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Interesting to see the deep skepticism in the comments. I attended St John's College - which is probably as close as a "real" school can get to the Catherine P
by glial 5y ago
Interesting to see the deep skepticism in the comments.
I attended St John's College - which is probably as close as a "real" school can get to the Catherine Project - and loved every minute. Grades were not given, and there were no professors or lectures.
Seeing criticism about the business model and lack of tests, worry about educational fads, etc, is missing the point, in my opinion.
Consider the possibility that a group of adults may want to engage in rich and historically important works of thought, but have no interest in the trappings of educational institutions, with their tuition, grades, etc. Like a bible study, but without the bible. If you feel threatened by this, ask yourself why.
- DoreenMichele 5y agoI'm guessing you mean this St. John's: https://www.sjc.edu/ https://www.sjc.edu/ (If so: Color me jealous.)
- colpabar 5y agoI don’t understand all the negativity either. The article I read described a group of people who were genuinely interested in learning, so much so that the organizers do it for free. Sure there are no grades or degrees, but who cares? The education is the point, and really it’s the only point. It feels like a lot of the comments boil down to “well my education was different so I can’t take this seriously.”
- wahern 5y agoI had a law school professor who attended St. John's for undergraduate, and while most professors at my law school tried (more than many other law schools, AFAIU) to stick to the Socratic Method, the two classes I attended of his were by far the most engaging on account of his proficiency with and commitment to the method. While most professors' biases, including their politics, tended to bleed through to some degree, it was only after I graduated and took the time to read over some of his own published scholarly works that I realized he held some diametrically opposed political and legal views to my own. I also had the privilege of attending some Great Books courses at my high school and always regretted not applying to St. John's for undergraduate. I would like to attend some discussions organized by The Great Books Council of San Francisco (https://www.greatbooksncal.org/ https://www.greatbooksncal.org/), though it's difficult to find time.
- throwawaygh 5y ago> Like a bible study, but without the bible. Yeah, exactly. Or hackerspaces. Or OSS. Or presenting at DEFCON. (And, yes, these folks will include this project in their tenure/promotion cases and therefore indirectly benefit professionally even if they don't charge just like in the cases above.) My only real "criticism" of this model is that the people doing this work shouldn't shy away from asking for "tithes"... humanities professors are criminally under-paid and plenty of folks would pay to attend these sorts of seminars (in the same way that most people tithe at church).
- throwaway894345 5y agoDo most people tithe at church?
- dbt00 5y agoEven in churches without official tithes, there's a collection plate passed. Operations must be funded, employees need to be fed, housed, clothed.
- throwaway894345 5y agoI guess growing up people would toss a few bucks in the collection plate. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned that my Dad would write a significant check to the church every month in addition to the few dollars we passed in the plate (we were a blue collar family, but my parents prioritized tithing, which helped to subsidize the school that was affiliated with the church). My understanding is that the plate is not a significant portion of the church’s revenue, but maybe other churches put larger checks into the collection plate.
- throwaway984393 5y agoOur family put the checks in the collection plate. They certainly do get donations from other places, and of course they don't pay taxes.
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- esrh 5y agoWhat's your favorite book?
- glial 5y agoI think it's a 3-way tie between Aristotle's Ethics, Spinoza's Ethics, and Euclid's Elements.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- zz865 5y agoThat's awesome I always wanted to talk to a St John's alumni. I heard most universities have a "great books" style course, do you know the difference? I'd love my daughter to do something like this.
- okhobb 5y agoThe entirety of the four-year undergraduate curriculum is centered around great books, and there are no specific majors. https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-books-reading-list https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-bo...
- Grae 5y agoHey it's a Johnnie HN thread. There are dozens of us. Dozens! I've been very loosely involved in Interintellect[0], which itches a similar scratch and looks spiritually very similar to the Catherine Project, with perhaps less of a focus on great books and a wider, more modern gamut. For anyone considering Catherine Project, Interintellect, or St. John's College, I heartily recommend them. Diligently reading through deep written work, then discussing it with other people genuinely interested and invested in the work and the dialogue is a wonderful experience and one that's hugely shaped me. [0]https://interintellect.com/ https://interintellect.com/
- AussieWog93 5y ago> Interesting to see the deep skepticism in the comments. I think if we look at the title and ignore the content of the article itself, it explains why the reaction was so strong. A title that contains the word "liberal" and mentions experimenting with education is not going to bring out the most level-headed readers.
- rwbt 5y agoNever heard of SJC. Reading about it and their curriculum makes me happy and also jealous ;)
- krageon 5y agoGiven that these types of schools (at least in Europe) have a long history of delivering students not ready for jobs or subsequent education, the scepticism is entirely warranted.
- glial 5y agoThe article's not about a school.