London and Cambridge 2014 (December 2014)
During December 2014, I had the pleasure of joining one Professor Grundy and a troupe of merry learners across the pond to the United Kingdom. While there, I was brought into a world of higher learning that made my collegiate experiences seem tame in comparison. I toured the illustrious Royal Society of the Arts, Cambridge University's Trinity Hall, and British Museum, to name a few. In an odd parallel to my trip to Dubai, where I was thrown into the world of high art, I was put into the realm of the intellectual elite. Professor Grundy has many connections abroad, and his networking skills allowed me into gentlemen's clubs that I normally would not have access to, as well as hidden halls of popular tourist attractions like St. Paul's Cathedral.
During the course of the class, I was exposed to the great minds of the Enlightenment, though it was not for the first time. Thanks to my AP European History class in high school, I knew about minds like Hobbes, Locke, and Burke long before I was made to actually read over their works. What I did not realize, however, was that the Enlightenment is truly where the modern world was born. By rejecting the presumptive authority of the past, the great minds of the Enlightenment were able to move society forward in the realms of scientific research and political ideas like the social contract. I was not expecting how prevalent these ideas would be in London and Cambridge until I saw the dozens of paintings of Francis Bacon, a stained glass window stating "nullius verba" (take no one's word for it), and the death mask of Isaac Newton enshrined in the Royal Society.
My time in London and Cambridge was less of an adventure for me than it was an exploration of myself. I have always believed that learning and knowledge are in the short list of sources of good in the world, but I have always felt somewhat alone in that. I have always been something of a teachers' pet, always trying to learn for the sake of knowledge rather than a grade. I have even encountered teachers who have disagreed with my on my approach to school. While I was in Cambridge in particular, I learned that not only am I not alone, but I am tame in my commitment to learning when I am compared to the students who study there. I do not spend dozens of hours a week learning material. While I am pursuing a math minor for the sake of advancing my understand of the world and pursuing my dream of being a teacher, I am not reading an exhaustive list of books on the development of the Calculus. I am a member of a community I hardly knew existed...and I am just a novice at that.
I suppose the biggest takeaway from this trip for my was a renewed commitment to the cult of learning. I am now more able to spot my peers in America when they come around, and also to not be snobby about it. I am not special for loving to learn, though it should certainly be a source of pride. I know that when I work hard in school and refuse to cut corners for the sake of an easy grade, I am taking small steps in the direction of people who changed the world through their fanatical commitment to learning.
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Below are links to the emails I sent home to my friends and family while I was out on my trip!
During the course of the class, I was exposed to the great minds of the Enlightenment, though it was not for the first time. Thanks to my AP European History class in high school, I knew about minds like Hobbes, Locke, and Burke long before I was made to actually read over their works. What I did not realize, however, was that the Enlightenment is truly where the modern world was born. By rejecting the presumptive authority of the past, the great minds of the Enlightenment were able to move society forward in the realms of scientific research and political ideas like the social contract. I was not expecting how prevalent these ideas would be in London and Cambridge until I saw the dozens of paintings of Francis Bacon, a stained glass window stating "nullius verba" (take no one's word for it), and the death mask of Isaac Newton enshrined in the Royal Society.
My time in London and Cambridge was less of an adventure for me than it was an exploration of myself. I have always believed that learning and knowledge are in the short list of sources of good in the world, but I have always felt somewhat alone in that. I have always been something of a teachers' pet, always trying to learn for the sake of knowledge rather than a grade. I have even encountered teachers who have disagreed with my on my approach to school. While I was in Cambridge in particular, I learned that not only am I not alone, but I am tame in my commitment to learning when I am compared to the students who study there. I do not spend dozens of hours a week learning material. While I am pursuing a math minor for the sake of advancing my understand of the world and pursuing my dream of being a teacher, I am not reading an exhaustive list of books on the development of the Calculus. I am a member of a community I hardly knew existed...and I am just a novice at that.
I suppose the biggest takeaway from this trip for my was a renewed commitment to the cult of learning. I am now more able to spot my peers in America when they come around, and also to not be snobby about it. I am not special for loving to learn, though it should certainly be a source of pride. I know that when I work hard in school and refuse to cut corners for the sake of an easy grade, I am taking small steps in the direction of people who changed the world through their fanatical commitment to learning.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Below are links to the emails I sent home to my friends and family while I was out on my trip!