CSB+SJU taught me lessons that I still use each and every day

Q: What is the skill you learned from CSB+SJU that you took with you in life and also took you the farthest?

Dear Bennie,

Way back in 1997, when I moved to campus as a first-year student, all new Bennies and Johnnies were required to take a first-year symposium class. We simply called it “symposium,” and 16 Bennies and Johnnies spent the year together learning how to be college students. And not only did we see each other in class, we would also meet at The Meeting Grounds (now The Local Blend) for coffee or study together at the library diligently working on our research papers.

Each symposium centered around a theme, depending on the professor. My symposium was called “Critical Thinking About Current Issues” with the incredible Luke Mancuso in the English department. Our textbook was this beautifully thick, black anthology that contained articles and essays illustrating a variety of arguments for controversial issues including capital punishment, euthanasia and abortion. In class, we would focus on one topic and read about all sides of the issue. And then another. And then another. Until we made it through most of that anthology.

I came to St. Ben’s from a rural, conservative community. Many of the ideals in my head were placed there by my parents and my church. Many times, my values stood firm in what I had simply overheard the adults in my life saying over a game of cards or a Sunday dinner. I had never taken the time or been encouraged to read about all sides of an issue. But symposium changed all of that.

What I learned from the class was how to listen and to understand that complex issues have complex answers. That most of the time a topic isn’t black and white. Most of the time, there’s a whole lot of gray that needs to be considered. And in a world where so many are shouting and so few are listening, we need to go back to the Rule of Benedict. We need to “listen with the ear of the heart.” We need to think critically about the world and about life. My symposium professor and classmates taught me that in our discussions and writing. It’s a skill I use each and every day.

I’m a high school English teacher, and believe me, there are plenty of times where I’m challenged in my thinking or in the ideas presented before me. At first, I always think I’m right. But then I wonder about the other side of the argument and I try to consider what also might be.

Leaving space for the other side of the argument makes me a better teacher, a better mom, a better wife and a better citizen. It’s helped me turn heated arguments into thoughtful discussions with family members. It’s made me a more empathetic human, and it’s helped my heart grow in ways I didn’t know was possible.

I’m forever grateful.