Science and Manual Arts Sequence
In terms of curriculum, our Science and Manual Arts Sequence is our most distinctive feature, for a handful of colleges offer robust interdisciplinary programs in the humanities and at least some introduction to the liberal arts, but we are not aware of any other college or university that offers an extended sequence of science courses to all students.
Custodianship
Botany 1
Husbandry 1
Food Prep
Soil Science
Arboriculture
ecology
Botany 2
husbandry 2
Electricity
Research
Science and Manual Arts (SMA) Sequence
SMA 1: Custodianship
Fall of Freshman Year
This course focuses on Custodianship so students can begin to care for their campus home. For instance, students begin to learn Biology and Chemistry by coming to understand and use cleaning agents around campus and by contributing to the care of the ornamental plants on campus.
SMA 2: Intro to Botany
Spring of Freshman Year
This course focuses on an introduction to Botany so students can learn to tend the plants we raise on the collegiate farm as they prepare for their first summer here.
SMA 3: Intro to Animal Husbandry
Summer of Freshman Year
This course focuses on an introduction to Animal Husbandry so students can learn to understand and care for the animals we raise on the collegiate farm during their first summer on campus.
SMA 4: Food Prep and Preservation
Fall of Sophomore Year
This course focuses on food preparation and preservation so students can learn how to make good use of the first full harvest they see on our collegiate farm.
SMA 5: Soil Science
Spring of Sophomore Year
This course focuses on Soil Science so students in their second year on our campus can come to understand how the land itself lives by the interactions of the plants and animals that they learned about during their first year on our campus.
SMA 6: Arboriculture and WoodworkingÂ
Summer of Sophomore Year
This course focuses on trees: understanding and caring for individual trees, understanding and managing orchards and forests, as well as making good use of the bark and wood of various trees.
SMA 7: Ecology and Meteorology
Fall of Junior Year
This course focuses on Ecology and Meteorology so students can learn how the micro-ecosystem of our farm interacts with the wider ecosystems across our region and our planet.
SMA 8: Advanced Botany
Spring of Junior Year
This course gives students the opportunity not only to develop their understanding of Botany beyond what they learned in the intro course but also to assist in the teaching of Intro to Botany to the freshmen.
SMA 9: Advanced Animal Husbandry
Summer of Junior Year
This course gives students the opportunity not only to develop their understanding of Animal Husbandry beyond what they learned in the intro course but also to assist in the teaching of Intro to Animal Husbandry to the freshmen.
SMA 10: Electricity and Mechanics
Fall of Senior Year
This course focuses on the physics underlying electrical and mechanical systems, the history and development of such systems, and the proper use and care of such systems so students can assist in the repair and maintenance of such systems on our campus.
SMA 11: Scientific Research
Spring of Senior Year
This capstone of the Science and Manual Arts Sequence gives every student at St. Isidore’s the opportunity to conduct his or her own scientific research regarding some aspect of our collegiate farm under the guidance of our science faculty.