Weeks 27 and 28

Due to the onslaught of both Easter and Passover last weekend, I wasn't able to get to the blog, so I'll be reporting out on two weeks here. In addition, this wraps up our last week of classes before April break! I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it's a much needed and much deserved rest.

We've been experiencing a few cases of interesting synchronicity across and within several of our classes. In History, we've just left the Greek Dark Age for the Egypt of the New Kingdom (18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties). In Reading Comprehension, we finished Aristophanes' The Clouds and Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, and we've moved on to Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. We also happened to finish studying the Greek Theater in Ethics. Once we read Euripides, we've completed a work from each of the Greek play-writes.

In Ethics, we've left the Socratic and Platonic schools of thought, and we've moved onto Aristotle. Aristotle's more scientific approach to ethics branches into philosophy and a kind of applied logic called Propositional Calculus. The Sophists that we had been studying earlier in Ethics had used a basic form of logic that was easy to manipulate. They would use its manipulative nature to confuse and convince their audiences. In fact, the Sophists were the first "lawyers". My students, like Aristotle, had found basic logic frustrating. Now, knowing Aristotles' inclinations (through Ethics) and his rationale for Propositional Calculus (from Logic), the students are actually experiencing the relief that come with being able to PROVE why an argument doesn't "feel right".

Another example of "worlds colliding" occurred between our History/Reading Comprehension/Ethics classes. In history, we've been watching how various empires are fighting for boundaries: the Hittites, Hyksos, Egyptians, Assyrians, etc. We've seen references to these groups of people in the Greek plays that we've read. We're now able to answer questions like: Why was it so important for Oedipus to answer the riddle of the Sphinx?; what did this 'challenge' symbolize, historically?; what was Aristophanes' satirical criticism of Socrates based on?; weren't Aristophanes' frustrations due to the fact that he was applying Aristotle's logic to Socrates' arguments?

Lastly, we've continued our study of entomophagy as a jumping-off point for Science. We're moving into grasshoppers/locusts/crickets. In addition to their basic anatomy, we will be studying the various cultures who routinely eat them. It just so happens that we'll be starting our reading of the New Testament soon, and I'll be sure to point out that John the Baptist's "bread" that he ate during his stay in the desert was locust. And, we'll have to re-read our Old Testament passages that mention potential grasshopper sightings: Leviticus 11:22 specifically allows the eating of locust, grasshopper, and katydid. In addition, I'd like to suggest the possibility that the "manna" from heaven that sustained the Jews in the desert could have been locust swarms.

As you can see, there are lots of connections lately. There is nothing more rewarding to hear your student say "Oh, hey, that TOTALLY makes sense because..."