In this 6-week course we will go through our historical knowledge of major pandemics by consulting first-person accounts, art, archaeological evidence, and groundbreaking scientific research from the dawn of civilization to the present day. This class is appropriate for ages 10+ and adults will enjoy it too! Please see parental disclaimer below.
Course Syllabus
Class 1: Introduction, Prehistoric Plagues, & Plague of Athens (April 6)
Class 2: Bubonic Plague & The Black Death (April 13)
Class 3: Ancient America & The Great Dying in the Northeast (April 20)
Class 4: Historic Plagues with Connections to Ridgefield & Understanding Infection (April 27)
Class 5: Annual Influenza & The 1918 Pandemic (May 4)
Class 6: Current Threats/Resurgences & The Future of Health (May 11)
Alexa likes to push her students to think critically, holistically, and take risks in the classroom. Her courses aim to help students see their world as it is: layered, diverse, and waiting to be explored!
Read one of Alexa Rome’s articles: “Tracing Ancient Plagues” (PDF format)
Review for Alexa as an online educator:
“Personally, I loved this teacher. She was pretty much a perfect role model for kids: open, curious, encouraging, quick to validate…What a wonderful guide. She opens doors.” (A satisfied parent)
Reviews for Ancient Plagues:
“Amazing and thoroughly informative class.”
“My son really enjoyed this class and the instructor. He learned a great deal (and I thought the slides looked fabulous – I wanted to take the class myself ;)). Thank you Alexa for being such an engaging teacher!”
“This was my son’s first multi-date class, and he enjoyed it and the teacher. He liked what he learned about the topic and the perspective & sense of history it gave him during this somewhat unusual moment in his lifetime.”
“My son (10) LOVED this class and looked forward to it every week. He was excited to watch the supplemental videos and also said that this teacher is ‘one of the best Outschool teachers I’ve had.’ Thank you so much!”
Parental Guidance
We will be discussing death, disease, personal accounts of symptoms, and other things that may be disturbing to some students. We will focus on hope for the future and scientific research when discussing modern-day disease, but it still may be too much for some students. Please be vigilant about your student’s mental health during this confusing time, and feel free to reach out with feedback or questions.
