To all of our readers who subscribe to Down Home via email, we apologize that the links from the emails are not working yet, because of the switch over to the new site. We are working to get this resolved soon! Thank you for your patience.
Last Thursday SLOCA was proud to present our school to Cal Poly President Jeff Armstrong and many other Poly professors and staff during a campus tour. President Armstrong will be the keynote speaker at the event we are hosting on 10/22 (click here for more details) and he was eager to see our school in action! One of our very first SLOCA and sloCAHS graduates, Caroline Rein (now a Cal Poly student), spoke to the group. Caroline shared her speech with us, so that we can share it with you today.
Please read on, it’s definitely worth your time! And thank you, Caroline, for letting us pass this on to our families:
Hi Everyone! Welcome to San Luis Obispo Classical Academy (sometimes we use the acronym “SLOCA”). Thank you for sharing an hour of your day with us while you learn about the fascinating things that are happening on our campus.
My name is Caroline Rein and I am a graduate of both the elementary school and high school programs. I am currently a junior at Cal Poly. I started at SLOCA the year it opened, 2005, the day after Valentine’s Day. Initially, before this site became available, classes were held in the homes of parents and the founders of the school. On my first day, I walked into the living room where class was held. Tatiana, a fellow student handed me a bag of Valentines and said “we knew you were coming and we didn’t want you to feel left out.” In that instant, I knew I found the place where I belonged. When it came time for me to graduate middle school, I told my mom that I wanted to do 8th grade over again. So, my mom took it upon herself to approach the SLOCA board about starting a high school program.
And thus began some of the best 4 years of my life…
The first year, we were a school of 8 girls. We had potlucks and tea parties while reading the Iliad, Gilgamesh the Hero, and Quo Vadis. We performed Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in all its dramatic glory while wearing Stolas and Togas. Sophomore year, we sang the ballad of Beowulf to the tune of Davy Crocket: “Beowulf, son of Edgetho / Leader of the Geatland thanes.”
My upperclassman years, we read so many great books from all different perspectives: All Quiet on the Western Front, Unbroken, The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, Hiroshima, the Great Gatsby, Killer Angels, the Red Badge of Courage, Frankenstein, and that’s just a few of MY favorites. We delved into the literature with Socratic circles, mock trials, and group discussions that went beyond classroom. We often took our debates/discussions to lunch dragging the books along. What is a just war? What is our purpose on earth? Are humans noble? Why can we create and kill? Is beauty truth and truth beauty?
SLOCA is set up like a college in many ways. We have class three days a week and we do our homework on the other 2 days during the day which gives us more time to participate in beneficial pastimes and interests such as music, art, performing arts, reading and sports. I can say from personal experience, it is helpful when you get to college and you know how to manage your time to get your homework done as well as have time to socialize. I watched as my roommates struggled to adjust to having free time during the day as they worked to balance their life. Because of how my days were structured in high school, this transition was seamless.
SLOCA also taught me how to connect every discipline. Math is not separate from history. Science is a part of literature and literature a part of science. And the evidence of humanity is our ability to tell stories, whether they are a part of history or literature. And really, are those two different subjects? I’ve learned to link my subjects together to weave a more holistic perspective on the world around me.
Winter quarter at Cal Poly, I was in playwriting and a general psychology class. We read a play called, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, where the daughter was mentally handicapped and sat in a wheel chair all day long drooling. I took the play to my psychology professor and asked her if we could discuss the symptoms that the daughter had, this sparked a great conversation about psychology and medicine in the preforming arts. I’ve written an essay about why choir is important for my English class whilst tying Greek theatre, opera and Gregorian chants into the body of my essay. Last quarter, I was in a great books class, from romanticism to modern literature with Professor Robert Inchausti. We discussed about how theatre holds a mirror up to society which is what the literary movement realism is trying to do. We debated whether theatre was more romanticism or realism: our conclusion was that theatre holds the ideals of romanticism, while portraying it through realism.
While I greatly value the education I got here, I prize this community that fosters character, responsibility, pride, and especially respect for others. SLOCA students respect each other’s ideas, opinions, and convictions whether or not they agree with them. They respect teachers for their knowledge and appreciate the hard work everyone does towards making their education unique and fulfilling. The teachers here are willing to talk outside of class to you, whether school related or not. And in the classroom, I learned there are no dumb questions, except “Will this be on the test?” This school teaches students that their thoughts and opinions are valid and valuable and where those thoughts fit into the “Great Conversation” of civilization.
All I learned from SLOCA, I brought with me to Cal Poly into the classroom and office hours. I have gone to many an office hour to sit and talk with my professors. If I don’t have a question about something from class, I start with “Which Shakespeare play is your favorite and why?” and we end up on some interesting tangent; I have gained knowledge from their experience, beliefs and research. These office hours are invaluable to my education, and I don’t know if I would have gone if I hadn’t learned how to have an intellectual conversation with adults from my teachers here at SLOCA.
SLOCA has prepared me for college on many levels with the college model classes, the inter-connected disciplines, and quality character. I am proud to be a SLOCA alumna.
