After watching The Four Feathers, I've been thinking a bit on the British Empire. And while it's not an original observation, I'm amazed at the scale of what they accomplished -- both for good and not. The British public (private) schools turned out pasty-legged, privileged young men who went on to conquer India, climb the Himalayas, chart unknown seas, explore the Poles, excavate the pyramids and subdue the wilds of countless islands. Their schooling certainly wasn't vocationally tailored for the making of mountain climbers, Viceroys or privateers. It was instead focused on creating the kind of man who would do these things.
Our government schools seem focused on creating a certain kind of man as well -- college-prepped, docile, reasonably-literate, and well-up on issues of diversity and sundry birth-control methods.
And so it cheers me when I look at the growing number of young Christians involved in classical schools, parochial schools and homeschooling. Much of this education seems focused not only toward preparation for university, but preparation for manhood.
The British upper classes demonstrated enormous self-sacrifice, zeal and dedication toward the cause of Empire. If our children brought just a fraction of this élan to the cause of the Heavenly Kingdom, they could "turn the world upside down," as a nice Pagan once said. I have hope that these new movements in Christian education will bear that sort of fruit.
Posted by Discoshaman at mars 20, 2004 01:32 AM | TrackBack
Surprisingly, I suspect you and I would agree on a solid 60-70% of what should be in a college curriculum. :-) There are some liberal "sacred cows" I really think should be left in, and I especially think the focus on classics from more traditions than Greece and Rome is a good move.
But having gotten a fairly classical education in the humanities in high school (though in translation, not in Greek and Latin), I'm a little disappointed in the folks in my English courses here (who are English majors!) that have never heard of Euripides, have never read Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy or any other critical work dealing with the Apollo/Dionysus conflict, have never read the Bible or Homer, but read Joyce and "love" him without getting any of the references.
There is a lot to be said for letting new voices into the canon. But if they push out voices that are necessary to understand what you're reading, you've gone in the wrong direction.
So yes, less time on specific issues (whether liberal or conservative, though I can't argue they tend liberal at a place like Knox) and more time on creating thinking human beings with a grounding in what other bright, thinking humans have done.
Posted by: Chris at mars 20, 2004 07:34 AMtotally off the subject: I think an old college friend of mine, Mary Miner, may be heading to your part of the world for MTWmissions work. Did you meet her recently?
also: I wanted to link your wife's blog, but I typically use names. Is it problematic if I use her name, or would you&she prefer I use an alias?
*grin* We met Mary in January, and I was just thrilled when I heard she decided to pursue coming here--and then when she was approved by the I&O committee. I'm praying that she is able to get support raised and training done quickly, and be over here soon.
Btw, using my first name is fine. It's not a secret--just using TulipGirl is part of how I try to find the public/private balance online.
Posted by: The Duchess at mars 20, 2004 03:07 PMAnd thank you for wanting to link to me!
Posted by: The Duchess at mars 20, 2004 03:08 PMGood points all around!
Posted by: Matthew at mars 22, 2004 06:22 AMChris: You may like to take a look at the curriculum of Gutenberg COllege.
John: Homeschoolers, classical schoolers, and parochial schoolers are receiving so superior an education to that available elsewhere that it is hard to imagine that they will not constitute a cultural elite, providing leadership. I can't wait. Now if only more of them were (cough) neocalvinist.
Posted by: Gideon Strauss at mars 23, 2004 09:21 PMGid-
I'm about to begin reading Doug Wilson's Repairing the Ruins. These new directions in Christian Ed are one of the brightest spots in the Evangelical world. . . :-)
Baus-
I was pleased to meet Mary in January. She's great! We're really looking forward to her joining us.
Chris-
I'm not surprised at all. Conservatives and true liberals can agree on what constitutes the best that has been thought or written in our culture. A beautiful novel, play or poem has a value to it that transcends questions of politics.
I could accept a few non-Western additions to our Canon -- IF they're true classics and not an idiotic fraud like Rigoberta Menchu.
I'll write up some thoughts on this tomorrow. I think the composition of the Western Canon has interesting implications for both diversity and multi-culturalism.
Talk with you soon!
Your pal,
John