Voluntary summer school

Peter Bernard '07

In the dead heat of summer, a seasoned group of students descended onto campus for the third annual Look To The Hills Summer Institute that was held on August 4-7. The institute is a summer school designed for parents and grandparents of Deerfield students, alumni/ae, and other members of the adult Deerfield community, to experience what is traditionally an exclusively adolescent experience: a Deerfield education.

The pivotal events of the program were the multiple classes taught by current Deerfield faculty members. Held in the Frank L. and Helen Childs Boyden Library, the diverse seminars included "Re-Orienting Ourselves: An Introduction to Middle Eastern History, Culture and Religion," taught by Headmaster Eric Widmer and his wife Meera Viswanathan, and "The Age of UnInnocence: The Allure of Sex and the City," taught by English teacher Sonja O'Donnell.

Commenting on the casual and stimulating atmosphere of the program, English teacher Suzanne Hannay, who taught a class on Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and Michael Cunningham's Hours, said, "I found myself relaxed and encouraged," and that "hearing the varied responses to the novels from course members...made the examination of 'the meaning of a life' complex and thoughtful."

History teacher Conrad Pitcher, philosophy teacher Michael O'Donnell, and English teachers John Palmer and Jamie Kapteyn also gave classes in the program.

Rick Barton '67 delivered a keynote address entitled "Peace Building After The Wars: Is It Possible?" Mr. Barton, the recipient of the 2004 Heritage Award, is the Senior Advisor and Co-Director of the Post Conflict Reconstruction Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

As published in the September 14, 2005 issue of the Deerfield Scroll, the monthly newspaper of Deerfield Academy.