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The Catherine Project: A new experiment in liberal education

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Re: The Catherine Project: A new experiment in liberal education

#101

Post by wfhpw »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #89
throwaway894345 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do most people tithe at church?

In the United States, most churches are open to anyone who wants to come in, but often being a "member" of the church requires providing some form of formal support, such as tithing (members typically have at least some say in church policy, while random congregants do not). Congregants (who may not be official members) also generally add something to the collection plate when it comes around. Some countries still ha…

10% of income is the standard

Re: The Catherine Project: A new experiment in liberal education

#103

Post by zz865 »

glial wrote: post #61

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…

That'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.

Re: The Catherine Project: A new experiment in liberal education

#104

Post by cmh89 »

WalterBright wrote: post #56
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of the things you learned under pressure of exams and grades, how many of them do you actually remember? That is, did you learn for long enough to pass the test, or did you learn ?

I'm well aware of the modern movement to discredit tests, arguing that doing well on tests have nothing to do with knowing the material. I'm not a subscriber to that. If you are, I expect you'll be disappointed with the results. It's also why there are athletic competitions. It brings out the best in athletes as they strive to win. Are their achievements fake?

No one is saying tests 'have nothing to do with knowing the material'. The point is that a test environment isn't ideal for gauging how well someone knows materials.

Our system of testing incentivizes teaching to the test and a focus on pointless memorization.

Our schools aren't supposed to be competitions, at least not primarily. Comparing them to athletics events is silly. If we wanted to find out "who is the best at taking test", then a test is the most appropriate tool. If we want to find out "Can Timmy do geometry", a classical closed-book, timed test isn't the best measurement.

It comes down to, what is the point of testing students? What is gained by restricting access to clarifying materials or enforcing arbitrary time limits?

Re: The Catherine Project: A new experiment in liberal education

#105

Post by mahogany »

pdmccormick wrote: post #32

Has anyone ever stopped to consider the ethical question of applying the latest unproven fads of educational theory to unwitting students? Ideally before large scale rollouts? As someone who grew up during a tumultuous time for the public education system in Ontario, Canada, it felt like ever year or two whole curriculums were thrown out and the latest and greatest "cutting edge" approaches and fads were foisted upon…

In what ways are the (current) traditional models in public education "proven"? Genuine question.

Speaking of ethics, it doesn't seem entirely ethical to force students to memorize a bunch of facts (chosen by whom?) and regurgitate them for arbitrary grades for over a decade, as if that has something to do with education. Certainly there is some lasting psychological damage inflicted by that methodology.

Re: The Catherine Project: A new experiment in liberal education

#106

Post by justahuman74 »

wfhpw wrote: post #101
Turing_Machine wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the United States, most churches are open to anyone who wants to come in, but often being a "member" of the church requires providing some form of formal support, such as tithing (members typically have at least some say in church policy, while random congregants do not). Congregants (who may not be official members) also generally add something to the collection plate when it comes around. Some countries still ha…

10% of income is the standard

That's just enormous, seems like a strong disincentive to join

Re: The Catherine Project: A new experiment in liberal education

#107

Post by lkschubert8 »

WalterBright wrote: post #35
thelettere wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you aren't everyone. There are already a number of colleges and universities that don't use grades, and many have been around for a half century or more and are among the most prestigious liberal arts institutions in the country. But maybe you're right and it's all a sham.

> Maybe you aren't everyone. I didn't say "all students". > a number of colleges and universities that don't use grades An example of a prestigious university that doesn't use grades would help your case.

There is one mentioned in the top comment, St. John's.

Re: The Catherine Project: A new experiment in liberal education

#108

Post by [deleted] »

nanna wrote: post #100
tbjohnston wrote: post #83

Gentle note - I participated in one of the Catherine Project's events - a two hour session on Genesis 1-5. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone involved came prepared, asked good questions, and listened thoughtfully to what others had to say. I'd cheerfully participate again. I don't understand the skepticism either. If people want to engage a great text with a community, what's the harm?

> I don't understand the skepticism either. The thread's been jumped on by mysoginistic conservatives?

[deleted]

Re: The Catherine Project: A new experiment in liberal education

#109

Post by glial »

esrh wrote: post #97
glial wrote: post #61

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…

What's your favorite book?

I think it's a 3-way tie between Aristotle's Ethics, Spinoza's Ethics, and Euclid's Elements.

Re: The Catherine Project: A new experiment in liberal education

#110

Post by kaba0 »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #64

When I first moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, my husband drove the family to see San Francisco one day. It was the most beautiful and inspiring big city I had ever seen. We stopped at the bookstore on the way home and I bought a bunch of books related to my interest in urban planning and read them while convalescing. One book was a collection of excerpts from various urban planning tomes. Another was a book calle…

Just in case you have missed, here is a thread on your dream college: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29324628
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