David Wilkins

“They required us to speak with them. It was a reciprocal process. They had faith in our ability to come up with a solid critique of what we had read."

Wilkins demands a lot from his students, because the abilities “to think critically and to be prepared to field questions immediately are critical. They help you throughout life." The most valuable skill a student can take from education, he adds, is “the ability to exercise individual selfdetermination." And that's the kind of skill that the face-to-face interaction of a classroom community can nurture.