Paideia II relevance under scrutiny from students and staff

Paideia II has recently drawn much attention from faculty and students alike, who are asking whether Paideia II really contains elements that relate back to Paideia I. This question has compelled Luther faculty to review the program and address course questions from students.

Paideia II was originally made available for upper-classmen in a more focused topic of their preferred area of study. The last changes made to the program were in 2007, when it was decided that the courses no longer had to incorporate Christian elements. The element of Paideia II that has remained is that it is an inter-disciplinary course dealing with ethical issues.

Since all students are required to take Paideia II, it was revised so the courses could relate closely to students’ majors.

“One example of this is that if you are a Biology major, you can take Bio-Diversity for Paidiea II and be able to take a course that really complements your area of study,” David Faldet, professor of English, said.

In addition to complementing one’s major, Paideia II can also fulfill educational objectives for some majors.

“For education students, the Paideia II “Making Decisions in U.S. Schools” can be really beneficial,” Assistant Professor of Education Doug Knick said. “Some of these objectives Paideia II covers for education majors, such as Education Foundations and Philosophy of Education, are an accumulation of students’ educational coursework and their teaching experience, theory and practice coming together.”

Even if students don’t take Paideia II to complete academic objectives, there are a wide variety of topics to suit other interests.

Computer science major Patrick Williams (‘10), took “Race: The American Dilemma” taught by Professor Guy Nave, Leah Pickard and Novian Whitsit.

“It didn’t cohere with my specific area of study, but it was an eye-opening and life-altering experience for me,” Williams said. “This class rocked my preconceptions about race and racism and made me a better person.”

There is continual revision of Paideia II because of the wide array of topics, and the coherence between Paideia I and Paideia II is part of this process.

“The lack of continuity and coherency between Paideia I and Paideia II is being addressed, and we are trying to improve that sense of coherency for future students,” Nave said.