Paideia at Reed College: A Tradition of Unconventional Learning
Reed College, known for its unique academic environment, embraces a tradition called Paideia, a week-long festival of learning that takes place every January. Paideia is a time when students upend the traditional classroom hierarchy and teach classes about any topic they love, academic or otherwise. This tradition, rooted in the Greek concept of holistic education, has evolved over the years, facing challenges and undergoing changes while remaining a beloved aspect of the Reed experience.
The Origins of Paideia: A Student-Driven Initiative
The concept of Paideia at Reed College originated in 1967 with a freshman named Michael Lanning. Lanning proposed a six-week break from regular classes, during which students could pursue independent projects for academic credit, under the name “Unstructured Independent Study.” His proposal garnered significant support, with 850 students signing a petition. In 1969, Reed College set aside a month between the winter break and spring semester for an experimental program known as the “Independent Activities Period.” This early program, quite different from the current week-long event, focused on leveraging administrative and faculty resources to support student interests beyond the traditional curriculum.
The term "Paideia" itself, derived from the Greek word for "training, teaching, education," and also encompassing "culture, system of learning," was adopted by students shortly after the program's inception, as explained by Classics professor Wally Englert.
The Ambitious Visions of Early Paideia
The initial visions for Paideia were ambitious, envisioning collaboration between students, staff, and faculty on long-term projects. Plans included hosting "symposia" on important topics, featuring panels of experts, speakers, and seminars. Field trips to locations such as the Columbia River Gorge, the Coast, and the Reed Ski Cabin were also proposed for Paideia weekends. These early catalogs and advertisements reflect the hot topics and student body interests of the time. Classes and workshops related to activism within the Portland community and broader world issues were particularly popular throughout the 1970s. For example, environmental groups arranged meetings between Reed students and Portland city planners to discuss ways to improve living conditions.
Paideia 1978 appeared particularly vibrant, offering movie showings every night, Nuclear Reactor operation classes, and several faculty lecture series. During this period, people outside of the Reed community were welcome to participate in Paideia classes, and some classes were even attended exclusively by the public. However, the Paideia report from that year also noted that students seemed more interested in relaxing than in the scheduled events and activities.
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Evolution and Challenges: A Shifting Landscape
By 1980, Paideia had become an important part of the Reed education, although it had changed significantly in intention and scope since its early days. Criticisms of Paideia were abundant and diverse. Some students felt that there weren't enough interesting activities and events to make coming back to campus early worthwhile. Others argued that more events were not possible without increased participation. Paideia was also criticized for losing its original purpose of providing time for serious projects, becoming instead an extended vacation. However, some countered that anything students chose to pursue during that time kept in the spirit of Paideia.
Attendance of Paideia classes was recorded in its early days, with estimated percentages of students on and near campus ranging from 75% in its first year (1968) to 56% in 1973.
Budget Cuts and Student Control
In the 1980s, Paideia was shortened from a month-long program to two weeks. The reasons were to save costs by funneling money into improving Student Services and to consolidate its organization by divorcing student activities from faculty control. This shift placed the responsibility for organizing and planning Paideia entirely on the Student Body. By the end of the 80s, Paideia was run by an appointed signator and anyone they were able to recruit. Classes became almost entirely student-run with occasional support and programming from faculty members or committed alumni, such as radio host Dr. Demento, storyteller Cricket Parmalee, and Bear Wilner. A report from 1980 mentions that finding faculty members with enough time to participate in the Paideia Committee was a struggle. Before the days of the Internet, the preliminary Paideia class schedule was published in a special edition of the Quest during Fall semester Reading Week, followed by an updated version being posted on the first floor of Eliot Hall.
Themed Paideia and Extracurricular Content
In 1992, Paideia was organized by themes, with the first week focusing on Reed Introspection and the second week on Storytelling and Oral Tradition. Introspective events included a student workshop that allowed everyone to re-design Hum 110 and share their proposals with Hum faculty, a lecture series about stopping violence against women, and an underwater basket weaving course.
Diminishing Interest and the Essence of Community Education
Over the years, Paideia became markedly shorter and more limited in its offerings. In 1995, Paideia Coordinator Rory Bowman questioned dimming interest in the program and lamented that it was the shortest one in its then 26-year history. He emphasized that the true value of Reed comes from interacting with fellow Reedies, and that Paideia is fertile ground for community education. “There is more to life than dreamed of by the doctorates of philosophy, as much mystery in the melting of the January ice as in the most arcane construction of the organic chemist’s alchemy. It is to this idea of childlike wonder and a broader life of the mind that Paideia is directed," he wrote.
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The program suffered from a recurring issue: while the idea of Paideia was widely appreciated as a space for stress-free, broad learning created and enjoyed by everyone, few individuals were willing or able to dedicate the time and effort necessary to make that vision a reality. As the 1999 letter from the Paideia Signators put it: “We all came here because we love to learn, and here’s a week chock full of good knowledge without any pressure. Now who’s going to tell me that Paideia’s not a great idea?”
Controversies and Administrative Oversight
Some classes, however, have sparked controversy. Three years before the infamous "Paideiagate" of 2013, a class titled "Chokin’ the Chicken," taught by a biology senior, stirred up campus debate. The course aimed to teach students how to properly slaughter, clean, and dress a chicken, building a connection between students and their food and promoting responsible and sustainable poultry consumption.
In 2013, two Paideia classes were canceled and two others altered due to administrative oversight. A food fermentation class was not allowed to make kombucha, because the College could not guarantee that everyone in attendance was of age for consuming alcohol. Members of a class about cigarette rolling technique were told they could not actually smoke them until after the class had ended. The two canceled courses included a class about how to prepare for a safe and pleasant psychedelic trip and another about smoking various legal herbs. The teacher of the fermentation class told the Quest that forced class modification was a breach in student-administrative relations as well as a transgression on student body autonomy. Willamette Week suggested that the administration’s decision to alter or cancel these classes was part of an effort to combat the perception of Reed as a hotbed of illegal drug use. President Kroger’s reasoning for the censoring of the classes was that they had the potential to cause “significant health and safety issues.”
The act of canceling the two classes so last minute and without discussion caused an uproar from the student body. A Quest opinion article the week after Paideiagate titled “The Unregulated Depressant Manifesto” laments the short institutional memory of the student body and suggests that the only way to resist future administrative transgressions is to combat the controversial year with commemoration. Since Paideigate, class applications are vetted by a committee before being considered for funding or placed on the schedule.
Paideia Today: A Student-Led Learning Experience
Today, Paideia continues as a week-long festival where Reed students become teachers, offering classes on a wide array of topics. Nearly all classes offered during Paideia are single sessions taught by students, with the exceptions of the Wilderness First Responder course sponsored by Reed’s Outdoor Program and the guest lecturers invited to the Reporters’ Bootcamp. Despite being a beloved and unique Reed tradition, Paideia seems to be gradually losing its attendance and breadth.
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Examples of recent Paideia classes include paper making, wildlife tracking, and the art of creating perfect bite combinations. These classes reflect the spirit of Paideia: a chance for Reedies to come together and learn about their favorite things. Other classes have included zentangle, mosaic doodle, and neurographic art.
The Paideia Essay: An Invitation to "Nerd Out"
The Paideia tradition is so central to the Reed experience that it is even featured in the college's application process. The essay supplement to the Reed application introduces prospective students to the tradition of Paideia. The application prompt asks students what they would teach that would contribute to the Reed community, noting that they are able to teach about any topic they love, academic or otherwise. The prompt is an invitation to "nerd out," to explore a topic that gets their mind racing. The most successful version of this essay will help the reader to learn something about the topic and about the applicant, why they care about this particular thing, and what drives their curiosity.
The Broader Reed Experience: Intellectual Engagement and Unique Traditions
Life at Reed is an opportunity to nerd out, day and night, about all of the things in the world that you might have even a remote interest in learning about. From the shared experience of Humanities 110 to your senior thesis, study broadly across disciplines while diving deep into your major. Reed looks beyond the numbers and embraces a test-blind policy. The college finds students through a holistic examination of grades, accomplishments, and perspectives.
Applying to Reed College
Reed College accepts applications from two platforms: the Common Application and the Coalition for College. Students can apply to Reed with an Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision application. Early Decision (ED) is binding and best for students who know Reed is their first choice-plus, applying ED can increase your likelihood of admission. Reed meets 100% of the demonstrated need for all admitted students and families.
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