Interested in SLE?

<p>Anyone planning to do the Structured Liberal Education program?!</p>

<p>i'm actually thinking about it... but i've been getting mixed reviews! i stayed in FloMo when i visited, and everyone there told me that i should definitely do SLE. but then others told me that it was only for nerds. i guess i'll just wait til i get the big packet of info over the summer.</p>

<p>which flomo were you in? i was in cardeneal.</p>

<p>What is SLE?</p>

<p><a href="http://www.stanford.edu/dept/undergrad/areaone/14des.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.stanford.edu/dept/undergrad/areaone/14des.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Structured Liberal Education (SLE) is a special program that encourages students to live a life of ideas in an atmosphere that stresses critical thinking and a tolerance for ambiguity. SLE asks students to confront central questions that have perplexed and confounded humankind throughout the ages: What is knowledge? What is the relationship between reason and passion? How does the concept of justice change over time? Is coherent meaning possible in the modern era? Can one live a spiritual life in the contemporary world? These questions and many more provide the foundation for a chronologically structured course beginning in the ancient world and ending with the modern period. </p>

<p>SLE is academically rigorous, but it also fosters close student-instructor relationships and provides an environment that encourages students to develop lasting friendships. Together with other students, SLE freshmen live and learn together in three houses (one freshman and two four-class) in one residence hall, the informal setting for lectures, small-group discussions, films, and plays. This SLE community promotes the active and often fierce exchange of ideas, not only in the classroom setting but also in the dining room at mealtime and in the dorm late at night. SLE instructors participate actively in the intellectual life of the dorm, regularly dining with students and holding individual writing tutorials. Each week culminates with a film, a visual text serving as a commentary on the written texts studied in lectures and discussion seminars. In addition, each quarter, students organize and produce a play, which is not only always great fun for everyone but also offers another lens for viewing the period under study. </p>

<p>Students receive individualized writing instruction from SLE instructors and upper-class writing tutors. Because of its intensive concentration on both the analysis of texts and the written communication of ideas, SLE is a 9-unit course that satisfies not only the Area One requirement, but also the first-year writing requirement and one General Education requirement in the humanities. </p>

<p>Autumn Quarter
We concentrate on texts from ancient Greece, Israel, and India, reading works of classical literature, religious thought, and philosophy. </p>

<p>Winter Quarter
The investigation of classical culture and literature now permits us to examine the social, political, and economic transformation that produced the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment, as well as colonization and capitalism. </p>

<p>Spring Quarter
Through attention to works of fiction, political theory, and social criticism, we focus on the powerful forces that have shaped the modern world.</p>

<p>It's actually less writing than the 3 IHUM + 2 PWR combined, just more readings. I like it because it fulfills a lot of requirements: "SLE satisfies simultaneously the Area One requirement, the Writing and Rhetoric I and the Writing and Rhetoric II requirements, and one General Education Requirement in the humanities."</p>

<p>Seems interesting. Looks like a Classics course to me with a slight twist in it. How rigorous is it compared to just choosing your own courses and fulfilling the requirements? Does it involve significantly more work?</p>

<p>staticsoliloquy-- i stayed in faisan. i wasn't there for admit weekend though; i visited the week before.</p>

<p>staticspliloquy--I was in Cardenal too!</p>

<p>It looks interesting to me, but I was told that it takes up 2/3 of your courses your freshman year or something like that. I want to major in physics, so would it be feasible for me to do SLE, physics, and math (and still have any time to myself)?</p>

<p>that's not going to be hard at all. it depends on the physics series. as long as it's not the 60's series, you'll be fine. i'm taking the chem series (Starting with chem 31x hopefully), math (42), and SLE.</p>

<p>who were you zyphyr? i'm nghi (KNEE)</p>

<p>i am Stuart. i think we met...?</p>

<p>Are there freshman programs besides SLE?</p>

<p>there's frosoco</p>

<p>Dude, I've been reading more about this and it sounds SO awesome. Do you have to do a separate application for it -- is it hard to get into? -- or do they just take students who express an interest in it?</p>

<p>if the students expressed an interest, then most likely he or she will be in it. if many '09ers overapplied, then i don't know what will happen. but i doubt that will happen though.</p>

<p>Here's what a current SLE-er said about it.</p>

<p>"Do SLE. You get a lot of reading, and youll NEVER have to write a paper thats longer than 10 pages (IHUM/PWR does more writing). In fact, you'll never have to write more than 2-3 pages a quarter. (3 4-5page pagers 1st quarter, and 2 every quarter after). Plus, you get your own tutor to help w/ your papers, and you don't have to leave the dorm to go to class.</p>

<p>People warn that SLE is tough, and youll have no social life. People in SLE don't socialize outside of SLE because the people who tend to do SLE are generally uber-nerds, or people who dont like the mainstream. SLE is a vibrant community that those outside of it continually misunderstand. That doesn't mean you can't have fun. If you're comfortable w/ or like not being normal, then SLE is perfect for you.</p>

<p>While I disliked some of the uber nerds/tools of SLE, I loved the overall program, I met some of the coolest people(if you're not a tool, you're likely to be cooler than avg), and im sure you wouldn't regret it. Maybe not love it, but definately not regret it. It's like the secret way of getting away w/ not doing as much work as the rest of stanford while appearing legitmate cuz your community is much more intense in terms of intellect and reputation. Of course, SLE can be the hardest thing you'll ever do if you do ALL your reading and you're a tool who takes it too seriously."</p>

<p>Can you put me in contact with your friend, stat?</p>

<p>sure. what's your aim sn?</p>

<p>I don't think I'm going to do SLE. I was interested at first but it seems like too much work.</p>