I can't pick out a single day or single event, so I'll pick out something we did every day that I enjoyed the most. The small group discussions, that is, on days where we actually had enough time and where the subject matter 'cause no one to go too off topic. I learned a lot on these days and feel I absorbed a lot of interesting ideas and thoughts. It is through discussions that I feel I can better my own opinions and thoughts by comparing them to other's.

I thought that the class discussions were the best part of the class because this was where the majority of my personal learning came. It helped me to hear the ideas of others and different interpretations of the same readings. I also enjoyed the essays because it gave us a chance to share our readings and take feedback from other students another effective learning tool.

I thought that writing our own philosophy papers was the best part. Too often in school, one just absorbs what others have thought or said, never making something of one's own. The papers allowed for that kind of personal ownership, and thus they were very important. They also required a great deal of logical reasoning to back up our points, and some self-knowledge to know what we believe, two very importatn skills.

I would have to say my favorite part of the class was the daily line ups. I really liked them because it gave me a chance to get to know and understand those who were in my class. The line ups also gave me a chance to hear all the crazy things that others have done.

Lineup. We got to know eachother a lot more, and it made talking to everyone easier.

My favorite par of the class was mr o's flexibility. it made m very happy tp have a teacher who would allow me to express my thoughts in a visual representation even though we weren't in an are class. i feel that it is much easier for me to express my thoughts in a picture then in a writing.

Our discussions. The disscussions we had in this class can only be described as powerful, and beautiful. Yes, they were words, but they were thoughts, deep, soullike thoughts. I've never experienced such a thing in school before, and I didn't know it was possible for a class in high school to come together like ours did. It truely saddens me to leave this class, but I take with me immense wisdom and respect that I lacked before.

The best part of the class was definitely my classmates. I have always been in a fairly homogeneous classes, but Philosophy introduced introduced me to a whole new group. I also got to know them pretty well by listening to their responses during the lineup.

The best part of the class was the discussions, because we were able to figure out ideas for ourselves, and not just have ideas told to us. I loved this about the class. The class enviornment is also great, it was laid back, but because of this we got a lot done.

The best part of the class would have to be the plethora of discussion topics provded in this class and the depth we were able to go into while discussing the works. The discussions in class are a unique aspect of this course and I greatly appreciate it, especially since these discussions were facilitated in a way which kept them on topic and effective. The oppertunity to discuss works in class is an oppertunity which is not readily provided by teachers of other English classes, and I think that it is a pithy part of the intellectual progression of each individual student in the class.

the best part of this class i would have to say would have to be the small gropups. the reason that small groups are great are because you get to disxcuss you views on a reading and have them heard. far to often in large groups your voice is over powered by otehrs and you are not heard. they also tended to be fun even if once and a while we got off topic. they were never teh same and never boring. i wish more classes would use small groups.

The best part of this class was definitely, by far, the quality of the people. Every day, i enjoyed coming to class and listening to the thoughts of my peers. I believe we had a unique class in that there was a diverse amount of thought and it was all valuable. I am going to miss this class next semester.

The best part of this class was our ability as a whole to let go of all insecurities and talk freely about our thoughts and feeliings.

The best part of this class way deffently the class discussions. I really enjoyed listening to the ideas that everyone had, and what better way to experiance philosophy then by talking over it with everyone. Oh yeah and also the line ups are allows awsome. I love hearing the stories you might never hear if it wasn't for the line up.

The content. You can never go wrong with great minds.

The people in the class made it the best. Each and every one of the people in the class had their own opinions and they all shared them. It was a class where you wouldn't be made fun of for what you think. A class where you can continue talking about the topic long after the class is over. My brother had philosophy when he was here and he said that he didn't have a very good class. It doesn't matter if there's one person who talks over most people because in the class we had, people talked back and pushed their views just as hard. Also, the class always had humor in it. Whenever I came into philosophy, even if I have troubling things on my mind, I always came out of that classroom in a better mood. It was what I looked forward to every day and the same goes for a few friends. And if not in the begining, everyone eventually learned to share their thoughts and ideas without hesitation.I also liked the freedom of people being able to come in and out of the class.

The people. The group that we had was so very INCREDIBLY conducive to discussion, it was unbelievable.

There definitely wasn't just one part of the class that made it worth it - the students, the readings, the teacher, were all great. It was my favorite part of the school day and I don't think I could have stumbled into a more interesting group of people or a more useful subject to study.

we were able to bring our own opinions to class and learn off of each other! that is something i have never experienced at conval before i came to your class!!! thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Diversity in assignments. Maybe a few more tests quizzes. I think it will give the grade more substance but that's just me.

I might have liked the class time to be longer - as Mr. O noted, we often were still just at the beginning of class discussion when the bell rang for dismissal. I don't know if I would actually have appreciated any extra time, but it felt like that each time we kept talking right up until 2:20.

I really can't think of anything that really needs to be improved. You have the class pretty well dialed in.

I would improve the amount of time we spend reading the essays. This portion of the class always took an extraordinary amount of time and could have been cut down exponentially. I think that if we had a system through which students were elected to share their essays, the reading process would be sped up and thereby be more effective. This would get rid of the embarrassing delays between essays deciding who would read next. With this time gone, the class could get through this slow process faster and allow the class to get on to more important matters.

I would improve the class only by changing the way you shared what you have learned in that nights homework. it was fun doing the carosell activity.

I would make it a year long class. With multiple levels to span across all four years of high school. Can I come back? Pretty please?

I wouldn't have watched the movie Little Bhuddha. It was a waste of time that could have been spent discussing Siddhartha, which would have been much more valuable. The movie did not inspire me or make me think any more deeply than I usually did.

I wouldn't want to improve anything. Well maybe I would imporve our lack of time control. It seemed as though we never had enough time.

I'd only change a few things about this class. I'd like to use a greater variety of ways to discuss works. After a while the small pithy quote discussions got repetitive. I also would suggest that we read the works of more female authors. Ann Rand was good, and I realize that the classic philosophical authors are white men... but a greater diversity is always nice.

if anything i dont think any improvement needs to be made to the class but rather i would improve my own dedicatin to the work because i think i could have gotten a lot more out of the lass if i had been more thorough with me work.

If I had to improve something, then I think I would... well I'm not sure, add like another hour to it or something.

make the on line weekly serveys optional (written insted). it was too hard for me to find the time and use the computer.

Not necessarily pithy quote essays, but more pithy quote notes; as per my own concise nature, I would be much more inclined to just jot down some thoughts than string them together, but as this IS an English class, I suppose that's sortof the point.

Nothing, keep everything the same because this was the best class I've ever had and there isn't anything I can think of to improve.

Sharing of pithy quotes, because they became monotinous, and most o the time was spent of topics other than the quotes or reading.

The only thing I'd improve is pretty much impossible. It would be to keep people on topic more, but that'd be messing with free will, something that can't really happen.

the only thiong i might change is that we watch more movies. other then that i cant see anything to change.

The surveys because I did not particularly enjoy them as well as the original DLP format perhaps a reflection of my procrastination and or lack of computer skills.

Towards the end, some people were slacking on the hw and doing it at the beginning of class if they did it at all. That made for occassional poor small group discussions because there was a lack of discussion. People couldn't put in their opinion when they had no clue what the reading was about.

in order for me to process the world around me it is important to take in a learn other oppinions and views in order to develope my own.

Everyone had their own philosophies and it's about accepting the diversity of the world and listening to/ learning from eachother. In order for the philosophy class to go smoothly, everyone must be accepting of eachother and teh conversations will go far.

Everything that I know about philosophy I learned from this class. The most important thing that I learned was an appreciation for it. I had always been intriguied by it, but know I realize that it is a requirement to live a happy and fulll life. To live life without considering philosophy is like running around with your eyes closed. It never quite works out very well.

I came into the class thinking that it would be nice to just think about abstract concepts and not have to worry about what it had to with real life. Philosophy probably has more to do with life than any of the other classes we could take. It's been one of the most valuable courses I've taken so far, because in the end, it won't matter if I can accurately diagram a sentence or work out a calculus problem - what I believe and how I think will influence my life more than anything like that ever would.

I have learned so much from this class. One of the most important things that I have learned is to be yourself. You can't let others get you down.

I have learned that philosophy is not only for the philosophers. I have learned that I have my own philosophies and that I only have to discover them. Eveyone is unique in their belief systems and this is true for my own as well. The philosophers are only conveying possible solutions to some of life's problems or simply sharing their take on a subject. One does not have to adopt their view, but simply keep it in the back of their mind as they formulate the values they wish to possess, and live their lives according to whatever means they desire. Philosophy is the idea behind the actions we take every day. Philosophy is the motivation behind our convictions and ideas. Philosophy is the order in which our minds are organized. Philosophy is everything

I think the most important thing I've learned about philosophy is that although in studying the subject you read the works of masters, the real learning must be about yourself. I initially thought I would be memorizing the defining characteristics of Seneca's or Emerson's beliefs but what it came down to was realizing my own. This has been the hardest, but also the most rewarding.

I was able to see how different peoples belefies are, and that we are unable to prove their beleifes wronge. Before this class I was unaware of this, and did not think we varied as much.

I've learned that philosophy is something I can learn about, and study for my entire life. It is knowledge, it is wisdom, it is life. I have learned that ignorance is not bliss, but it is suffering, blind, meaningless suffering. Philosophy is the path to good, to truth, and escape from the selfish tendancy of humanity. It is the path I am now determined to follow to the end.

past->present->future, you can't live in the paste because then u can't control your future, But if you are always living in the futur then you aren't enjoying the present, and life is just way to perfect to want to screw it up.

That it comes from within and cannot be influenced by the people around you. Your philosophy is your own.

That there is no right way to do anything.

that you shouldnt pre judge people without getting to know them. im not to sure if this was even in a reading but it was deffently in the classes atmosphere. it will not only help you in life but in classes here at ConVal as well.

The most important thing I have learned about philosophy is that it kinda governs our lives. Every one of us has some philosophy whether we've put it down on pen and paper or don't quite know what it is yet. Subconciously I feel it is this philosophy that decides for us what action to take in what situation, it is our most deep-seeded and unshakeable beliefs. I've learned that philosophy can be invincible if it's strong enough.

The most important thing that I have learned about philosophy is that I can be a philosopher, anyone can. As long as you think about life and what it means to you, you are a philosopher. I have learned more about myself in this class than in any other class I have taken. It is the nature of the class that makes it so rewarding, because all of the questions that you ask, and all the answers that you find are valid, nothing is silly.

The most important thing that i learned about philosophy would that there are different philosophies and they don't have to be right. Philosophy is just a way of thinking and that you don't have to agree with it.

The wide reaching ideals of established philosophies. People, over time have come up with alot of stuff.

There are a few. One is that death isn't a bad thing and shouldn't be feared. Another is that we are in charge of our lives. Following others won't really do it for us and we need to 'program our own computers'. And the last is that nearly every one of the philosophers didn't want credit for everything. They just wanted to be there at that time and didn't care or expect to be remembered for years.

To listen and discuss beliefs and opinions. Facts are a no-brainer to talk about, but I learned very much in this class how to interact and even disagree respectfully with others.

wow that is tough! i think it would be that somone can over think about something and under think about it as well. i say this because philosophy is all about having your own state of mind or view point of the world and the amount of thaught is unaversal!

What has been the most important thing you have learned about the process of learning in this class and why?

be patient and listen to everone elses ideas before you make your own. this way your final idea will be more well rounded.

different for everyone, because of how we recive and translate what we see and read.

Discussion and thorough time for digestion makes learning more pertinant.

I have learned that learning by talking and doing is the best way for me. Seeing that we figure things out for ourselves it is more important to us than if we had been lectured about it. Instead of going in one ear and out the other, everything sticks with us.

I have learned that when one is learning something, one has to test it for oneself. You can't just accept it as true, you have to investigate and form your own judgement. In this class we read a lot of material which did not always agree. These personal testings made me able to seperatewhat I considered to be truth from the false. This will help me in future philosophy classes, of which I hope to take many.

i'm not sure what you mean. i think i answerd that question in question #3

If you really don't believe completly in what u are doing, then it will never be the best you can do.

in order to get the most out of my work i have learned that i need to have better focus and attantion to what i am doing so that i have a better comprehension when it comes time to discuss.

It is essential to do the nightly readings every night because that is what makes the discussions quality. You don't gain anything from not reading and just simply listening to people talk about something about which you have no clue. It doesn't help much in life either if you never to the hw because it trains you to be lazy. If you can't do something as simply as read an essay at night, there is no way you'll make it in the real world.

Learning cannot be learning without devotion of self. Only oneself can teach the most difficult lessons to the self. Siddhartha learned this, and I now also understand this lesson.

That discussion really invokes some thought, and that thought is really what makes one learn.

That I'm a Type 3 and I'm better than everyone else for it.

That it is important to listen to if not agree with other ways of interpretation. I have always been fairly opinionated and often do not accept new ideas and/or paths, this class has helped me to learn that skill.

The concepts of reflecting and looking inwards were things that I had used before, so what I think about the process of learning hasn't really changed as a result of this class, but more been reaffirmed. Connecting oneself to the world and realizing constantly what one has learned and what one can teach is necessary to really cement a place for oneself and a purpose, so it was good to have a class that used those methods of introspection was good for me.

The most important thing I learned would have to be learning from everyone else. Although Mr. O was the teacher, we were all teachers to each other. All of us taught at least something to everyone else. Whether it be a new insight to a subject, or just a story that we didn't know about them. We all taught each other and that is the best way to run a class.

The most important thing I've learned about the process of learning in this class is that everyone has a unique learning style. I thought that the learning styles test we took was a great way to become familiar with our strenghths and weaknesses in aquiring knowledge. It was also neat to visually see the distribution of everyone's styles on the white board.

The most important thing that I have learned about the process of learing is that in order to really understand what you are talking about; you must read the assignment!

The process of learning for every person is like their philosophies, unique. Not every person learns in the same way, and I believe that this class addressed the different learning styles very well. The types of exercises we completed and the activities we did were aimed at not only one type of learner, but encouraged comprehension from all types. I think this aspect of the class was handled very well.

all of the big papers because we all put alot of effort into them and the outcome was amasing!

I am most proud of my last essay, the montaigne style one. It is the first time in a very very long time I've managed to get down on paper exactly how I feel about something, and without any unclear thoughts present (or at least I don't think any were present) For the sake of keeping this annonymous (though I don't really care) I won't mention the topic this essay was on, but only that it truly shows in detail what I believe is true.

I am proud of everyone's effort and compassion in this class. It really helped make the environment for learning fun.

I am proud of everything I have done, but also everything my classmates have done. I think as a class we have accomplished feats that most cannot. Our respect for each other and attitude allowed us to create works of philosophy perhaps greater than what is done in colleges.

I am proud of my essays because I took my time with them and although they were not flawless they reflected my best effort.

I am proud of my papers that I did. I knew that they were very importnat assignments not only in the grading, but also knowing that we had to share our ideas and personal beliefs withour peers.At first the idea of coming up with an original allegory for each of the papers was really intimidating, but after i created them, they really helped me to further understand my topic myself and I was really proud of the way they turned out.

I am proud of my second belief paper. When first started this philosophy course I had a hard time even writing pithy quotes that weren't unoriginal and tremendously analytical. I feel as though the essay was the culmination of my improvement. It was original and entirely derived from the my personal beliefs.

I am proud of my value and vice essay. Although I believe that I used the word 'passion' too many times, I think that my message was clear and my ideas were effectively worded to ensure the greatest amount of conprehension for this abstract idea. I am proud of not only my works in this class, but of those done by others as well. I was deeply impressed by the level of work put forward by this class - the amount of incentive shown was encouraging and appreciated. Although, I have to admit, the topics on which we wrote promoted this wonderful type of individual thinking which was so strong and meaningful.

I am very proud of all my belief papers. I put a lot of effort into them, and I think they show my point of view clearly.

I am very proud of my allegory paper. I think that took a strong personal belief and supported it very well with logic and an allegory.

i am very proud of my allegory papers. they were so ahrd for me to write and yet i did very well on them. im proud because it was a new gform of writing and i struggled at first but after some help from you i was able to move on with a new thought process.

I liked my paper on hope, although it was not as good as i could hav made it. I really liked what I had to say, because many people did not see hope in this manor.

I liked the last two papers I have done I put alot of time into them and I was pleased with the outcome.

I m proud of the visual representations i did because i worked harder to understand the readings when i knew that i was going to draw somethng.

I really am proud of the second essay that i wrote, i liked how it flowed and how the imformation was protrayed.

I was espicially proud of my Music paper. I feel that I put a lot of myself-being a musician into the paper and that's why I really liked it. The grade I got on it wasn't the best, but I still really liked what I wrote.

I was pretty proud of my Hypocrisy essay, I'm not going to lie. I thought that thing turned out pretty darn effective at communicating my point, and that's something I don't always do too well.

I was proud of my paper on Integrity because i put a lot of effort into it and i also braved one of my fears of reading my work in front of a group of people.

My religion paper was controvertially exquisit. Nobody lost it and everyone genuinly listened which is more than I can say about everyone else I've brought up the topic to.

This isn't so much a work that I had to do for the class, as it is something that I'm glad I did. I saved all the readings from the whole semester, which might just be a bad case of packrat-ishness, but now at the end of the class I'm lucky I did it because I could reference some of the older readings for my final paper. Also, some friends have asked about some of the quotes and ideologies that I've talked about, and it's great to be able to tell them which thinker it came from and to be able to give them the essay to read or at least tell them the name of the allegory or book. I'll still be using those readings a year from now, I'm sure.

Again, being that the assignments for the papers were really important, I knew I had to do well on them. It is a very intimidating process to have to share your beliefs through a paper to the class. Being that I am a very quiet person, I was really nervous. This pushed me to challenge myself on writing the paper and I feel that it was worth it.

All of the papers we had to write have challanged me. For each of them I felt like I needed the right topic and I had to re-do some of them because they didn''t sound right in my mind.

all the big papers.

gettign an A. i wanted to push myself in this class so that i could get an A. i always worked hard on everythign that did.

i also feel that the drawings challenged me because i had to format my ideas in a visual way which invovled a much beter comprehension of the reading

I always want to do well on the papers because I feel it is the most expressive assignment type there is.

I challenged myself to attain quality in my allegory paper. I wrote one version at first, found out that I hadn't exactly gotten to the true heart of the matter, and abadoned it entirely, with only one night until it was due. I think that this showed that I was determined to do a good job on that assingment.

I have challenged myself to attain quality in every work I submitted. I do not believe in submitting any work which is under par and will not accept anything less than perfection. Although I think that all the works assigned merited this kind of attention. The readings we read were of a quality which is incomparable and thereby deserve as much respect in being emulated as they were being created. No, really now, I challenged myself to attain quality in my pithy quote essays and documentations of learning. Particularly in the latter. I really enjoyed these narratives beause they allowed me to convey my opinions directly to the teacher and evaluate myself based on both in class and out of class learning.

I tried to keep a consistant amount of quality in my DLP's because it was a way for me to reflect on what i had done that week.

I worked hard to produce quality pithy quotes to share. My favorite ones were the assignments where you could chose to do a 'creative alternative.' It was a challenge to express myself visually, but I think I ultimately produced quality work.

I'm sad to say I don't think I had. I came into the class and by the third day thought I was in way over my head, compared to the abilities of my classmates to express their thoughts. Not thinking I'd ever measure up, it seemed to me that all of my papers, pithy quotes, allegories, were second-rate. I don't believe I ever fully developed an idea, saw it through. Everything I did seems sort of rushed and poorly thrown together, more like a first draft than a final product.

In the first paper I did not think that I could write an allegory, however, I did and ended up really liking the way that it turned out, although it was a long process I was glad that I bit the bullet and took the challenge.

In the papers I challenged myself to attain the best quality that I could. Also in my DLP's, the one's on paper, I strived to have quality work.

It was a challenge for me to do all the reading with the homework. I really don't like to read very much, so to read everyone night was a challenge for me to do.

Making myself sit down and read every night was a challenge to me. Honestly I did not always want to do it, but when I came to class the next day and had a pithy quote to share I was proud of myself.

Most of the work has been challenging. The belief papers in particular were difficult. I forced myself to work through them, as well as all of the other assignments because I enjoyed doing them. Philosophy is the one subject that I feel free when I work on it, compared to the chains of 'form' with english, or the 'correctness' of mathmatics. Philosophy feels like a new world to me, like a broad, untraced landscape awaiting my steps...

My drawings. I deffinetly did not attain quality, but such is life.

Our first paper was quite chalenging for myself, because i have not had to write about my beleifes in the past, and found it quite difficult to a write in words, what was in my mind.

The DLP essays really challenged me to think about my thoughts, or meta-think, I suppose, and it was quite the interesting experience.

Please share any comments you would like to make about this class or about the instruction in this class.

Best class I've ever had. Said it before, but I like saying it about a class.

Dang, wish it wasn't over...This was the most thrilling and awesome class I've ever had. I'm really going to miss it, and I've never missed a class before.

Great Job Mr. O!!!

I adored this class because of the way it was constructed. I loved the readings, the discussions, and the freedom to think whatever I wanted to think instead of being hit over the head with the literature, like is the case in so many english classes. I liked being able to form my own opinion and have these opinions accepted without question because they were mine and they were original. This class had a immense amount of respect in it; something which I found extremely important.

I believe that, overall, we learned from each other HOW to learn from each other. And that, my friends, is pretty cool.

I can honestly say that this has been one of if not the best class I have ever taken.

i enjoyed the type of learn that the class involoved and the structure of it. i enjoyed having the relaxed attmosphere to learn in everyday 4th block.

I really liked this class because it wasn't like MR. O'Leary forced us to learn and do our work. It was more like the students taught the class and Mr. O'Leary was there to listen to what we had to say. The class was fun because we taught ourself.

i will miss this class terrably! i wish all classes could be like this! through this class i have learned to be much more trusting of my class mates and of my own beliefes! i can't thank you eanough, it has been a magnificent two years! in regards to question #'s 8 & 9; i think that the intellectual challenge of the pace of the class is up to the student. which is what makes this class so special.

I would like to say that this was one of my most enjoyable classes in my high school career.

It was fun and different form most classes, although i found it easy to merily make up stuff about the reading, and to be honest did not read alot of the homework.

Mr. O rocks

Philosophy has been so amazing! I am so glad I took this course, and I've told all my friends to take it. The reading, writing, discussion, and introspection it requires has changed the entire way I think and perceive the world. I feel as though I am more interrogative and yet more open minded as well. I feel as though I've just starting on an important journey that may continue for the rest of my left. I'm sad this class is ending.

This class was amazing... the instruction wonderful, and I am not kidding.

This class was my best/ last class that I will ever have in high school. At the beginning of the year I wanted to drop it because I heard that we had 'a lot of homework', but I am so greatful that I didn't. This class has taught me so much about myself, and the people who I surround myself with. This class was so diverse, but we all became friends. I can honestly say that on Monday when I leave this class I will be leaving with a lot of new friends.

This was one of my favorite classes in conval and one that I strongly feel is beneificial for everyone to expirience.

This was quite simply the best class that I have ever taken at Conval, in every way. The subject was mentally challenging, the people were fun, and it was run in a very effective manner. Change nothing about this class, except to possibly make it a full year course.

We've quoted some genuine geniuses in this class so I would like to continue that tradition by quoting one of my personal favorites... well not really. In the words of Joe Dirt... 'Keep on Keepin on.'

you duid a great job and you made this class very fun and interesting. thanx for a great semester.