By Sanya Bery ’17, News Staff Writer

Whether the class is Holocaust Studies, where students dig into a deeper and greater understanding of the Nazi’s atrocious massacre of the Jewish people or Politics of Change, where Mrs. Schottland leads discussions about the world’s most serious conflicts, electives have always been popular among Newark Academy students who wish to learn beyond what is taught in a normal class. This year, two new electives, Coming to Voice: Black American Literature and Neuro-Biology, have been added to the curriculum. These additions are a result of voice proposals made last year to better the community and add diversity in choices for students.

Coming to Voice: Black American Literature is a senior-only elective that centers upon discussing the metaphorical “invisibility” of black women and men in America. This elective discusses literature  by black writers and obvious stereotypes, such as how black writers represent themselves in the text compared to how they are represented in text by non-black writers. Some major questions that this elective will touch upon are the concerns of black American writers and the significance of race, class and gender in black literature. The elective will also cover a long list of literature including fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, essays, films, and poetry. For instance, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) and Kathryn Stockett’s, The Help (2011) are potential works that the class will study and discuss. Ms. Powell, who teaches the elective, believes, “‘Coming to Voice’ offers Newark Academy students an opportunity to learn about and discuss an important body of work that creates a more complex and diverse view of what we call America.” She also added that the course affords Newark Academy students the chance to openly engage in real conversations about the historic legacy of racial prejudice in our country, all within the safe confines of a classroom setting. So far, students in the class have given rave reviews. Taylor Smith ’14, a student taking the elective, said, “We’ve been able to take topics within the books we’re reading and compare them to our experiences in our daily lives. I would definitely recommend it to others.”  Even freshman Kiran Damodoran, commented on the course and said, “I hope to study Black American literature when I have the chance to as a senior because it is a new style that many people have not been introduced to and it is part of the American history.” The uniqueness of the course itself has instilled a stronger sense of diversity at Newark Academy.

The elective Neuro-Biology focuses on analyzing biology behind human behavior and will go in depth into what other science classes do not have the chance to. Due to topics covered, the class is open to juniors and seniors who have taken chemistry. The first semester will focus completely on the nervous system, while the second semester will go into a deeper focus of the neurological process such as speech, movement, sleep, learning and memory. It also touches on the relationships between hormones, behavior, and stress whilst giving an overall deeper understanding of neuroscience. Ms. Mason, the teacher for this new elective, highlights the uniqueness of this course by saying, “the brain is the most important organ in the body and there are many things in the brain that people don’t know about. This is the only class in Newark Academy that fully covers the brain.” Kevin Mittal’15 said, “I hope I can find time for this elective next year because I was always curious on how humans speak and the science behind it. The class is centered upon a topic that I find very interesting.” This class clearly sparks curiosity in student’s minds as it is a topic that isn’t discussed in great detail in most science classes.

Newark Academy’s two new electives Coming to Voice: Black American Literature and Neuro-Biology strive to create more options for students to dive into specific topics that interest them. Sam Wood’15, said, “the classes are a perfect way of enhancing our school’s curriculum.”  These electives not only enhance the curriculum, but also create a diversified and unique environment at Newark Academy.