http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/VWalz/rss/blog_3515.xmlVirginia Walz Blogen-usThu, 10 Dec 2009 15:27:45 GMTThu, 10 Dec 2009 15:27:45 GMTSchool WorldAs we try to get a philosophy club up and running, I thought this blog would be a good place to start generating some discussion about it all. I decided to call it "The Golden Sash" in homage to Plato's utopia - as described in The Republic. If anyone were to go forth and become the bearers of the golden sash, it would be those of you who excel so much in your achievements and care so deeply about how mankind should live. So.... here's the inaugural post. I send it out to the ether for your ponderance.Well, at least as far as I'm concerned! What a great turnout to our inaugural meeting.. and Congratulations! to our inaugural group of club officers. I hope they set a very high standard for the Sash and for the Lyceum: President: Robert Muth Vice Pres: Lex Bobrow Secretary: Winnie Lo Treasurer: Greg Mitseas Historian: Kelly Vandegeer We will be holding our next meeting on Friday, February 22nd. Friday seemed to work better for everyone for now. In the meantime, we have agreed to read Plato's Dialogue with Protagoras. Here is a link to an online version of Plato's Dialogues and to Protagoras, in particular: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/p/plato/p71pr/protagoras.htmlWell, it certainly proved an interesting discussion at our last meeting (Fri 2/22). What, indeed, is the nature of reality. I guess that is the challenge of the study of metaphysics... I'm sure Evan is rabidly studying Renee Descartes' theories to understand better the notion of consciousness, in whatever form we find it, as reality. Nevertheless, I invite everyone to read Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" - found in his larger work The Republic. Here is a link to the Allegory: http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/publications/Projects/digitexts/plato/the_republic/book07.html Here is a link to the entire Republic, for those who may be interested: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/p/plato/p71r/ We'll meet again on March 7th. I'd like to meet on the patio at about 3:00PM... talk some club business, then leave it to the rest of you to carry on the dialogue, if it suits you.Hi, Everyone: I wanted to welcome everyone back to The Lyceum this year. I'm excited to get off to a good start. I want to have a meeting as early as possible into the school year and will be posting the date as soon as I have the week's planning schedule. There's a lot I want to talk about with you, including the Spring trip to Athens. Also, I want to talk to you all about a speaker coming into school and getting that planned and scheduled. We also need to work on a club shirt design and other things we want to accomplish this year. I hope you had a reflective summer!! Ms. WalzHi, Everyone! It was great to see you all again.... Gosh, I sure do miss my old students! I look forward to Winnie's notes - she'll add them on as a "comment" to this entry. I'm really excited about all the things we're doing and creating this year.... Let's all make it back for our official meeting day - the first Tuesday of the month.... September 2nd. See you soon!We did get a lot accomplished. Great that we got people on our committees.... I expect things to really start rocking and rolling now! Congrats to Alyssa Wisdom for signing on for Athens! There are only 212 days from today until we leave! Don't forget to get your passports!!! Check the comments for Winnie (the typewriter) Lo's minutes from today's meeting. Our next meeting is October 7th. Membership dues must be paid by that time. You have the option to pay by semester ($5 per) or for the year ($10)Hi, Everyone! I will be calling everyone to together before our next monthly meeting (Oct 7) to distribute the candy for our candy sale taking place during the last week of September and the first week of October. I plan on getting the mixed box of Skittles, Snickers, and M&Ms, unless there is an outcry.... my surveys suggest this is the one that will sell quickly.I need an officer who can attend an ICC meeting on Wednesday after school. If you can make it, please let me know as soon as possible. Thanks, Ms. WAt our last meeting, we came to the conclusion that too much time is being spent with officer business, rather than philosophical discussion. This will end. We have decided to schedule officers' meetings for the early morning so that our afternoon Tuesday meetings can be for "armchair" discussions. We will start on our early release day with a brown bag lunch at 12 noon. Location to be arranged.Sorry it took so long, Winnie! “All deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore!” ~ Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Ch. XXIII ~So far, we have some quotes from Aristotle submitted by two members. A member recommended that we could use a series of quotes, if we do not have a long enough single passage: "Life is full of chances and changes, and the most prosperous of men may...meet with great misfortunes"- Aristotle "The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead." - Aristotle "Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." - AristotleHi, Everyone:<br><br>I wish I was a little better about using this&nbsp; b-log.&nbsp; The last meeting was a little stressful, yes?&nbsp; Well, hopefully&nbsp; we'll get things back on track a bit. Some of it stems from the Tennis season interfering with our meeting days. Most of you agreed that moving the meetings to Friday was a good idea.&nbsp; I think that will work.&nbsp; In fact, our website says that we meet the first and third Fridays of the month.... so, if you want to have another meeting on the 20th just let me know. I might be wise considering I'll be in Rome on the first Friday in April.<br><br>Also, we are going to have one more fundraiser (if approved). I am submitting the paperwork today. We'll sell chips and (we think) cookies. This will get us a little more money for the end of the year.<br><br>Winnie, I'd be grateful if you could drop off a copy of the minutes you wrote. You can drop it in my mailbox.&nbsp; I think that is better than writing them into a comment here.<br><br>Anyway.... we still need to figure out about the t-shirt. I moved the text from the front chest to the back below the quote. It looks fine. I'm going to scan and send the chair image to Kelly to Photoshop to a transparent background... then we'll see how the chair looks.<br><br>Hopefully, before year ends, we'll have shirts!!<br><br>See ya 'round!<br>We just completed the first meeting with the new club officers:<br><ul><li>Robert Holroyd, President</li><li>Vaishali Goyal, Vice President</li><li>Gabriela Salmeron, Secretary/Historian</li><li>Marcus Levine, Treasurer</li></ul>I'm excited for what this group of officers wants to accomplish.&nbsp; Below are some of the results of the meeting:<br><ul><li>They've decided to hold the officer meetings in the morning the day before the member gatherings. </li><li>They've selected to hold bi-weekly gatherings for philosophical discussions. </li><li>They've decided on Friday afternoon for the gatherings (with my blessing). This will surely make things easier when tennis season starts.<br></li><li>Fundraising will be a priority and we will try to include our club in selling activity as often as possible throughout the year.</li><li>T-shirt design and ordering will occur MUCH earlier in the year.</li><li>The activities from last year (Tea Ceremony; Professor luncheon) will be repeated (but improved).</li><li>I will allow blog entries/comments to be posted automatically, but will have to password access, so that only members can see it.</li><li>I have established a Facebook group for the Lyceum that will invite/include all members - past and present. (Hmmm... do I hear the word "reunion.")</li><li>Membership fees will continue to be $10 per year.</li><li>Discussions will be more focused with materials to be distributed for pre-reading before the next meeting.</li><li>Discussions will be outlined for the year - either by theme or period.</li></ul>As I said, I'm excited... so, stay posted!<br><br>Ms. Walz, Advisor<br>Feel free to add your December thoughts - and responses to others' thoughts!<br>