Attending parent’s weekend, we spent the day tagging along with our oldest daughter to all her classes. She’s a sophomore at St. John’s College in Annapolis, which has a strong Great Books program. (You can read more about it in the archive on this blog.) Above you can see the text on her bedside table that she stayed up late last night reading. Below you can see some classroom shots with her friends and favorite teachers. (She’s the blonde…)
We attended a seminar on I Corinthians, another on Bacon’s essay on death, a math class exploring conic sections, and a music class exploring the advent of polyphony.
Some of the questions explored were:
- What is faith and hope and why is love greatest?
- What is the role of love in the body of Christ?
- What does it mean to “die well?”
- What is the difference between honor and glory?
- Does music exist in space or just in time?
Interesting comments I heard today:
- “Christianity conquered the Roman Empire with the promise of eternal life.”
- “Honor aspires to death while love slights death.”
- “When people disagree they actually speak in dissonant tri-tones.”
Most interesting to me was the manner in which these students talked to one another. It spoke volumes to me more than the content. They preface their comments around the table with these phases that we heard over and over:
- “I’m wondering if…”
- “I’m interested in…”
- “I’m curious about…”
- “I’m trying to understand…”
- “I’m not convinced of…”
- “I’m unsure why…”
- “Are you saying that…”
- “What I thought is being said is…”
This is a remarkable place!
