As PACE classes continue to adapt and change according to students’ feedback, Carlos Hoyt, Associate Dean of Students, and the other PACE instructors are working toward incorporating student instructors to work alongside current PACE faculty. Next year, four instructors will teach the class with a Senior as an assistant teacher. The four instructors were each given free reign to choose their assistant. Hoyt has been working to incorporate assistant teachers for a long time, and, if all goes according to plan, the pilot program will begin next year, he said. Kennan Daniel, Administrative Assistant in the Dean of Students Office, is among the four teachers who will be working with a Senior assistant. “The Senior can be anyone, and I chose a student from a PACE class in previous years,” she said. Hoyt said of the selection process, “I deliberately want it to be an organic process, one that has arisen from student interest.” The student leaders will not be responsible for lesson plans, but it is hoped that they will help facilitate discussion and make PACE something that students can look forward to. Deidra Willis ’09 will serve as assistant teacher for Cindy Efinger, Director of Student Activities. “She knows I’m outgoing but responsible, and she felt that she could work with me and that I would be easy for the kids to talk to,” Willis said. “I’m hoping that the new, younger students will be able to know a Senior, someone they can talk to, say hi to on the way to classes, the conversations to really hit home,” Willis continued. The PACE classes are “discussion-based classes” and “have a very fluid curriculum, making sure to teach anything that is in the Blue Book that we feel like the kids need to know to keep them from getting into trouble,” said Daniel. The purpose of the PACE classes is to create a safe environment, where students can “make friends and form relationships with faculty members on campus… When new students join the class it is hard for them to get assimilated with people who are already bonded,” Daniel continued. Another anticipated change in the PACE infrastructure for next year is the addition of class time. Next year, each PACE class will be taught in a double period, with food provided to keep students satisfied. Changes to the system started two years ago, when it was decided that the Life Issues course should be renamed Personal and Community Education (PACE). PACE classes are mandatory pass/fail classes which all students take Lower year. PACE was limited to a single term after originally being a two-term commitment because many Lowers’ schedules change from Fall to Winter Term, effectively switching their PACE classes. When the classes for this year finished, the instructors collected feedback from the students. Many agreed that since cutting the courses to a single term, “students felt rushed, and the conversations became shallow,” said Daniel. Looking forward, PACE instructors are looking to revitalize the curriculum. “It’s getting kind of stale. My goal is to improve structure and substance,” Hoyt said.
