Featured Class: Ancient History

Ancient History is a popular class among the ninth and tenth graders who take it here. Lorne Johnson is the teacher and he kept the class riveted for a solid 60 minutes in that deadly post-lunch-slump slot last Thursday afternoon. Lorne tied together the reading assignment on Confucian ideals of an ordered society (freedom, justice, and dignity), President Obama’s State of the Union Address, and concepts of everyday life at The Putney School, including why we don’t find it disrespectful to call our teachers by their first names.

Actually, the students tied these ideas together, thanks to their preparation for the class and Lorne’s gentle guidance through a solid hour of class discussion. It’s fascinating to “discover” history and work through the thought processes of these ancient icons of civilization using real-life examples from today.

Here are two of the sixty minutes of that discussion for your consideration: