A contrarian defense of unfashionable educational concepts that are quietly indispensable, routinely dismissed, and increasingly out of step with the trends that claim to replace them.
Bravo! I received a classical education in high school, one that shaped me far more than my subsequent English major at Stanford. Of course Stanford offered more depth and variety, but it lacked that formative ethical and moral seriousness, as well as any over-arching sense of cultural continuity. Then again, it was the late 1960s: enough said!
I am in my fourth and final year as a member of the Moore County, NC, Board of Education. All of your 'factors' derive from a set of First Principles about teaching, learning, and character development, none of which have been defined or embraced at the General Assembly or State Board of Education levels. The first principle discernible as you try to trace the roots of public education down to the classroom is the full employment of the Teaching Apparatus. And that apparatus is focused on remediation, not getting it right the first time. I look forward to following you.
#6 Standards The measures we use to judge literature ought to be understood as being underpinned by the art and science of rhetoric (as distinguishing from “rhetoric” as now too-commonly understood as a pejorative.) The understanding of rhetoric is essential to judging the merit of standards which will change, which have changed, and are changing. But such change is not a matter of style or fashion but as a consensual way of describing understanding. Rhetoric is the rules of the road for thinking.
#11 Reading Slowly (When Necessary) Demanding texts, whether they be archaic, deeply saturated in intellectual disciplines (e.g. philosophy or theology,) poetry, or simply works one wants to enjoy require slow reading as one of many reading styles that ought to be inculcated.
#13 Accuracy
Being precise in expressing one’s meaning.
#14 Truth
Context has gotten a bad rap by its overly liberal usage (both meanings of the the word ‘liberal’ are meant here.) Nonetheless, context is *a thing* and it does matter. Because we have no longer taught readers, writers and that rare combination, thinkers the rules of the road (see #6) there is a pernicious tendency among academics and politicos to believe they may drive on the sidewalk, park on the playground, ignore red lights, etc. Rather than acknowledging contexts as discrete boundaries we have paved over them, making it possible to drive anywhere one damn well pleases. Watch out, kids— it’s a bumper car world full of untrained drivers.
#15 Canon
“A shared body of works worth knowing before you critique them.” Emphatically, yes. Let the emphasis be on the word “before.” As with rhetoric canons will change, have changed and are changing (I’m with Heraclitus.) These changes are not a popularity contest, per se, though aesthetics (beauty) comes to play. More on that below.
#25 Moral formation. This is in a separate room of discussion. In order to gain admission to this room one must have one’s ticket punched for having met and exceeded requirements #1-24. What? We shouldn’t be teaching morals to our children?? No, I didn’t say that. What I am saying is *I* shouldn’t be teaching morals to *your* children. You should be doing that, as I did for my children. Schools ought to be a place to learn manners, customs, basic ethics about fair play, cheating, stealing, etc. But, though morals and ethics overlap, the danger is confusing the “why” of the these ethics. The “why” that ought to be taught is so that we can understand that being governed by others need not be feared or hated, because we can trust those others to adhere to the agreed upon ethics. If we are led by a person who seizes upon the death of the child of his political foes to berate and denounce those foes and that leader’s followers stand by him as they have time after time, that is a sign of cultural decay.
#27 Beauty
Perhaps my favorite subject! But it’s universally confused with taste, and there’s no arguing that, as the saying goes. But Beauty! Beauty is one of the primary ends of philosophy. It deserves its own room and yes, the admission ticket to that room requires having been punched for #1-24. And, importantly, for #25 as well. I look forward to meeting everyone in that room.
#26 Wisdom
About this subject I follow Wittgenstein’s dictum. I haven’t gotten my ticket to this room punched.
Bravo! I received a classical education in high school, one that shaped me far more than my subsequent English major at Stanford. Of course Stanford offered more depth and variety, but it lacked that formative ethical and moral seriousness, as well as any over-arching sense of cultural continuity. Then again, it was the late 1960s: enough said!
I am in my fourth and final year as a member of the Moore County, NC, Board of Education. All of your 'factors' derive from a set of First Principles about teaching, learning, and character development, none of which have been defined or embraced at the General Assembly or State Board of Education levels. The first principle discernible as you try to trace the roots of public education down to the classroom is the full employment of the Teaching Apparatus. And that apparatus is focused on remediation, not getting it right the first time. I look forward to following you.
Excellent!
Couldn't agree more.
I love lists and this is a great one - get it up in the classrooms!
Soft you. A word or two.
#6 Standards The measures we use to judge literature ought to be understood as being underpinned by the art and science of rhetoric (as distinguishing from “rhetoric” as now too-commonly understood as a pejorative.) The understanding of rhetoric is essential to judging the merit of standards which will change, which have changed, and are changing. But such change is not a matter of style or fashion but as a consensual way of describing understanding. Rhetoric is the rules of the road for thinking.
#11 Reading Slowly (When Necessary) Demanding texts, whether they be archaic, deeply saturated in intellectual disciplines (e.g. philosophy or theology,) poetry, or simply works one wants to enjoy require slow reading as one of many reading styles that ought to be inculcated.
#13 Accuracy
Being precise in expressing one’s meaning.
#14 Truth
Context has gotten a bad rap by its overly liberal usage (both meanings of the the word ‘liberal’ are meant here.) Nonetheless, context is *a thing* and it does matter. Because we have no longer taught readers, writers and that rare combination, thinkers the rules of the road (see #6) there is a pernicious tendency among academics and politicos to believe they may drive on the sidewalk, park on the playground, ignore red lights, etc. Rather than acknowledging contexts as discrete boundaries we have paved over them, making it possible to drive anywhere one damn well pleases. Watch out, kids— it’s a bumper car world full of untrained drivers.
#15 Canon
“A shared body of works worth knowing before you critique them.” Emphatically, yes. Let the emphasis be on the word “before.” As with rhetoric canons will change, have changed and are changing (I’m with Heraclitus.) These changes are not a popularity contest, per se, though aesthetics (beauty) comes to play. More on that below.
#25 Moral formation. This is in a separate room of discussion. In order to gain admission to this room one must have one’s ticket punched for having met and exceeded requirements #1-24. What? We shouldn’t be teaching morals to our children?? No, I didn’t say that. What I am saying is *I* shouldn’t be teaching morals to *your* children. You should be doing that, as I did for my children. Schools ought to be a place to learn manners, customs, basic ethics about fair play, cheating, stealing, etc. But, though morals and ethics overlap, the danger is confusing the “why” of the these ethics. The “why” that ought to be taught is so that we can understand that being governed by others need not be feared or hated, because we can trust those others to adhere to the agreed upon ethics. If we are led by a person who seizes upon the death of the child of his political foes to berate and denounce those foes and that leader’s followers stand by him as they have time after time, that is a sign of cultural decay.
#27 Beauty
Perhaps my favorite subject! But it’s universally confused with taste, and there’s no arguing that, as the saying goes. But Beauty! Beauty is one of the primary ends of philosophy. It deserves its own room and yes, the admission ticket to that room requires having been punched for #1-24. And, importantly, for #25 as well. I look forward to meeting everyone in that room.
#26 Wisdom
About this subject I follow Wittgenstein’s dictum. I haven’t gotten my ticket to this room punched.
Soft I, indeed! Thank you for this color.
In my grazing today I find this sentence from Joseph Brodsky.