Academics
At St. John’s College in Santa Fe, students read and explore a common body of “great books”—including many of the most important books in history—in close partnership with their classmates and teachers. Every professor “must teach (learn) Euclid, Plato, and Darwin, whether he or she has a PhD in mathematics, classics, or biology.” This common curriculum and dedication to the liberal arts means that “students are respected for what they can bring, and need never feel self-conscious about whether they’re ‘smart enough.’” Everywhere you look, there is a “commitment, sincerity, and passion for learning of the community and the faculty.” This truly is an academic community that sincerely loves “the journey in its pursuit of knowledge, not simply the destination.” The “liberation of the mind” at SJC comes primarily by means of the Socratic Method. SJC does not have professors, but tutors, who are there not to lecture, but to “help lead the class through the curriculum.” The tutors are “very different in personality,” but also “very knowledgeable and excitable about what we do.” As experienced academics, they are “skillful when it comes to managing the classroom discussions and helping students articulate their thoughts” and are “truly open-minded and give everyone a chance to participate.” “They really care about their students and treat us as peers in the classroom since they consider themselves also to be constantly learning.” “Everyone shares fundamental values of how to treat others in the classroom,” says a student. The greatest asset of SJC is the community; with everyone on board this nontraditional learning train, it’s hard not to be at your best. “You’re thinking nonstop at SJC,” says a student. Though the self-selecting student body pretty much ensures success, students can choose how connected they wish to be to the rest of the school. “You can go four years without having an interaction with the president of the college, or you can see him every Tuesday at the Foreign Relations study group,” says a student.
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