The Final Classes

As Friday afternoon draws to a close, so, too, do the last classes of the New England High School Summer Program!

Today students demonstrated Euclidean propositions 16, 29, and 32 from Book One of the Elements, which deal with triangles, parallel lines, and the elegant proof that the angles in a triangle are equal to two right angles. Most math students know that a triangle’s angles add up to 180 degrees, but proving this truth apart from any conventional numerical measurement is incredibly satisfying.

“I enjoyed Euclid!” said programmer Gabriel M. “There was an explanation for everything. It was different from our other classes, like the ones on Boethius. Those had more to do with life and important questions; Euclid was pure mathematics. I can’t decide which one I liked more.”

Students ate lunch quickly, eager for the last class of their two weeks at Thomas Aquinas College. They hurried back to their classrooms, where a cornucopia of gifts from the prefects sat at every student’s chair, including a backpack, a photo of their group, a notebook embossed with the College crest, a pen, a water bottle, and a copy of C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters.

After packing away their gifts, students plunged into a discussion of Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Everything that Rises Must Converge.” They savored O’Connor’s masterful portrayal of intense characters, exploring who each person fundamentally was, what caused the characters to act in the ways they did, and if they were doing right or wrong.

Students were sad to bid farewell to the College’s unique classroom experience. “I’ve really loved the Discussion Method!” exclaimed Vincent B. “There’s something so active about it. At other schools, the material is presented, and it’s given in a certain way. With the Discussion Method, you have to think alongside the author, in the same way that he does, and you gain something special by doing that.”

As if their gifts were not surprising enough, students walked out of their classrooms after class and straight into another surprise: an ice cream party on the second floor of St. Gianna Molla Hall! After their diligence and effort in preparing for classes, they deserved a treat! Prefects and students alike talked and sang, sad to see the end of classes, but eager for this evening’s celebration.

Come back to the Summer Program Blog Saturday to read about the end-of-program dinner and dance!