Final Paideia Reflection

When I joined Paideia I had no idea what I was getting into. Literally I didn’t know what the curriculum consisted of or how the program worked. I was a freshman seeking something more from my education. As a freshman I felt well plugged in with extracurriculars; I was in clubs, sports and had an abundance of friends from an array of educational disciples. However, I was worried about my educational growth. I talked to some upper classman about my concerns and immediately Paideia was suggested as a solution. They broadly explained the concept of Paideia to me and I agreed to try it hoping it would satisfy a hazy need I was feeling.
Three years later, I appreciate what Paideia has done in my academic endeavors. Paideia served as my liberal arts outlet. Even though we attend a liberal arts school and have the opportunity of expanding our knowledge past the standard curriculum for a given field, little integration of subjects actually occur in the classrooms. I was able to learn about subjects not typically encountered in my major classes but the most impactful lesson was being able to add a psychological or scientific perspective on the topics I would never relate to science. We actively engaged in conversations about issues, everything from governmental or political debates to social problems in school systems. Paideia opened my eyes to new topics and just how interconnected different fields of study are. It let me grow academically and forced me into opportunities I was not aware I could obtain in college.
Paideia forced me to expand my cultural experience further than I was planning. Each semester we were forced (harsh word but honestly I would not have attended half of the activities I did if it were not for the required end of semester reflections) into attending an event that did not pertain to our field of interest. By the end of Paideia (the past couple of semesters) I actually had difficulties choosing between the wide array of activities I attended to reflect on. Each experience brought me into a new understanding of the world around me and taught me just how little I actually knew.
The first semester of Paideia was interesting. I spent a majority of our meetings attempting to blend into my surroundings while a few of my cohort members fussed over a controversial topic. I had the urge to step in and mediate the conflict but I typically just sat back and enjoyed the show. Our group size reduced slowly over the semesters. It was disheartening to watch our group dissipate because our diversity of viewpoints followed suit. However, the smaller group size was not necessarily bad. Much of the arguing reduced and more productive conversations were allowed. I became more comfortable sharing my opinions in class, not sure if that was due to actually being able to find a break in a conversation to input my thoughts or from the certainty that my thoughts would not be immediately rejected by at least one member of my cohort or simply because I became more confident in my opinions. It is quite possible it was a mix of the three, regardless of the reasoning I changed in my role from the passive listener to the engaged contributor.
Paideia is a great program aimed enhancing our education. I enjoyed the deep conversations I had with my cohort and the perspective of education I obtained. I hope to further my lessons from Paideia as I move on to further my education by reaching out to different fields offering my scientific background as advice to understanding the world around us differently.