Green Class

The experience was very.. green. I mean that in the best way. I arrived to Kiokoffer today to be redirected by one of my classmates to the back staircase of LAC and informed that we would be having class outside today. Aside from wishing I had brought the sunglasses I had contemplated on wearing today, this news was literally a breath of fresh air that I happened to need desperately since I was unable to acquire my coffee until after I had arrived to Naperville. (Getting out of bed today was harder than usual) My drink tasted even better outside. The last time I had a class held outdoors was spring term of 2013. Upon arriving, I heard an old professor of mine giving my current professor a hard time about treating us to this type of academic environment claiming she had "given up." It was funny, I guess. I laughed anyway. There is something about being exposed to an excessive amount of vitamin D that made me want to listen and interact today despite the fact that it's Friday of week nine and I have a lot to look forward to upon returning to the city. Today we covered some of Phyllis Wheatley's work, and the initial prompt for discussion took an interesting turn. Rather than the usual thematic analysis and the practice of prose we usually cover in 18th century context, we shifted today to a more contemporary analysis, one that analyzed the social implications of Wheatley's work in today's society. We ended up discussing socioeconomic status and the manner in which it tends to limit the potential of education. It ended up being a more open ended sort of class, one that was rooted in conversation and a very meek form of debate. It was interesting because it was relevant. I like hearing my classmates speak and I like responding to what they have to say. It's fun comparing our perceptions and realizing that the variance in our ideas is molded by where we come from. The places we grew up have molded our reality to at least a certain degree, if not a very significant one. I enjoyed it a lot and it woke me up a little before our exam. Happy Friday.