Class Survey Results for week of November 14-18

The pace of the class. 3.89

The challenge of the class. 4.33

Respect to students by Mr. O. 4.78

Respect to students by students. 3.94

Respect to Mr. O by students. 3.94

What went well in class this week?

A lot of things went really well during the past week. I really think that the new group activities went really well. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and at the same time learning a lot. I also think that the class as a whole has shown more respect towards one another as well as to you. This has made the class more enjoyable as well. I also think that you giving us the homework and then having us discuss it in class went really well. I liked taking a break from small groups because i was able to get my ideas to my smaller group a lot easier then compared to the larger groups in small groups. I also liked this because the quotes that you choose were different then the ones that i choose so this made me think outside the box and analize a new quote. This was chalanging because i didnt pick it and it forced me to not always analize the simplest quote but rather a more meaningful one. I am very impressed with how the class worked togewther this week.

I liked the Montaigne readings this week. I think that there is a lot to be gained from the rambling style of his writings. I think the respect levels in the class were alot better this week than they have been in the past.

I particularly enjoyed the new activity of the carosel. Specifically, the fast pace and measured time line for quote discussion were extremely helpful because often times when in pithy quote discussion groups, we will not get the chance to thoruoghly discuss each quote, or even address them. With the carosel, we get e good idea of the opinions of other groups as well, for as we go along, we can also read the comments of the other groups and either disregard them, or take them into account when forming our own interpretations. I also enjoy seeing the wonderful works of art that are frequently left on these carosel sheets.Ocaasionally I contribute to these, other times I restrain myself from doing so.

I really enjoy the new format we have for the discussions, It's fun, animated in a way, and seems to be working

I really enjoyed the reading 'On the Education of Children' by Montaigne. I got a lot out of that reading and really enjoyed reading it. The essay said a lot of things that I see as truly relevent and important to education today, which is something that is pretty incredible, seeing as Montaigne wrote that essay around 400 years ago.

I really like the Carousel Activity - I think it worked really well for getting a better understanding of the entire essay. When we do Small- and Large- Group Discussions, I feel like I only come away with a good understanding of the quotes that I chose, and maybe a couple of concepts talked about by the whole class. On the days we did the Carousel Activity it was easier to stay focused on each quote, and getting to really talk about five or six different excerpts a day, I felt I got a hold of the essays as a whole better than I could have if we were all just talking about what stood out to us individually.

I really liked the activities involving rotaions around quotations. It helped to have in depth disscussions on more than one quote as in small groups where the focus seems to always land on one quote. It also keeps you on your toes to be moving around and know what everyone thinks about each quotation.

I really thought the new activity we did on Wednesday - Friday went well. I liked getting away from just writing a pithy quote for homework, and then talking about it in class.

I thought the carousel activity went pretty well, especially when we used Allegra's suggestion to have each group write their comments on a big piece of paper. I think that seeing other groups' comments helped us to understand the quotes a little better. One group I was in even used graphic representations for each quote!

One thing that i realyl felt went well in the class, and i really enjoyed doing was the round about thing in the classroom. I liked going around and talking about the qoutes that Mr. O had choosen, and it really did allow me to fully understand the readings. I also really enjoyed the switch up.

The battle of the titans (Ro-Gio vs. The Walshinator) was inspiring to behold. They are both continually bringing up excellent points.

The carousel activity went well this week. It was a perfect way to mix up the activities and to get to know the opinions of the people in our groups a little better. By only having a couple people in the group it was necessary that every one put their opinion in and that was nice to experience because sometimes when we do small groups, not everyone participates. I also like responding to a variety of quotes as we did in this activity because that is another thing that small group discussions fails to do because it is very easy to get off subject.

The Week of Montaigne truely lived up to its name. By this I mean that it was a great week, for Montaine's wisdom is great indeed. Each of the essays, although somewhat long, were fascinating and each dealt with an aspect of humanity in an insightful and unique way. The carousel activities were something new and a nice change of pace. I think the carosel was a good activity because it allowed everyone to be exposed to more of the essays than just talking about a specific part of one. Overall, the respect was also at a higher level this week than the past few; it seemed like everyone was more willing to participate as well.

This is kind of a two-parter but I think the carousel went well. It was an interesting take on finding out about everyone elses views on the readings. However...

This past week has been very enjoyable for me. I liked doing the quote carassele. I was beginning to get tired of small groups, and this was a welcome change. Also, i was surprixed to see the activity change over the week. We shuggested using larger peices of paper, and Mr. O honored our requests the next day.

This week i really liked the quote carrosel espacially on large paper and markers. i felt that the smaller groups made it easier to hear more opinions and i liked being able to hear a variety of things said from each group

This week I think the class has done a good job reading and interpreting Montaigne's work. His essays are difficult at times to understand because they have no clear thesis statement, and thus seem like a rant. However, members of the class have thoroughly read the works (which I think is admirable because Mr. O'Leary hasn't been checking homework), and picking out the pith.

This week something that went pretty well for me was the reading 'Of Cannibals.' This went well for me because I made up my own alternative pithy quote assignment. I took many different quotes that I thought were important, listed them, and then wrote about them all in one summary, sort of. Anyway, it worked well for my train of thought.

What could have gone better?

I really honestly dont believe that much more could have gone better. I really like how we have continued to work hard and everyones respect is back at the level of standards that we had towards the begining of the class. The only thing that i reconmend changing for the class is that we do more creative activies jsut so that we can change up how we go about learning.

i wish we could have more time in the activities to be able to read and understand the quotes before moving on to the next one i also felt that the time limited me from reading what everyone else had to say.

... the carousel had some drawbacks. It would have been nice to use our own quotes and graphics instead of responding to someone elses ideas. Also it would have been nice, since we rarely have time for a full discussion, to just walk around at the end to read all of the responses. I feel like I missed out on a lot of interesting comments.

Although I enjoyed the idea of the carousel, it only has the potential of working if everyone puts 100% effort into it. As there is a time limit, the only way to get something out of this activity is if everyone is participating. I had one group that didn't care too much about working; I guess it sort of depends on who you happen to get grouped with.

Because of the small group size, I find that we often vier away form the topic of disscustion. other than that, however, i see little area for improvments. Once again the carousele was fun, but alowed for some interesting takes on the quote.

I really thought that the carousel activity could have gone better for me, because I did not add a whole lot to what my groups were putting down on the papers. I just thought that what they had to say was always more eloquently put, so i just added a word in when I could. Something else that could have gone better was the reading of 'On the Education of Children' because about every other paragraph I would start to think of something else, so I do not think i got out of it as much as I could have.

I slacked off on Thursday and Friday because I knew we Mr. O wouldn't check our work and we wouldn't have to talk about what we got from the readings. It got to me because it's what, two weeks into the quarter? - and I'm already blowing off assignments again like I said I wouldn't. I feel like because we discussed so much of the essays in class, it didn't matter so much that I hadn't really read the night before - but I probably could have contributed more during classes if I was better prepared.

I think the carousel activity could have gone a little better. While there was lots of discussion, and the large sheets of paper and colorful markers were put to use, people spent to much time talking. When we rotated, groups would often just barely have time to scribble a sentence or two. These comments didn't do justice to the conversations that had occurred. Also, I liked the cartoon graphics that people drew to illustrate their points creatively, but some more explanations would have been helpful.

I think the carousel activity was interesting the first time but I think that I like just small group better. I think that sometimes it is useful to be able to sit down and talk about each others quotes for a while, instead of constantly moving around.

I thought that maybe the class disscusions about the qoutse could of gone a bit better. I really think it's time for everyone to step up and start talking. The class has seen to have grown a pattern where the kids that don't talk are allowed not to now, for the fact that the kdis that do talk will always gladly talk. So the class feels like it has gone from 25 done to only a couple people who are talking.

Perhaps the carosels may have been more complete if we had the oppertunity to discuss each of the quotes afterwards. It seems that we always only get to converse upon one or two of them, though we were closer to achieving this goal of discussing all of them on Friday than we had been on Monday. I was glad for the break from the tradition of the small pithy quote groups.

Some more imput and less sarcasm perhaps

Still a little chatty during line up!

The readings were So. Darn. Long. I would have preferred to have them broken up over a few nights, or start reading during class, or to do what we did with 'Education of Children' and read the whole thing, but not have to write pithy quotes. It would have made the readings a little bit more manageable.

Vincent and I went a little overboard on the graphic representations for the carousel. Probably should've toned it down a bit. I suppose we both ought to work on that.

While I did really enjoy Montaigne's last essay, I thought that the rest weren't worth our time. The others just seemed to be long rambaling affairs starting from nowhere and leading to nothing. They had the occasional line or two of wisdom, but all the rest of the essay was generally worthless. I was really dissapointed by this, as I have greatly enjoyed all of the other readings that we have done in this class. I nearly fell asleep while reading the Montainge essays however, which is something that I almost never do.

While I've definately been seeing an improvement this past week, I still think that the class could afford to be a little more respectful.

Without a doubt the assignments were very insightful and thought provoking. However, I think the length of the essays was a bit too much for one night of homework. To be honest, I'm not one to complain about homework very much but I think that having to read 10 pages of Montaigne on top of writing a pithy about all 10 pages is a little too much. It was not merely time consuming but it was too much information to take in and produce only one assignment. I get much more out of things when we break them into multiple parts because it is then possible to examine each in more detail. For future lenghthy readings it would be beneficial to break them into multiple parts, even if it means not reading one of them.

Identity someone who inspired you this week, someone who achieved something above and beyond expectations.

There were a lot of great things that happened during the week and a few people who helped create them. One person who i am going to praise this week is chris. Chris always has a knack for getting a small group on task and whenever they get off topic he somehow brings them back to the originol topic. I really like this because i can get side tracted very easily and with chris getting us back on topic it helps keep me more focused. Another person who i would like to praise this week is megan. Megan always has great things to say and the things she says she can back up. I also want to praise megan for her comment about roger reporducing. She always has a way of bringing humor to the class. The last group of people who i want to praise is the class. the class is going to recieve my praise because we have got back to respecting people and that makes this class more enjoyable. Great work everyone lets keep it up.

Allegra Hyde inspired me this week with her ability to express her thoughts. Everything she said came out sounding like she had been planning her words for days. I was impressed when she could immediately phrase things like a philosopher would, even though she was responding to things she had just read. She's really well-spoken.

Although his work is consistently honorary, I found that the interpretations of the works of Montaigne that Mike Cahoon offered in the carosel groups was exeptionally insightful this week, though it may be solely because I had the priviledge of being in his group. He seemed to completely understand that with which I had difficulty; the veritable meaning that Montagne had originally attempted to convey through his meandering thought lines and shifting paragraph topics. Mike had always shown a proficiency for interpretation and I praise him on his ability to effectively exactly explain each and every excellent example and estimation.

I feel that Chris Brandis deserves recognition this week. I was n't in his group at all this week, but when we discuss things as a class Chris always had something meaningful to add to the conversation. I also think that Chris was very respectful to the entire class. When we speak as a group, he never interrupts someone who is speaking, and never shoots down anyone elses ideas.

I give my kudos this week to Vinny. He came up with some very interesting pictures for our gurop in the carousele. His imagination and artistic style are different and unique. Although, some seem to be a little far feched. Vinny you are aperciated.

I think Vincent deserves praise this week for coming up with the idea of using graphics instead of written comments to explain each quote when we did the carousel activity. While not all of our group's graphics were easy to understand or worked perfectly with the quotes, it was an original, interesting idea and overall, I think it was worthwhile. Vincent always has something original to say and is not afraid to say it. I admire his ability to think outside the box.

I was inspired this week by Tori's skills of observation. Very few people in the class picked up on Mr. O's frustrating, but funny, method of calling on people, but Tori got it. Someone is really paying attention! Good call Tori.

I would like to extend my praise to Richard. Richard is an incredibly nice person, and is always open to the opinions of others. I was really impressed by his contribution to my group during the carousel activity. Richard shared an amazing depth of knowledge and understanding about Montaigne's essay. I look forward to working with Richard in the future.

I would like to give my praise out to Paige Simpson! She is always attentive in groups and gives well thought out responses and ideas. She listens to every single person in the group and responds respectfully. Paige has a quiet yet powerful presence in both large and small groups.

I would like to praise Silus this week for never hesitating to bring up an alternative view to things. He consistently brings something into our conversations that seem at first to be unrelated, but upon his explanation is revealed to be deeply insightful. Many people would simply continue the thought process of others; merely add to someone else's point. Silus does not do this, instead he is able to present ideas that are new and unique in our discussions, a skill that is difficult to obtain. His wisdom shows itself in his ability to back his points with solid information and experiences, it is clear that he is a thoughtful and talented thinker.

I would like to prasie Tori this week for somehow being able to always full of vigor and energy. I have exactly been an energetic person in school, but these last few days I have been barely able to dredge up the energy to walk to class. Tori never seems to have this problem however, as her incredible zest for life seems to be unshakeable and infinite. This bottomless pool of energy has inspired me, making me put just a bit more hussle into my actions in class. Thank you Tori, for inspiring me to darg myself through the day with a bit more 'omph' than I thought I actually had.

I'd like to give Kudos not to one person, but those members of the Socrates Cafe who decided to meet last monday. The group actually decided to meet at my house so I'd be able to take part, since I had been unable to go to school that day. This really touched me and I greatly appreaciated it.

I'm always glad to hear the views of one Paige Simpson. She's always bright and chipper and brings up many interesting discussion points. Kudos, yo.

One person who always impresses me with her ablility to communicate her point is Tori. She has a way about speaking that makes everyone stop, and listen. I really think that her voice in this class is not only respected, but honored. Her ideas are always relevant and they help me to understand the subject better. I hope she knows that her distinctive and eclectic ideas are appreciated.

The whole class deserves praise this week but some deserve to be pointed out in particular. I think Torri has really contributed alot to the class discussions. I would also like to praise the group that drew the graphics on the carousel activity, they offered a great insight to the quotes.

this week i think Dickey deserves praise he always to explains things and help me remember what context quotes are in the reading so that the meaning is clearer.i appriciat his willingness to help out.

This week I want to give my praise to both Vincent,Ben and Cory. I was in there group for one of the qoute activities, and I really enjoyed what they had to say about the different qoutes. Everyone one of them always voiced there ideas about the qoute, and I really felt through them doign that we all were able to understand the qoutes and the activity better.

This week my praise goes to Ben. His ideas are always intellectual and enjoyable to listen to. When I was in his small group discussion he always responded to what I had to say. That is important to me because he is showing some interest in what I am saying and from that tries to inspire conversation. Along with his philosophical brilliance, he is a tremendously kind person for whom I have a great deal of respect.