Strength to Strength Campaign Report

Small Classes, Big Ideas

Many first-year students arrive at their first class to find out it takes place in a lecture hall the size of the Rogers Centre.

But since 2005, some exceptional students have benefited immensely from a time-honoured idea that is nearly extinct in the large academic institutions of today’s globalized society: exploring big ideas in small groups.

The Margaret MacMillan Trinity One program gives select first-year students the chance to develop lasting friendships, all while exploring major issues pertinent to human life and world affairs. And it is supported in part by an endowment given by Mary Stedman ’44, who was quite taken with the concept of the program.

“Trinity One sounded wonderful,” Stedman told Trinity magazine a few years ago. “It reminded me so much of the discussions we used to have at midnight after class when we talked about everything under the sun. Now when I hear of someone who is interested in politics or philosophy and is looking for some place to donate their money, I tell them about the program.”

Prospective students apply to one of two streams: Ethics or International Relations. The 25 students accepted into each stream – and there are far more than that who apply to each – then fasten their seat belts for a year of small-group discussions emphasizing the development of critical-thinking, oralpresentation and writing and research skills. Trinity One students also get access to co-curricular activities, including seminars led by high-profile guest speakers and renowned academics such as philosopher Mark Kingwell and historian Robert Bothwell.