10th Graders Hold Philosophy Coffeehouse/Salon

The Pavilion turned into a Philosophy Coffee House for 10th grade students just before Fall Break. Under the tutelage of history teacher Melissa Winder and English teacher Robert Schuster, 10th graders have been considering lots of big questions. For their end-of-semester project, each student took on the assigned persona of a renowned philosopher, writer, scientist, inventor, industrialist, etc. from the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment or Industrial Revolution periods - students chose from personas including Newton, Voltaire, HG Wells, Locke, Rousseau, Tesla, Hobbs, Frederick Douglass, Emilie du Chatelet, Jefferson, Bismarck, Mary Wollstonecraft, and more. Students became experts on their person's ideas and traits and created topic outlines to introduce themselves and to talk as their character would about questions such as these: What is human nature? What is the role of government? What is justice? Can science explain everything or are there things that science cannot explain? Does society always benefit from technology? Do the ends justify the means? Who should have power? How should society be “arranged”? Who should get to decide things? The 'coffeehouse' began with beverages and sweet treats, with teachers serving as waiters and baristas. Students then broke into small groups and sat in discussions as their personas for thirty minutes; they did this twice in different groups. It proved for stimulating conversations all around and students really got into it and showed off their knowledge.