Reflect on the unique nature of SNC as a learning environment. How do these two documents [“Only Connect” and “Nine Precepts of Norbertine Pedagogy”] and our discussion inform your thinking about the values of this place and what they can contribute to your growth as a person?
St. Norbert College is a liberal arts school in Depere, Wisconsin. It is run by a Catholic order called the Norbertine’s. The 9 precepts of St Norbert’s Norbertine pedagogy are as follows Conversion, Contemplation, Detachment, Dialogue, Reconciliation, Affectivity, Adaptivity, Accompaniment, and Community/Communio. These 9 precepts are what make up the college, and it shows in the way people act towards each other. The motto is a direct correlation to one of the precepts: Communio. In each classroom, I’ve felt this precept put into action. Each class has around 7-30 people in it. This gives the professor a chance to learn everyone’s names and to be connected with their students. This also allows for the students to connect with the professor and have a resource not just for class, but for references and other after college things. All of these precepts will better help students to understand what they’re learning, but also how to critically think about why they’re learning what they’re learning. These precepts will help me grow in many ways, such as how to put all the things I’m learning into practice when I’m a teacher.
William Cronon’s “Only Connect” explains that liberal education is a means of becoming free. Free in a way that allows you to think and know many subjects, not just what you’re studying. This allows people to be well-rounded and to have knowledge that many people may not have otherwise. Cronon also talks about the variety of emotional aspects of liberal education. He says that liberally educated people are more apt to listen and to understand different points of view of people. That they can talk to anyone, and they like to nurture the people around them. Cronon also says it’s the power of connecting to other people that makes liberal education so freeing. My education through St. Norbert will allow me to grow in self-confidence and help me connect to people that I might have never considered connecting to. It’s in the precepts of the pedagogy and the “list” that makes up a liberal arts school that I will learn and grow and become closer to becoming a successful and worthy teacher.
Thanks for sharing Hannah.
As you think about the ideas articulated in these documents, how do you see them facilitating your development as a learner and an educator? Which of these ideas resonate most strongly with you? How can you connect these to your experience and use them to frame your path forward to your goals?
Peace,
Dr. R