The Junior Seminar is an opportunity for a fresh start. It takes the reading, writing, and discussion skills that you have been cultivating the last two years and turns them directly on some of the most important questions that we can ask in this life. What does it mean to be human? How do we craft a beautiful life for ourselves? How do we achieve happiness for ourselves and for those we love? How ought we to treat those who are not our friends and family if they get in the way of our goals? In order to dig into these questions, we will dive into texts from the Greek, Roman, and Hebrew traditions that gave rise to many of the ideas that we discussed in the 9th and 10th grades. Their insights are invaluable, both for the clarity with which the ancients saw into the questions surrounding our understanding of Justice, Beauty, and Goodness, as well as for the profound way in which they framed those questions for us.
About Mr. Jordan
Tutoring Hours: Tues/Thurs, After School in Rm 200
Mr. Jordan realized during his first year at North Central College that a great injustice was being asked of him – despite his love of history, literature, philosophy, and theology, he would have to choose just one for his major in order to graduate. As a result of this impossible decision, he dodged the problem altogether by studying East Asian Studies and Japanese, which let him do all at once. Still not satisfied, he also received a minor in History of Ideas, which allowed him to seminar on the Great Books of the West, and he later went on to receive his Masters degree in the Eastern Classics at St. Johns and take a summer-long intensive program there on the Islamic Classics. Since 2008 Mr. Jordan has joyfully taught all of the courses in the Lit/Comp, History, and Humane Letters sequence at Arete Prep. In his leisure, he enjoys hiking in nature, reading books that challenge him, drinking good tea, and practicing meditation.
About Mr. Vaughan
Tutoring Hours: ???/???, ? in Rm 201
Mr. Patrick Vaughan joined Arete Preparatory Academy in 2013, and has been the lead history teacher and is currently the lead humane letters teacher. He has also been involved with the Creative Writing Club, Heart for Others Club, Book Club, has been a Mentor Advisor for three years, and is currently an ESS teacher. He earned his BA in Humanities/Theology at Criswell College in Dallas, TX, and his Masters of Humanities with an emphasis in Medieval History at the University of Dallas. He loves to read a wide variety of literature, history, and philosophy, and enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters hiking and generally enjoying the outdoors.