Cascade! Spring 2009
Course Catalog

This course will focus on the behavior and antics of our feathery friends, the birds! This includes studying courting and mating behavior, communication, and nest-building. Why do birds sing? Why are males often more colorful than females? Who raises the young? These questions will be looked at in this course, plus much more! By the end, we hope that you will be able to identify local birds, as well as understand and appreciate birds in general. There will be two field trips; one to Botany Pond on the University of Chicago campus, and one to Washington Park as part of the Saturday morning Bird Walks in the month of April.

Ever wondered who Mohammed was? Ever questioned the historicity if Jesus? Have you read the Torah? Ever though about the life after death? In this class, students will learn the basics about five of the world's largest religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism), discuss the impact of religion on history, culture, and morality, and examine the purposes of faiths in their reverence of the divine.

How can some people be more persuasive than others? What kind of techniques does a speaker use to gain the upper hand in a debate? Is being a good speaker always a good thing? In this class, we will look at some important speeches and practice in class exercises. We will analyze and work on some of the skills that people of all walks of life use to make others see things their way. We will make our in-depth study of rhetoric relevant to current events by looking at a few of President Obama's most recent speeches, and comparing them to famous orators of the past.

In this course, we will use an interactive approach to learning about organs, disease and health care careers. Students will have the opportunity to learn from donated human organs. We will explore how the lungs, liver, heart, and brain work under normal conditions, what can go wrong with these organs when they do not function correctly, and what various drugs do to these organs. We will also investigate how doctors assess the health of organs using medical equipment and technology, such as the stethoscope. Towards the end of the course, we will discuss the different career paths one can take in medicine, and the steps one needs to take to pursue these paths. Whether you’ve known since birth you wanted to be a doctor, or you are simply interested in science, this course is a unique opportunity to interact with medical science during high school that you don’t want to miss!

Summer is just around the corner, and this summer, that means a decision about whether Chicago will host the 2016 Olympics. Debate about whether the Olympics would be good for the city has persisted for several years now, with intense and serious arguments on both sides. As the decision gets closer and closer, and as the economic recession calls further attention to many of the city's problems, the debate becomes all the more relevant. This class will investigate the question of whether the Olympics would benefit the city of Chicago from the perspective of the city, its planning, its growth, and its social makeup. We'll try to understand arguments both for and against the Olympics, and even more important, we'll try to understand the broad set of city planning and design issues that the Olympics debate raises. Be prepared to do a lot of talking and thinking if you take this class... we want you to share your own opinions about what you'd like Chicago to be, and whether you think the Olympics would help it get there.

It turns out we're all primates, but humans are just one part of the thrilling world of primates. Come learn about the evolution of primates and see how humans stack up against fascinating primates like mountain gorillas, free-loving bonobos, slow lorises, or the most bizarre creature known to man: the Aye-Aye. We will cover the history, biology, and social lives of primates and discuss what these insights mean for humans. Join us for fun discoveries as we investigate primates and their behavior through video and interactive activities.

Any international competition will cause some national rivalries, but none do them in a more entertaining and wacky way than the Eurovision song contest. This momentous television event, which touches the lives and emotions of millions of Europeans, provides a way to discuss notions of nationhood and national pride from a popular or not-so-popular perspective. The Eurovision Song contest has been going on for over fifty years now, but hardly any Americans know about it. In this class we will explore all genres and archetypes of European music in connection with the nations they attempt to
represent.

In this class, students will read a few of Anton Chekhov's plays, widely regarded as some of the pieces of dramatic literature ever created, and then use what they've learned from Chekhov to write their own, original one-act plays. The class will focus on analyzing and understanding Chekhov's techniques--his creation of characters, his plotting, his settings, his dialogue--and then applying applying what we've learned to original work.

This exciting course will provide a hands on introduction to astrophysics an astronomy with our very own Ryerson Telescopes. Along with discussing such topics as dark matter, cosmic rays, stars, galaxies, cosmology, astrogeology, and the history of astronomy, students will be given the opportunity to do their own observing and perform astrophotography on our eight-inch refracting and ten-inch reflecting telescopes. The course will also be supplemented with various experiments of astrophysical significance such as measuring the speed of light and taking spectrums of various stellar bodies.

Students will be welcome to stay after class and hang around in the observatory watching the celestial bodies

Are you passionate about all things sweet? Do you dream of concocting dark, dense chocolate tortes and billowy, frosted three-layer cakes? Or perhaps you’ve always wanted to bake a cake from scratch but don’t know where to begin? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is the class for you! In this class, you’ll learn the fundamental techniques and baking knowledge needed to make beautiful homemade cakes from scratch. Each week we’ll introduce a cake that highlights a particular technique and ingredient. Working in small groups, you’ll make the cake and then enjoy it with your classmates at the end of the day. Along the way, we’ll explore the history and chemistry behind each recipe, asking questions such as, “How did this recipe originate?”, “What can a recipe’s ingredients tell us about the final product?” and “How do cakes rise?” Potential ingredients that will be covered include dairy, chocolate, spices, nuts, fruit and even vegetables!

Please note:
- We regret that those with allergies to nuts, dairy, eggs, or wheat will not be allowed to register for this class.
- This class will run from 4:30 to 7:00, with a break for dinner within the class. Do not register for this class if you can't make the entire 2.5 hours.
- You must come prepared to work in a kitchen: please wear close-toed shoes and long sleeves and tie back long hair.

Imagine you want to send a message to another friend that no one else should read. How would you do that? Using math of course! In this class you will learn how mathematics allows you to send classified messages, and the logical underpinning of two examples of these systems, known as El Gamal and RSA. You will also learn the mathematical underpinnings of these systems, which includes discussions of modular arithmetic, Fermat’s Last Theorem, prime factorization, the Chinese Remainder Theorem and much more. So if you’re interested in math, computer science, or understanding how to send secret messages this class is for you! Pre-requisite: Algebra II, and Pre-Calculus is recommended but not required.

Have you ever heard that video games will get you nowhere? Do your parents ever say that they are a waste of time or just toys? Do you ever wonder what makes video games so captivating? Do you wish that they could be even more than just really fun? Then maybe this is the class for you.

Through the course of five weeks, we will explore video games with the aim of discovering that there is far more to them than meets the eye. We live in a world where video gaming is only getting more popular, more widespread, and more serious. The debate over what these things are and what makes them so valuable rages on, fiercer than ever. By playing and critically discussing video games as well as important theories concerning play in general and video games in particular, we can hope to unearth some of the exciting potential that lies within this relatively young medium.

Taking this class means being willing to take nothing for granted. Video games offer so much for us to learn and love, and this is our chance to change the way we look at them forever.

Most of all: Let's have fun.

Do you hate working hard for money? This class aims to give you the knowledge and tools to go from $0 to $1,000,000 without working any harder than you already do. We’ll show you how to make money investing in stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments, and teach you fundamental concepts of financial literacy including how to understand and use money market accounts, certificates of deposit, credit cards, and more. Your money will either work for you or somebody else. Make it be you.