By: Zoey Novak
Lisa Hicks, an instructor known for her love of knitting and hate of field trips, runs a bright and happy classroom focused on the topic of philosophy. As a 1994 scholar of Northern Kentucky University, she is more than qualified to teach at the GSP. When asked how she got involved with the Governor’s Scholars Program, she spoke of the impressive memory of Executive Director Ariz Cedeño. He remembered her as a former scholar and when needing a summer job years ago, he offered for her to teach at the GSP. In her daily life, Lisa is philosophy teacher for Stanford Online High School and serves as a dorm parent on Stanford University’s campus.
Each week, Lisa chooses one branch of philosophy to learn about specifically. When I visited on Monday, July 8th, it was the start of “logic week”. Class began with a game of “Psychiatrist”. It explores the concept of knowing yourself through pretending to be someone else while one scholar guesses the false identities. The game was a way to start the class with a burst of excitement. To calm down after this, students took time to read out of a book titled Do You Think What You Think You Think? This led to higher intellectual discussion based on their reading.
I talked to three scholars, Colin Carver, Sophie Rydzewski and Shaun Wimberly, to figure out how this class has changed their outlook on life. To begin, I asked Colin to tell me one philosophical thing he had learned, to which he responded, “big words are just regular words with more letters”. In a more serious tone, he told me that philosophy has made him think more deeply on life and its meaning. Sophie spoke of her love for the extensive discussion in the class, which she feels runs on a higher intellectual plane. However, she does not wish to study philosophy in college, as it may ruin her love for the topic. Sophie explained that the study of philosophy has taught her, “change is just a human construct”. Shaun, on the other hand, does consider minoring in philosophy, as it has made him realize that knowledge only goes as far as one’s experience. According to Shaun, philosophy is a field of study that will help him to be equipped with a variety of tools for the future.
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