has already begun preparing for the study.
“I’ve brought together a list of my favorite compositions and started writing down little ideas that are mostly melodies,” he said.
He plans to meet with Dr. Cless once a week to work on composing music and analyzing pieces. Through the study, Eliot hopes to learn how composers approach creating new music and what their creative processes look like.
“I would like to be able to develop my own musical ideas in more informed, mature ways,” he said. “The independent study allows me to investigate music that I personally love, rather than following a set curriculum.”
