Props & Butterflies

When Tuesday morning dawned sunny and warm on the New England High School Summer Program, students awoke with butterflies in their stomachs. Today was the first day of demonstrating Euclid’s propositions to their class!

“I’m nervous, but I kind of hope I get called today,” said Levi S. “I studied really hard.” After Mass and breakfast, attendees walked to class, many of them reviewing their books and notes from the previous night. With the encouragement and support of the prefects, students were feeling up to the task of presenting.

The propositions assigned were props 1, 2, and 3 of Book I of the Elements, which are, respectively, to construct an equilateral triangle, to place at an extremity a straight line equal to a given straight line, and to cut off from a greater straight line a portion equal to the lesser. Despite the formidable challenge that learning the propositions takes, many students expressed enthusiasm about doing more. “When I did Euclid in high school, I was really just trying to get through the props and get a good grade. Now, I feel like I’m really appreciating and understanding them, not just getting them done,” said Nicholas S. “Reading Euclid totally changed my perspective on math,” added John F. “I’ll never look at a triangle the same way again!”

At lunch, students dug into pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, and green beans as they debriefed from their first class. Gould Commons was filled with chatter about the props that had been presented, the next props assigned, and the elusive logic of how students are chosen to present. Prefects shared their own stories of presenting props, laughing about slip-ups and giving tips on how to learn the propositions effectively.  

Students then made their way to their afternoon class on the third and fourth books of Boethius’s The Consolation of Philosophy, in which Lady Philosophy speaks about happiness. In particular, programmers discussed the difference between happiness and pleasure — and how one can attain true happiness.

When attendees flooded out of St Gianna Molla Hall at the conclusion of their classes, they were shepherded to the front of Gould Hall for group photos. Little did the students know that something more mischievous was afoot! As the men of the program lined up and smiled for the camera, a rainbow of water balloons suddenly rained down from the third-floor windows! The women prefects had proposed the photos as a clever ruse in order to pull a lighthearted prank on the men. A merry water-balloon fight ensured as the men attempted to defend their honor.

Once the students are dried off, they have a fun afternoon in store, so be sure to come back to the Summer Program Blog tomorrow to read all about it!