Jason, thank you for showing genuine interest in what other people thought. Like they say in Fight Club, “when people think you're dying they really listen instead of just waiting for their turn to talk” Ok, slightly hyperbolic I know. I hope others don't take this the wrong way. A lot of the people in class showed the same degree of patience and curiosity for the thought of their classmates. I wanted to tell you this because of the way you seem to listen, think and then answer. I think it was during our reading of Strauss and Adler, you said that class discussion fundamentally changed how you look at texts. Being somewhat of a wiseass, I've always taken what I read or hear or learn or see with a serious grain of salt.
From the first day of class we had our moments, sitting outside waiting for things to get going, during the break or while we were moving tables around. You told me about your dad and how much you admire his intellect. From a few of the things you said I could tell we had some rather divergent viewpoints on the topics people have been using to divide the country for the past few years. At the same time you tried to keep your arguments and ideas clear and well structured without stepping on anyone's toes. You can't really say the same thing about me. I blurted out a number of rather off color statements (not all of which were meant purely to fuel the fire a bit)
I think you could say this is one of the things I hope to take away from the class. When a question is asked, it's not always necessary to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. You showed me that it is completely acceptable to think for a second and give a well formulated answer to the best of your knowledge. Something else struck me in this class and it ties in to what I said earlier about divergent viewpoints. The texts we read could all be seen in a political light but we managed to stay civil in class. It seems like that huge rift in this country that the talking heads are trying to convince us of is something of an artificially created and over hyped phenomenon. Otherwise I don't think the two of us would have been able to be in the same room together, let alone engage in share ideas and learn from each other.
John,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I was always amazed by the interest that Jason seemed to take in absolutely everything anyone said. You could just see it in his eyes, he was genuinely curious in what others had to say. I could also tell the amount of thought that he put into his ideas before blurting them out.
On the other hand, I don’t think you should necessarily stop blurting out the first things that come to your head. I think we can all agree that the class wouldn’t have been the same nor gotten as far as we did in discussion without your “rather off color statements.” I respected the fact that you had the confidence to do that as much as I respected Jason’s well thought out statements. When I met with Ben for the last time, I told him I wished there had been times in the class when I would have had that confidence. I was always afraid that my thoughts weren’t developed enough to present to you guys. He told me some of the best thoughts are the ones that are quite concrete yet. I think the differences between people like you and Jason are what really made our class as successful as it was.
Thank you guys I appreciate what you have said. I never would have thought that I would have been thoughtful before I spoke goes to show you that I have grown because of this class in that area. John thank you for all your oppinions they have challenged me a lot. In a way it was you who would help me think out my arguments because if I didn't have them backed up well enough you would just shoot it right back at me haha so thanks. Stacia you have had a lot of good comments both on the blog and class don't be afraid to speak out and sometimes what helps me is to write it out before I say it. Good luck to both of you in your next semester and as you graduate.
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