A Fresh Perspective: The joy of Paideia

As the academic year draws to a close, I’ve begun to reflect on some of the factors which have made my first year at Luther such a unique, unforgettable experience: working as a football manager, professors who know me by my first name and the joys of living in a first-year residence hall. While reminiscing, my mind wanders to one word that makes nearly everyone’s skin crawl: Paideia. It’s at this point that I admit, I’m going to take a rather unpopular stand in the eyes of my first-year classmates: I’ve decided that I don’t mind Paideia!

“Paideia,” as we’ve all had to memorize, is the Greek word for “education,” which to some, seems like an oxymoron. “They’re just setting us up to not read these books,” “Ohmigod, this is so stupid,” and “I hate this class with my whole life!” are all common phrases in a conversation about the latest book or paper to write. Some take a more rational approach; instead of outright complaints, they attempt to decipher the purpose of Paideia and how in the world it could ever apply to their future. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had my fair share of frustrations and complaints about the course; however, it’s when students begin attacking its usefulness that I begin to disagree.

No matter which professor you had, or how much you enjoyed him or her, one thing stays consistent: first-year Paideia teaches us to be effective communicators while forcing us to think critically and examine our personal set of values. Now that we’re rapidly approaching the “real world,” our views will undoubtedly be challenged in some way, and it is no longer sufficient to simply lean back on the excuse of, “Well, it’s how I was raised.” Should we need to defend ourselves against skeptics, it will be critical to express our feelings in a logical, thoughtful way.

I realize the books weren’t ideal for entertainment value, and I realize the lectures weren’t our preferred way to spend a whole hour, but take a look at how far we’ve come. Prior to this year, I’d never heard of the Indian Partition, and I didn’t know the first thing about writing an argumentative thesis. Though you may not readily admit it, I know each of us can take away something from Paideia. Yes, it may suck now, but hey, we’re almost done!