The Academic Decathlon course will provide students with a rigorous and diverse learning experience that spans ten academic disciplines. Students will be asked to deeply research and study topics in at seven academic areas: language and literature, music, art, economics, science, social science, and mathematics. They will also study and participate in performance activities of speech, essay writing and interviewing. Students will develop research skills, critical thinking skills and inference abilities and, as a team, the class will compete in the Ventura County Academic Decathlon following the format and topic directives of the competition. Academic Decathlon is a nationwide program dedicated to academic excellence in high schools. The curriculum is created by the United States Academic Decathlon (U.S.A.D.). The content of the Academic Decathlon course will change every year depending on the topic U.S.A.D. chooses for the current school year. Topics have ranged from “The Renaissance” to “Africa” The competition will consist of tests and/or events in the following areas: art, economics, language and literature, mathematics, science, social studies, speech, interview, essay and super quiz. The course will have a strong focus on analysis and evaluation of the topics detailed above. By the end of the semester, not only will students have studied and mastered topics that are not traditionally taught in core classes, but they will have strong skills in the following areas: listening, speaking, analysis, evaluation, critical reading, and critical thinking.