Studying the humanities — subjects like art, history, sociology and anthropology — is just as important as mastering science and math, says David Busch, a humanities instructor at Cuyahoga Community College.
The humanities show students the roots of contemporary societal problems and issues, which is vital to addressing those problems and issues. Also, drawing on history shapes the lives of students, giving them perspectives they would not have gained otherwise.
“Even if you’re interested in nursing or engineering, the study of humanities is still important for the development of self and the realizing of possibilities,” Busch says.
That’s why Tri-C launched the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Youth
Humanities Academy at its Eastern Campus in summer 2022. The nine-week summer program invites local high school juniors and seniors to study the humanities not only in the classroom but in the community, where art and history come alive.
The academy, which prepares high schoolers for college, targets those from lower-income families who are often first-generation college students. The program is free and provides each student a $3,150 stipend.
“These students want to do summer humanities programs but normally can’t because they need to work part-time or full-time jobs to help support their families, or the programs themselves are not affordable,” says Busch, the academy’s program manager. “The stipends remove that either/or situation for them.”
Over the past two summers, 65 high schoolers have studied in the academy and 30 more are enrolled for this summer. They come from Cleveland and inner-ring suburbs like Cleveland Heights and Garfield Heights but also from outlying communities like Westlake, Willoughby and Medina County. The idea is to connect students with varying geographical and educational backgrounds to broaden their perspectives.
Busch says that of the 14 humanities academy students who have since graduated high school, 86% are now attending college, and of that number, 58% are first-generation college students.
In the humanities academy classroom, students discuss deep questions, like “What is beauty?” and “What is justice?”. They go on field trips, including those to the Cleveland Museum of Art and Cory United Methodist Church on 105th Street in Cleveland, where both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X spoke.
Michael Arcaro, a senior at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School in Cleveland, took part in the 2023 Tri-C humanities academy. He says he enjoyed the off-campus activities the most.
“I’ve met people who work at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the LAND Studio (for local artists in Cleveland) and even a Cleveland mural artist,” Arcaro says.
Layla Tinsley, a student at Cleveland School of the Arts, was Arcaro’s classmate in last summer’s academy. She’s into cultural anthropology and was drawn to the academy because of its emphasis on art, history and literature.
“We did a lot of digging deeper — deeper in our own writing, how we look at different questions and how we read books,” Tinsley says. “I’ve also learned that you have to hold your values firm but still be open to learning and listening,” she adds. “These are the intellectual virtues we’ve been talking about.
