Academics

Practices and Principles: Ethics of the Natural World (P&P) is a unique and unifying course for HMI students. P&P includes the curriculum taught on the wilderness expeditions and an on-campus, discussion-based class that focuses primarily on environmental ethics. There are two principal goals of the P&P class: first, through the expeditions, we strive to give students a set of tools to camp and travel comfortably in the backcountry for extended periods of time and in adverse conditions. The second goal of P&P is to challenge students to think critically about the way in which they (as individuals, members of society, and members of the HMI community) interact with, use, and think of the natural world. This semester we are exploring the works of a wide variety of authors and media to broaden student perspectives about the human relationship to the natural world. This includes comparing ecological value systems, engaging with personal narratives, and using case studies to elucidate the many relationships with the environment. Students are assessed on their ability to engage with and compare multiple perspectives, critically analyze source materials, and synthesize ideas to arrive at new understandings. They will culminate the semester with a presentation of their own ethic of the natural world.

Students in Literature of the Natural World explore the role that language and literature play in shaping human identity and informing our relationship to the land. The course begins with a study of poetic language and concludes with a close reading of Ceremony, a novel by Leslie Marmon Silko. Students refine their analytical thinking and writing skills in short, daily exercises that require them to reflect on the major themes of the course. They write poetry and explore the reciprocal relationship between people and place. Daily discussions encourage students to take ownership over their learning and to manage productive discourse while rooting their contributions in strong textual support. Class assignments and activities offer students the opportunity to refine their authorial voice, synthesize and make sense of diverse literary and critical sources, gain confidence speaking and answering questions in front of an audience, and appreciate the importance of language and literature in contemporary life.

Fall: Natural Science is a field-based class designed for students to practice science outside and develop a stronger sense of place around HMI. On our first expedition in the Rockies, students learn about how glaciers shaped the landscape of the Rocky Mountains and practice making detailed observations of their surrounding environments. On campus studies begin with an introduction to Colorado’s geologic history before zooming in to study the processes that shaped the landscape around Leadville. After learning about Leadville’s mining history on the east side of town, students collect macroinvertebrate data and chemical data from the Arkansas River watershed to study its water quality. On our second expedition, students present desert “nature nuggets” on a plant or animal from the ecosystem. They observe the constellations and read about their significance in different cultures. In our second unit, students explore the fundamental phenomena that underlie observed effects of climate change. Labs center on researching the plethora of causes and effects of climate change in various ecosystems and investigating areas of ecological disturbance in Leadville such as beetle kill and forest fires. The climate change unit culminates in each student delivering a TED Talk on how climate change affects their home communities, during which they share a plan to take action in the face of the climate crisis. On their third expedition, students investigate biotic soil and learn more about the ecology of the desert. During each class meeting, two students present to the class about a plant or animal in the Leadville ecosystem, such as aspen trees or elk, or a historical figure in STEM from underrepresented identities. This ongoing practice gives us all a better picture of Leadville’s ecology and of science as a human practice.

Spring: Natural Science is a field-based class designed for students to practice science outside and develop a stronger sense of place around HMI. On their first expedition in the canyons of Utah, students read about the unique desert ecosystem and present skits demonstrating relationships between local desert flora and fauna. On campus, students study snow and how the snowpack affects local ecology, making entries in their field notebooks and completing reflections during each class meeting. Students practice communicating scientific ideas to hypothetical audiences that vary from scientists to comic-readers. On their second expedition, students contribute to community science observations on snowpack in the Sawatch. Then, students explore the fundamental phenomena that underlie observed effects of climate change. Labs center on researching the plethora of causes and effects of climate change in various ecosystems and investigating areas of ecological disturbance in Leadville such as forest fires. The climate change unit culminates in a TED Talk on how climate change affects our students’ home communities, and each student creates an action plan to effect change. On their third expedition, students pose a question about the desert environment and then design and execute an experimental study to answer it. During each class meeting, two students present to the class about a plant or animal in the Leadville ecosystem, such as aspen trees or elk, or a historical figure in STEM from underrepresented identities. This ongoing practice gives us all a better picture of Leadville’s ecology and of science as a human practice.

Fall (Foundations in American Thought and Culture): History is a dynamic and ever-evolving enterprise; this course, therefore, focuses on the contested nature and unresolved questions of the American past. In United States History: Foundations in American Thought and Culture, students consider and challenge prevailing historical interpretations while also creating their own narratives that explain the relationships among historical events and make meaning from the broader trajectory of American history. Chronologically, this course moves from the pre-colonial period through the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction and prepares students to reenter the second half of an American history survey. Primary source documents—letters, works of art, political cartoons, speeches, photographs, advertisements, and poems—provide the foundation for historical inquiry in this class. A variety of secondary source readings by authors such as Edmund S. Morgan, Ronald Takaki, Annette Gordon-Reed, Susan-Mary Grant, and others complement these documents and bring students into the ongoing historiographical debates that give life to the discipline. Students examine, in particular, the relationship between history and narrative, the connection between liberty and slavery in the antebellum period, the construction and reification of early-American gender roles, the contested role of equality in the colonial and Revolutionary periods, the tension between individualism and communitarianism, and the evolving meaning of freedom in American political discourse. Students have the opportunity to refine their authorial voice in analytical essays, gain confidence in front of an audience through class presentations, and link the past to the present through student-led discussions.

Spring (Western Perspectives): The United States History: Western Perspectives course is designed to provide students with the analytical tools and enduring understandings necessary to deal critically with the major themes and questions in western American history. Using nineteenth and twentieth-century primary source documents in addition to the work of leading scholars, writers, and critics of the American West–from Frederick Jackson Turner, William Cronon, and Patricia Nelson Limerick to Quintard Taylor, Marc Reisner, and Terry Tempest Williams –students approach the West from a variety of perspectives and through multiple conceptual lenses. History is a dynamic and ever-evolving enterprise; this course, therefore, focuses on the contested nature and unresolved questions of the western past. Students consider and challenge paradigmatic historical binaries such as frontier versus border, place versus process, individualism versus community, and “New” West versus “Old” West, while also considering the role of environment, ideology, race, technology, economics, and politics in shaping the course of western development. To elucidate the links between past and present, this course also examines crucial contemporary issues such as water, land use, and how social change occurs from an historical perspective. Regular readings, class presentations, discussions, and group work provide students with the opportunity to refine their authorial voice, gain confidence in front of an audience, and critically interrogate the significance of western narratives and values in contemporary society.

Fall: History is a dynamic and ever-evolving enterprise; this course, therefore, focuses on the contested nature and unresolved questions of the American past. In AP® United States History, students consider and challenge prevailing historical interpretations while also creating their own narratives that explain the relationships among historical events and make meaning from the broader trajectory of American history. Chronologically, this course moves from the pre-colonial period through the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction and prepares students to reenter the second half of an American history survey or AP® United States History course. Primary source documents—letters, works of art, political cartoons, court proceedings, speeches, photographs, advertisements, and poems—provide the foundation for historical inquiry in this class. A variety of secondary source readings by scholars such as Edmund S. Morgan, Ronald Takaki, Annette Gordon-Reed, Susan-Mary Grant, and others complement these documents and bring students into the ongoing historiographical debates that give life to the discipline. Students examine, in particular, the relationship between history and narrative, the connection between liberty and slavery in the antebellum period, the construction and reification of early-American gender roles, the contested role of equality in the colonial and Revolutionary periods, the tension between individualism and communitarianism, and the evolving meaning of freedom in American political discourse. Students have the opportunity to refine their authorial voice in analytical essays, gain confidence in front of an audience through class presentations, and link the past to the present through student-led discussions.

Spring: In Advanced Placement® United States History, students apply historical hermeneutics to the defining questions of the American past. Students focus on ideological continuity and discontinuity, authorial biases, historical causality, and cultural mythmaking in the years between Reconstruction up until today. Using foundational primary and secondary texts by Frederick Jackson Turner, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Richard White, Henry George, Howard Zinn, Margaret Sanger, James Baldwin, and others, as well as case studies built around foundational historical questions, students engage with concepts such as race, modernity, populism, ideology, liberalism, and historical objectivity. Analytical essays, class presentations, discussions, and debates form the basis for evaluation and provide students with the opportunity to refine their authorial voice, synthesize and make sense of diverse historical evidence, gain confidence in front of an audience, and explore the significance of historical narratives. Students will leave the classroom with the skills and content necessary to succeed in advanced history seminars.

Math courses at HMI reflect a carefully curated range of curriculum options which meet the majority of student needs. Students are placed in courses that will both set them up for success upon return to their sending schools and create a coherent course of study for the class as a whole. The math department works to develop in students habits of mind that they can apply across and beyond the math curriculum, including: reasoning abstractly, finding patterns and making generalizations, constructing logical arguments, probing for deeper structure, using technology strategically, attending to precision, and modeling with mathematics. These heuristics are embedded through all of our courses; while the course descriptions outline specific content that students will work to understand over the course of the semester, these broader habits of mind support each of our courses and guide our daily pedagogy.

HMI offers multiple Spanish courses, which are roughly aligned with Spanish 3, Spanish 4, and AP® Spanish. Spanish A and B are taught predominantly in Spanish while Spanish C is taught exclusively in Spanish. HMI strives to place students in courses that will allow them to re-enter their home schools’ Spanish programs successfully. Each course seeks to develop students’ understanding of the Building Blocks of Language (grammar, vocabulary, correct language structures) and explore the value of multicultural perspectives. Grammar and vocabulary study are woven into three thematic units. Comprehensible input based on the current grammar topic or theme allows students to practice their reading and listening comprehension. Students practice their speaking skills through discussions, debates, and weekly presentations. They hone their writing skills through weekly journal entries or essays.

A student may pursue an Independent Study at HMI if there is room in their schedule to dedicate the necessary time and energy. Students must enroll in at least five courses offered by HMI, and a full academic schedule includes six courses. There are three ways in which a student can successfully complete an Independent Study at HMI:

1. Through a teacher at their sending school.
2. Through an online course provider.
3. Through a private tutor who meets with the student via Zoom/Google Meets.

Independent Studies are separate from HMI’s academic course offerings therefore, the sending school, online provider, or private tutor is responsible for providing all course materials and for awarding a final grade (excepting special circumstances).  It is also important to note that HMI’s schedule places unusual constraints on independent studies. Students do not have internet access while on wilderness expedition and therefore cannot participate in a regularly-meeting online course. For more information, view our Independent Study Guidelines.