History Courses

Robert Daniel teaches human history using Socratic discussion of seminal primary resources, opportunities for dramatic role-play, and other fun mental activities.     In all history classes offered by D.L.S., the aim is to study history in an objective manner, free of political agendas and narratives. We compare competing theories and points of view about every topic while learning to think skeptically about historical sources and narratives. There are two streams offered: U.S. history and “Human History”. “Human History” is the history of humanity, taught in a way which mirrors the Montessori curriculum for the adolescent and is highly inquiry based. The Human History stream teaches students about the variety of cultures and the experiences of diverse groups, while doing so from the perspective of problems and questions which are universal to all humans. The history of the United States is taught in a slightly more traditional format, covering subject matter which mirrors public school and standardized test curriculum, while adding important topics to this and teaching in a student-centered way.

About the instructor…

Robert Daniel has taught U.S. history at the college level, as well as A.P. U.S. History and middle- and high-school U.S. history in the classroom. He has  Master of Arts degrees in the fields of Education (Social Studies grades 5 – 12) as well as History and Political Science. He is a certified Montessori adolescent guide. His teaching style is guided by inspiring curiosity and validating individual differences.