War Room: Military Intelligence- The World at War   (Contact Us for Mid-term Enrollment)

Quarter(s): 1,2

Day(s): Mon

Open Spots: 4

Perhaps you have heard that "knowing is half the battle." This class will realize that as we examine the roles of military intelligence and espionage in conflicts. A fundamental goal of military intelligence is to fight smarter, not harder, on the battlefield. For context and inspiration, the class will examine the history of the real spies of WWI, their methods, failures, and successes. This semester will start at the outbreak of the First World War and the grueling trench warfare that saw a years-long stalemate in Europe. Both sides sought every advantage they could get to break the stalemate, setting their spies to the task! Espionage was employed to hide one side's battle plans and steal the enemy's. Sabotage was staged to cripple the enemy's ability to fight before a battle had even started. All around the world, agents sought advantages for their country and exploited weaknesses in their opponents. The continuing mission, should students choose to accept it, is to use secret codes and a modified tabletop RPG (role playing game) system to simulate missions, discover the enemy's secret plans, and give an edge to the forces on the battlefield. While Compass's 3D History classes will simulate the battles in the field, this class will assume the supporting role by attempting to infiltrate enemy lines with field agents. War Room students in the "headquarters" will direct both their field agents and the missions of the frontline troops in 3D History. The decisions of War Room students on Monday will affect the play of 3D History students on Friday, and outcomes of the 3D History role play on Friday will dictate the work of the War Room the following Monday. While co-registration in both classes is not required, some students may want to dual register in order to see both the tactical and strategic aspects of a major engagement and how military intelligence affects the outcomes. This course is recommended for teens who have a passion for military history or an interest in a future career in intelligence. Topics in this Series: World at War (Semester 1) and Winning the War (Semester 2). Students continuing from first semester receive priority pre-registration for second semester. Workload: Students should expect to spend 0-1 hour per week outside of class. Assignments: Course documents including period maps, photographs and recreations will be made available through a class Google Drive link emailed to parents and students, as well as a class YouTube playlist for any videos watched in class or assigned as homework. Assessments: Will not be given. Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a component (partial) credit in World History, US History, Military History, or Career Exploration for purposes of a high school transcript.

Economic Empires: Tycoons, Titans & Tyrants- a Market Simulation Game (Late 19th Century)   (Contact Us for Mid-term Enrollment)

Quarter(s): 1,2

Day(s): Mon

Open Spots: 2

This class begins with the transition from farm to factory. Students will begin the semester as "independently wealthy" barons and tycoons of various mid-century industries. The class will use a custom Role-Playing Game to simulate a fully industrialized economy. From day one, students will be assigned to key roles in industry, from railroads and shipping, to a variety of factories or resource extraction. They must manage their initial investments wisely or risk being overrun by their classmates. They will endeavor to dominate their market and rule the supply and demand, or risk ending up penniless. In true role-playing fashion, they will create characters and build their "backstories" to fit into this economy. Will they be Carnegies and Rockefellers, or will they run out of steam? Using the lessons taught in class, students will navigate their interconnected business world, learning to either cooperate with or destroy their rivals. Using their carefully documented ledgers, the class will learn to manage key business elements, from keeping their labor force happy enough not to strike, forging deals and making partnerships, and of course, influencing government policy to their benefit. The end of the semester should make clear how each business is interdependent on another, the benefits of cooperation or forceful acquisition. What role does a good (or bad) government play in encouraging and safeguarding investment and for whose benefit? Above all, it should stress the importance of keeping orderly records, making safe vs highly rewarding investments, and how to successfully manage working relationships. By recreating the circumstances of the industrial revolution, and navigating them in the role playing game, students should understand the why and how, to the history they've played through. Topics in this Series: Tycoons, Titans & Tyrants- Late 19th century (Semester 1), Corporations, Capitalists & Consumers- Early 20th century (Semester 2). Students continuing from first semester receive priority pre-registration for second semester. Prerequisites: None Workload: Students should expect to spend 1-2 hours per week outside of class. Assignments: Course documents including period plans, photographs and recreations will be made available through a class Google Drive link emailed to parents (and students who provide their email address), as well as a class reading list of articles/excerpts and YouTube playlist for any videos watched in class or assigned as homework. Assessments: Informal assessments will be given at the instructor's discretion, but assignments will not be scored or graded. Each student's financial success in the game will be an indicator of their learning and participation for purposes of assigning a grade. Parents will also be given shared access to their student's business plan with instructor and ledger, with instructor comments at the conclusion of class. Textbook/Materials: None What to Bring: Paper or notebook, pen or pencil Credit: Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a component (partial) credit in History, Economics, or Business for purposes of a high school transcript.

Close, Confusing and Controversial Presidential Elections in American History   (Contact Us for Mid-term Enrollment)

Quarter(s): 1,2

Day(s): Mon

Open Spots: 3

• The fate of an election went to the House of Representatives when two candidates earned equal numbers of electoral votes, and one of them was not even running for president. (1800)
• The successful presidential candidate won only 40% of the popular vote in a heated, 4-way race that divided the nation and led to war. (1824)
• The candidate who won the popular vote yet lost the election after a number of disputed electoral votes were awarded to the other candidate by a bipartisan commission (1876).
• A president who lost his bid for re-election despite winning the popular vote came back four years later to retake the White House. (1892)

Close, confusing, and sometimes controversial presidential elections are not unique in American History, and 2024 is shaping up to be yet another contentious and convoluted race to the White House. This is a discussion and current events-based class that will split each class meeting to look at both a historic election and the week's developments and drama in the 2024 election. The class will examine ten of these contests with the first occurring in 1800 and the most recent in 2008 and 2020. Discussions will track drama on the campaign trail, after the 2024 summer conventions and throughout the fall campaign season, in what is a political rarity: a presidential re-match. Join former college professor Dr. John Kornacki for this discussion-based class, where students will look more closely on why these contests were so close, and in some cases, disputed. Students will take a deep dive into the political, economic, and cultural context of these elections and study their lingering impacts on the current and future elections. Prerequisites: Reading at a high school level. Workload: Students should expect to spend 1-2 hours per week outside of class. Assignments: Students will be asked a write a 1-page reflection paper every other week (6 in the semester). Assignments and supplemental reading will be posted in a Google classroom. Assessments: Feedback will given on the reflection paper and class participation. Textbook/Materials: Supplemental readings will be posted in a Google classroom as downloaded pdfs or links to online articles. Non-Meeting Days: In addition to the scheduled days-off on the published Compass schedule, this class does not meet on 9/9/24 Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a component (partial) credit in American Government, Civics, or Current Events for purposes of a high school transcript.

AP Modern World History- Lecture **Online**   (Contact Us for Mid-term Enrollment)

Quarter(s): 1,2,3,4

Day(s): Mon

Open Spots: 3

AP students are required to enroll in this additional lecture section. The lecture is recorded and open to all Modern World History Students. It is tentatively scheduled for 12:00 pm- 12:55 pm online (subject to an alternate time by consensus of AP-enrolled students). A physical meeting room will be designated for on-campus students who have classes immediately before or after this virtual session.