Words from the Graduate Institute, edited by Stafford Wood
There’s a common misconception that St. John’s Graduate Institute students are not evaluated. It’s true a bit in the traditional sense. We get grades, but few people ask to look at them. Our papers are evaluated by our Tutors and we receive feedback orally and in written form for the work we’re doing. But really, it’s in seminar that we see the fruits of our labor.
First, you “do the readings and attend class” (Joseph Griego, MALA @ Santa Fe). While we’re there, we focus on “opening our minds more than our mouths” (William Strange, MALA @ Low Residency – Santa Fe).
We “just do a little better every time” (James Reis, MALA @ Santa Fe) and eventually your “response or question gets referred back to throughout the night by both classmates and the tutor” (Stacey Rains, MALA @ Both Campuses). There’s that glorious moment “when after you speak the class is silent for a moment because your comment opened the doors to understanding the text” (Michael Foote, MALA @ Santa Fe).
It’s really two parts: “A) By being present to a shift or opening within oneself or others, both in the moment and in future moments of recurrence or reflection. B) By taking part in providing this same experience to others” (Alexander Bram, MALA @ Both Campuses).
We win seminar “by giving up on trying to win it and to see the collective power of inquiry as a rare act of grace in a world of winners and losers. As the Dodo said in Alice’s Wonderland: “Everyone must play, and everyone must get prizes” (Ned Walpin, EC @ Santa Fe).
Finally, we leave “seminar with new ideas about the meaning of the text discussed” (Karen Kohut, MALA @ Low Residency – Santa Fe).
