Progressive Education, a Prophecy

The other day, in a TV news discussion addressing the radicalization of so many students in our colleges and universities, a member of the US House complained that, over the past two or three decades, our nation’s educational system has been infiltrated and co-opted by the ideological left. At one level he is correct, but at another, he is historically ignorant. The left’s takeover of education, especially our public educational system, has been a long, intentional process that began well over 100 years ago. Let me introduce you to a prophet who addressed the specifics of this highly successful movement 70 years ago, certainly more than a “two or three decades.” 

The prophet, Richard M. Weaver, died far too early in 1963 at the age of 53. A professor of English at the University of Chicago, he was far better known as a political philosopher and historian of intellectual movements. Weaver ultimately became one of the pioneers of modern conservative thought. He left behind many writings, but he is best known for three remarkable books: 

Ideas Have Consequences (1948)

The Ethics of Rhetoric (1953)

 

Visions of Order (1964)

If you hope to understand the ideas that have formed the basis of today’s conservative thought in America, these three brief books, along with Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind, are a great starting point. 

Years ago, when I first read Weaver’s Visions of Order, I was captivated by his chapter on education, entitled, “Gnostics of Education.” He described how the process of educational radicalization really began in the nineteenth century when, in his words: 

“…there occurred a sinister change. This came about when state bureaucracies were created to set the terms and supervise the workings of the expanding public school system. State legislatures felt that they had to turn the actual administration of affairs over to a body of ‘experts’…these state departments of education became virtually autonomous in their power to define the goals, methods, and materials of public instruction. The final step came when they were able to require all prospective public school teachers through the high school level to take a set number of courses in a subject called ‘Education’…This is where the doctrinal revolution…really took place…The new education, for which the name ‘progressive’ has been pre-empted by its advocates, is in marked conflict with our basic traditions and culture.” [Visions of Order, p. 114-115]

Following this, Weaver lists “some of the chief assumptions and tenets of progressive education. The conflict between them and the principal teachings of the Judea-Christian classical heritage of the west will be immediately apparent.” 

I realize his list is neither brief nor couched in today’s politically-correct language, but believe it’s worth reading. As you read, keep in mind that, although the book was published in 1964, a year after Weaver’s death, most of it was written in the mid-1950s, almost 70 years ago. These eight assumptions could easily be the manifesto of one of today’s radicalized teachers' unions. I include them here just as they were published [See Visions of Order, p. 115-117].

1. There is no such thing as a body of knowledge which reflects the structure of reality and which everyone therefore needs to learn. Knowledge is viewed as an instrumentality which is true or false according to the way it is applied to concrete situations or the way it serves the needs of the individual. Since these educators have embraced the notion that the essence of the world is change, there is no final knowledge about anything. The truths of yesterday are the falsehoods of today and the truths of today will be the falsehoods of tomorrow.
2. This being so, the object of education is not to teach knowledge, but to “teach students.” As they translate this into practice, it means that everyone should be adapted to the child as child, to the youth as youth, and to the particular group according to its limitations. There are no ideals or standards of performance which these are bound to measure themselves by or to respect.
3. As a corollary of the above principal, the child should be encouraged to follow his own desires in deciding what he should study, and what aspects of what subjects, and at what times.
4. The teacher must not think of himself as being in authority, because authority is evil. The teacher is there as a “leader,” but the duty of the leader is only to synchronize and cooperate with the work of the group.
5. The student should never be made afraid of anything connected with the school. Marks and competitions are bad because they instill feelings of superiority and inferiority, which are undemocratic. 
6. The mind is not to be exalted over the senses: democracy requires that sensory and “activist” learning be valued on a par with intellectual learning. The mentally slow or retarded are not to be made to feel that they are lacking; it is better to impugn the whole tradition of intellectual education than to injure the feelings of the less bright and the lazy.
7. Consequently, there should be less education through symbols like language and figures and more through using the hands-on concrete objects. It is more important to make maps than to learn them, said John Dewey, the grand pundit of the revolutionary movement.
8. The general aim is to train the student so that he will adjust himself not simply to the existing society, as is sometimes inferred from their words, but to society conceived as social democracy.

Here’s an abbreviated view of Weaver’s conclusions regarding these aims of progressive education:

• Absolute truth does not exist. No knowledge is binding.
• The mind is a tyrant which denies the rights of the body and must be democratized, forced into equity.
• The student’s aim is not to save his soul, inherit past wisdom, or advance himself or human knowledge, but to become a member of a future, ill-defined utopia.

How sad that Weaver recognized, understood, and warned us about this back in the 1950s and yet as a nation we didn’t listen…a prophet in his own land. One can only hope that the American people will come to realize the importance of local elections, particularly school board elections.

Of course, this radicalization has affected more than just education, but every aspect of society. Can we overcome this societal radicalization? I'm not sure. Back in 1949 -- when I was just a little kid -- another modern prophet, T. S. Eliot, wrote:

"Our own period is one of decline; that the standards of culture are lower than they were fifty years ago; and that the evidences of this decline are visible in every department of human activity" [Notes Toward the Definition of Culture, p. 17].

Welcome to the End of Western Civilization

Yep, I’m convinced, Western Civilization is in its death throes. When will the end come and what form will it take? I can only guess, but that’s all it would be, a guess. I’m no prophet, just an observer who’s old enough not to fret about his own future in the face of this dystopian offing. Please do not assume I’m a pessimist, because that would be far from the truth. My understanding of Creation is long-range, an eschatological view that accepts the Church’s Biblical teaching on the end times. The end will be preceded by conflict, persecution, and unspeakable evil before our God brings all of His Creation to its fulfillment. So, if you believe I’m a pessimist, realize that any pessimism is strictly short-term. My long-term understanding of the world is unquestionably optimistic. The Judge of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, will prevail so that “all things work for good for those who love God.”

I think I’m observant enough to see and read the signs, especially when they’re big and bright and flashing like a neon Broadway of the 1950s. Again, what I have to say are just my personal guesses, so let me share a few of them. 

I’ve recently celebrated (quietly) my 79th birthday, but believe I’ll still be around for this societal collapse, at least for its beginnings. I’m pretty sure it’ll happen quickly because these days everything happens quickly. Why should the utter destruction of a civilization be an exception. Neither will the end come quietly. Why should it? Our society, indeed, our world, has become increasingly violent and violence is rarely quiet. There’s no reason Western Civilization should just fade away like MacArthur’s old soldiers. No, it will probably be surrounded from without and penetrated from within and then slaughtered, all done rather quickly, much like the catastrophes experienced by the Russians in 1917 and the Chinese in 1949.

Let me tell a story…a true story. In November 1976 our ship, USS Okinawa, arrived in Sydney Australia. After a long stint at sea, four or five of us, all 30-something naval aviators, were in a crowded hotel elevator heading, predictably, to the rooftop bar when a local woman, knowing we were Americans, suddenly began to complain about American voting habits. Jimmy Carter had just been elected, although only 53% of eligible voters bothered to go to the polls. This, she said, was horrible. She then informed us that Australians who didn’t vote in elections were fined. (I don’t know if this was true then or still is, but she certainly said it.) Having made her point, she waited for an answer. As a true red, white, and blue American, I simply replied, "For Americans, to vote so we can select those who represent us is a right. Because it is a right, we can choose to vote or not to vote. To force citizens to vote is just a first step toward totalitarianism. Enjoy your future.” With that the elevator door opened and we all rushed to the bar where we enjoyed a couple of overpriced beers.

When the "free world" begins to reject freedom, you know we're in serious trouble.

Another sign of rapid and massive decay is the educational system in the West, especially in the US. The vast majority of students in our so-called institutions of higher learning graduate completely uneducated. Some few have received adequate training to enter and perhaps even succeed in specific professions — e.g., engineering and technical fields — and yet they too remain uneducated. Yes, even these have been indoctrinated into the left’s hatred of all things good. Just look at what’s happening on college campuses this week as a result of the violence in Israel. The hatred is visceral, animalistic, and screamed out in profanity laced irrational language. Totally unconcerned with the truth, the useful idiots on campus unthinkingly spew the slogans and lies they have been taught. They are historically, economically, politically, and morally ignorant because they and their parents were willing to pay huge amounts of money to ensure their indoctrinators are paid well. Yesterday, on the “global day of jihad”, we saw this clearly manifested in our streets and on the campuses of American colleges. I was, however, pleased to see that at least one college, Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California, instead or supporting terrorists, organized an all-night Eucharistic adoration to pray for peace in Israel. (Our eldest graduated from TAC.) Here’s a link: Thomas Aquinas College

As a nation — indeed, as a civilization — we have neglected the “permanent things” (read T. S. Eliot and Russell Kirk) that give our lives real meaning. When a civilization or society turns away from these, it ceases being human and becomes bestial. Sadly, too many believe we will be saved by politics or economics, but these are not the source of our problems. In fact, they become mere tools that will be used against us. In truth, our troubles are both cultural and spiritual, but to address these has become “politically incorrect.” We have forgotten or neglected the wisdom of our ancestors and the eternal truths that guided their words and deeds. In other words, we have become suicidal, a disease that has infected both liberals and conservatives, thanks to the intelligentsia who have taken control of large and influential segments of bureaucracy, media, academia, and even our military. 

I find it consoling that in many Catholic parishes in the United States — including my parish here in Florida — parishioners are once again praying Pope Leo XIII’s prayer to St. Michael the Archangel after each daily Mass. Many Catholics, then, realize the nature of the threats faced by both Church and society. Pope Leo composed the prayer as a result of a vision he experienced at Mass on October 13, 1884, exactly 33 years before the great miracle of the sun at Fatima. Add this prayer to your daily devotions, for Michael will be the one called to do God’s work during these trying times.

Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell, Satan and all the other evil spirits, who prowl throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Human history offers a record of civilizational decline, so we have no guarantee that Western Civilization will somehow survive the fate that befell all others. Pray for our nation, for our civilization, and for the world.

Memory and Education

Here in our large Florida retirement community, we have a growing number of facilities designed to support and house those among us who can no longer live alone and require some level of assistance. Rehab facilities and physical therapy practices abound, helping those who are recovering from surgery, illness, or injury. We’ve also witnessed the construction of many facilities supplying various levels of assisted living. But increasingly common among these new facilities are those devoted to “memory care.” Given today’s remarkable advances in medicine, for many of us seniors, our bodies are outliving our minds. We see so many physically healthy seniors suffering from various forms of dementia. This, combined with the ravages of such diseases as Alzheimer’s, and the inability of aging spouses to care effectively for their loved ones, has created the growing need for this level of institutional care. 

As a deacon, I often visit patients in memory care facilities. Over time their dementia seems to have as great an effect on care-giving spouses and other family members as it has on the patients. I see this far too often as spouses witness and personally experience the gradual loss of the human presence of those they have known and loved for most of their lives. To experience, gradually over time, the complete loss of one’s memory is inevitably to lose awareness of one’s surroundings, of others, and even of self. I recently visited a parishioner who’s in an advanced stage of dementia. I hadn’t seen him in a while and was saddened to encounter only a shell of the man I had known. But there were signs of recognition, signs of faith. When I prayed the Our Father aloud, his lips moved silently along with the words. I've come to believe that in some way we cannot perceive, he will always know the God who brought him into being. 

Societies, too, seem to experience collective memory loss. Some results from the normal passage of time and our tendency to focus on the present or the more immediate future. I recall once being told by a professor of managerial psychology, "You can do nothing about the past, so why focus on it." Of course, he was absolutely nuts. And I immediately thought of Henry Ford's famous and blunt evaluation: "History is bunk." In truth he really didn't say that, but what he actually said in that interview wasn't very different:

"History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we make today."

Neither Henry Ford, nor my grad school professor, apparently agreed with George Santayana's more famous comment:

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

As for myself, I'm more comfortable with Santayana's approach to history than Henry Ford's. Ford was a great manufacturer who could drive his products down that assembly line right into the showroom. But what he knew about tradition you could etch on the head of a pin with a jackhammer. And since he's not around to defend himself, I can attack his attack and fear no rebuttal. 

You see, I look at tradition in its theological sense. I see it as God's communication of Himself to us. As the Church understands tradition (and in the words of the late Cardinal Avery Dulles): 

"Its content is the whole Christian reality disclosed in Jesus Christ...transmitted not only by written and spoken words, but equally by prayer, sacramental worship, and participation in the Church's life."  

Sadly, too many, like old Henry Ford, ignore not only spiritual tradition but even secular tradition. They seem to suffer from a form of temporal bias or bigotry which encourages them to believe that progress toward the good, or at least the better, is inevitable. These are the folks who believe the ancients -- and that includes any generation before their own -- must have been far less intelligent because they didn't have iPhones and iPads or YouTube and TikTok and Google. And using these devices and apps they generate little or nothing of real lasting value. 

Today, too many of our institutions of "higher education" -- all those colleges and universities -- have devolved into high-priced trade schools, turning out well trained but poorly educated graduates. They are trained as coders, or marketers, or number crunchers, or influencers. Some are taught to be teachers, but they learn only how to teach, not what to teach. They might be ready to enter a narrowly defined field or profession, but do they possess an understanding of the human condition? Are they aware of the philosophical and theological struggles that have brought humanity to its present state? Do they know why they exist and what God intends for them? Do they know God and themselves? They, too, are the victims of memory deprivation inflicted on them by lesser souls.

The truly valuable, the great works of men and women of the past are being neglected in too many of our schools. They and the traditions they represent have been intentionally forgotten, eliminated from curricula, discarded from libraries, and certainly not read by or taught to students. Fortunately, there are some schools where the "great books" still have pride of place, and where a truly liberal education remains the sought-after end. I believe St. John's College in Annapolis was among the first of these, but today there are many others, including Thomas Aquinas College, where my daughter, Erin, studied. 

I'm glad I'm as old as I am, so I don't have to help my children make these decisions in today's crumbling world. If I were raising children today, I'd teach them about the real, living tradition that God has revealed to us, about the wondrous relationship between God and His people. And then I'd encourage them to become useful members of society as plumbers, librarians, electricians, beauticians, house painters, farmers, mechanics, even teachers. Doing that, it's less likely your job will consume you or monopolize your life, but it might provide the leisure you need to live the life God wants for you. How you and I live, however, is always our choice.

Get Educated...Get a Life

Get religion, get smart. According to a study conducted at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University, young people who practice and are committed to their faith perform at a higher level academically than those who are less religious.

llana Horwitz

Ilana Horwitz, the doctoral candidate who conducted the study, interviewed almost 2,500 public schools students aged 13-17 placing them into five categories based on the depth of their religious life. She named the categories from most to least religious as follows: abiders, adapters, assenters, avoiders and atheists. (It seems she has a preference for "a" words.) Her study concluded that the more religious had a significantly higher grade point average than the less religious. For example, the "abiders" -- described by Horwitz as those who attend religious services, pray on a regular basis, feel close to God, and emphasize the role of faith in their daily lives -- earned an average GPA of 3.22. In contrast the "avoiders" -- those who believe God exists but avoid religious involvement in their lives -- earned an average GPA of 2.93.

Horwitz attributes the difference to two key factors: conscientiousness and cooperation. She went on to conclude that "church attendance and doing well in school require commitment, diligence, and routine...The ritual practice of rising and going to church or mass, and so forth – whether compelled by one’s own faith or one’s parents’ demands – commits a youth to a practice and routine, a skill that translates into tools needed for academic success.”

It seems, then, an active religious faith can make a difference in both this life and the next. Get religion and get smart; or you can follow the road most taken and...

Get a relativistic education. I was taught, in both school and at home, that if I knew little or nothing about a subject, I should remain quiet for fear of revealing my ignorance and sounding like a complete fool. When it comes to all those important, earth-shaking topics, I've tried to follow this advice, although those who know me well might disagree.

Usually, though, if I'm interested in a subject, I read about it, study it, and relying on my common sense, listen to the arguments of more knowledgeable people. Only then do I feel comfortable to form an opinion. Even then I'm ready to change that opinion as I learn more about the subject and the motives of those making the arguments. The sought-after end is always the truth.

Apparently, in a world dominated by relativistic thinking, comprehending the truth is no longer the desired goal. How can it be, when your truth and my truth and their truth, all very different from one another, all become acceptable? The true relativist accepts all of these "truths" as valid because no knowledge, no beliefs, are truly objective; all is subjective. Indeed, he rejects the very idea of objective truth and, like Pontius Pilate, can turn to the Source of Truth itself and sneer those words, "What is truth?" Remarkably, he can do so without any embarrassment whatsoever.

Today, however, political correctness has led to a strange, illogical twisting of relativism. Now only some "truths" are acceptable. Those that support the ideological left are fine regardless of their relationship to objective reality. Any other truth must be attacked and discarded. The lie, then, becomes a truth if it furthers the desired ideological ends. This is why so many of our politicians and their elitist fellow travelers can knowingly tell obvious lies and not be taken to task by a media driven by the same ideology. As Lenin is reported to have said: "A lie told often enough becomes the truth."

I encountered a beautiful example of this a few months ago. Supposedly intelligent college students didn't hesitate to offer their opinion on the president's State of the Union speech several days before he delivered it. Assuming he had already delivered the speech, they willingly aired their opinions of what he supposedly said. What fun to listen to their comments on the content of a speech as if they had actually listened to it. In other words, they lied, but that's okay because their lies support the ideology. They have been so completely indoctrinated that their opinions before and after the speech would be virtually identical. This is what ideology does. It brainwashes. Don't confuse me with the facts; my mind is made up. Or, perhaps more accurately, the ideology has captured my mind and dictated my thoughts.

Here's a video of these NYU students:

Uncovering and highlighting the ignorance of those claiming to be educated would be great fun were it not so sad.

Lenin and Hitler: Little Difference

Should you visit a college campus and have the bad fortune to experience an up close and personal encounter with a violent leftist of the Antifa movement, just ask him to define fascism, the ideology he claims to oppose. Ask him to describe the kinds of policies fascist governments have historically imposed on their populations. Ask him to do the same for communism and communist governments. The answers (or lack thereof) will amaze. Indeed, there is little difference between Antifa activists and the true fascists they condemn -- just as there was little difference between the tactics of Hitler's Nazis and Stalin's Marxists. Truth, understanding, and knowledge are of no importance. Only the ideology counts. It results, of course, in the enslavement of the ignorant, the very "useful idiots" the ideologues call on to do their dirty work.

Ben Garrison Cartoon

Yes, indeed, there's an element of slavery here. Too many have become so complacent in their ideological servitude that they are unable to think. I fear it has begun to affect the nation as a whole. As Americans we probably enjoy more physical comforts than those living elsewhere and yet at the same time we are losing our mental freedom. Even more strange is the infantization of college students who must be protected from any thoughts that might possibly disturb them.

Protect me...please, please protect me

Of course, far too many colleges and universities encourage all this by eliminating required, foundational courses in history, philosophy, literature, and the development of civilization. In 1962, as a freshman at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, I was required to take a course in logic. (I still have both the textbook and workbook, to which I have referred many times over the years.) I suspect very few college students could even define "logic" today. And I still fall back on what I learned that same freshman year in the legendary Carroll Quigley's course on the Evolution of Civilizations. Professor Quigley was the kind of liberal that no longer exists, one who would graciously listen to other points of view and engage in the give and take of good argument. 

Carroll Quigley

Without an understanding of the human condition -- the knowledge offered by the foundational studies mentioned above -- no person is truly educated. But even where such courses continue to be taught, their content is too often distorted by the prevailing leftist ideology. Argument and open discussion of contrary views -- the means to seek out the truth -- are not just discouraged but even prohibited.

Yes, it's a sad truth that most college graduates today depart these institutions woefully uneducated. Some have acquired the basic technical skills demanded by a chosen career field and go on to accept entry-level positions in industry, government, education, or health care. But they have been trained rather than educated. No doubt many will succeed as the world measures success, but are they prepared to answer, or even ask, life's great questions?

Others, having focused on politically correct areas of study, graduate with few marketable skills and find themselves working at what are essentially unskilled jobs and living in mom's basement.

Mom's Basement Ain't So Bad

Still others choose to enter professions that require the increasingly specialized knowledge and skills taught in  graduate schools. Brandishing advanced degrees and professional success they are viewed as experts to whom the world should listen. In truth, their expertise and knowledge are often so specialized, so narrow, that they are less likely to offer the answers so many seek.

A young person today must make a choice. If the goal is wealth and worldly success, and nothing more, then by all means do what must be done to attend one of the elite institutions. Accept the indoctrination and be prepared to live a narrow, meaningless life.

I've already, probably too often, offered my opinion on the quality of higher education at most colleges and universities. To the young person of faith, I offer the following advice. First, listen to St. Paul and what he told the Philippians:

I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus [Ph 3:14].

In other words, don't sweat the small stuff, and that includes how you earn your living in today's world. Focus instead on the eternal "prize of God's upward calling." Be a person of faith, one who sees beyond this life to eternity.

My most recent advice to the average high school student is to learn a useful trade, the kind that will always be in demand, or enlist in one of the military services, while at the same time pursuing higher education online. And then read. Read and re-read the works of those whose thoughts formed humanity's great civilizations. 

That advice hasn't changed. 

A Marine in Afghanistan - Learning About Life

Life, in fact, is the best educator. And I really believe that the average 20-year-old Marine with combat experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere has a deeper understanding of the human condition and the state of the world than most recent college graduates. 

Off to College...or not

Not long ago President Obama suggested that as a nation we provide free education for anyone who attends a community college. For the president this program would be an extension of the K through 12 public education available to all Americans. We'd simply be adding another two years of public education and providing our young people with a higher education head start.

Sounds good...until we look into it more deeply. The first question that comes to mind is "What will it cost?" We can be sure of one thing: like every government program the cost will always be grossly underestimated. Believe me, the per-student costs of a community college are substantially higher than that of your local public elementary, middle or high school, and once the government starts to foot the bill for all those additional students, the costs will skyrocket. Why do you think the cost of a college education has grown at a rate that far exceeds the rate of inflation? Once the government got into the student loan and grant business, our institutions of higher education came to realize the sky's the limit. At many colleges and universities the amenities provided to students rival those of expensive resorts. And today the typical college professor enjoys a most comfortable salary. Full professors average near $100,000 while entry-level assistant professors typically earn close to $70,000. Not bad for what many educators consider a part-time job.

About 20 years ago I worked at a private Catholic college. One morning in early May, as waited to pour my first cup of coffee in the faculty lounge, I asked a tenured professor of English if he were looking forward to the summer. His response, "Oh, yes indeed. I always enjoy the summer. I go from doing nothing to doing absolutely nothing!" Was he joking? Of course, but not completely. He arrived every morning before his first class and left immediately after his last class. He spent most of his time between classes in the faculty lounge. He had taught the same courses for years, perhaps decades, and quite likely hadn't had an original thought since becoming a tenured professor. In fairness, he was certainly not typical of that college's professors, but neither was he alone in his attitude. My point is that many educators are paid very well for very little work.

Another, perhaps less obvious, objection to the president's plan relates to its benefits. What will it accomplish? In other words, will it really achieve anything worthwhile? The prevailing wisdom states unequivocally that if someone wants to succeed in our society today he must get a college education and earn a degree. I admit I once thought the same, but not any longer.

Virtually all public and too many private colleges and universities no longer mandate the kind of liberal arts studies that result in a well-educated graduate, an adult ready to assume the responsibilities of a good, productive citizen. When I graduated from high school (over 50 years ago), every leading college and university required students to complete a course in the development of Western Civilization. Today very few, if any, of these schools do so. (See the National Association of Scholars report: The Vanishing West: 1964-2010.) Many of these institutions have also eliminated foreign language requirements, as well as mandatory courses in subjects long considered an essential part of a liberal education. The study of history has sadly become history, and we wonder why so many seemingly educated young people cannot name the nations we fought in World War II or in what century the Civil War took place. But even more disturbing they are completely ignorant of the roots of our American experiment. I suppose this is to be expected since in most institutions the few remaining liberal arts courses have been tainted by an extreme form of political correctness that does nothing but promote leftist ideology. And for this the student's parents and the taxpayers pay big bucks.

Too many of today's 22-year-old college graduates are poorly educated and unqualified for the rapidly changing job market. They know all about micro-aggression, discrimination, the wonders of multiculturalism, and the irrelevance of dead white males, but know virtually nothing of the real world in which they must compete.

If a young people were to ask me today for career advice I'd probably suggest that they would be better off spending their scarce resources -- their time and money -- learning the skills of one of the many trades in such high demand. A few years ago I might have suggested a stint in the armed forces where they could learn not only valuable technical skills but also the basics of leadership and management. Sadly, today's military is at the forefront of political correctness and I'd be hard-pressed to recommend it to anyone. No, today I'd suggest that a young person consider becoming a welder, or an electrician, or a computer programmer. Indeed, good coders are highly sought after (and highly paid) by companies who couldn't care less whether or not their employees have college degrees. (It's remarkable how many of these firms were started by college dropouts.) 

Even better, I'd suggest they develop a long-term plan to achieve entrepreneurship, to start their own company, and learn the necessary financial and management skills. Additionally thanks to the Internet, anyone can round out their education by studying the liberal arts online and do so at their own speed while avoiding the ideologues of the left. This, too, I would recommend.

I'd also remind them that their most important task in life is to love God and neighbor, to find their way to salvation. And, trust me, you don't need a college degree to do that.

Unbidden Thoughts

There I was this afternoon, sitting on my overutilized duff watching college football and letting my underutilized mind completely empty itself when, unbidden, a series of thoughts forced themselves on me. It was actually pretty irritating because I just wanted to veg out and watch these games in which I had absolutely no stake. But these intruding thoughts simply wouldn't go away.

The first of these thoughts originated in a dream I had last night, a rather odd dream in which I was standing in the forum at Pompeii (a place Diane and I visited on our recent trip) engaged in a little Q&A with Socrates. At least I think he was Socrates because he was standing there in a cool robe and asking me question after question that I was apparently unable to answer. Now I'm pretty sure Socrates never spent any time in Pompeii, but dreams are no respecters of historical fact.

We weren't alone. Other people were there too, presumably local Pompeians, witnessing this embarrassing exchange and laughing aloud at my non-answers. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I can't recall any of the questions he asked. In fact, I can recall only one thing that my fanciful Socrates said. At the end of our dialogue he shook his head and grumbled, "Your ignorance is enough to make me drink a cup of hemlock juice." With that I awoke convinced, at least for a moment, that I was personally responsible for the untimely death of Socrates.

As for the deep psychological meaning of this dream, I haven't a clue and really don't want  to know. I experience enough humbling moments in real life. Anyway, recalling this dream today I found myself thinking about Socrates and education. It's been said on many occasions and by many very smart people that the perfect school was Socrates standing in the agora with a couple of students and asking questions to help his students find their way to the truth. If this is true, and based on my own experience I suspect it is, why then do we not imitate it in our systems of education today? Instead it would seem, at least based on the results, educational "professionals" adopt one faddish and ineffective method after another in a never-ending quest for...what? The truth? More tax money? Job security? I think perhaps it's time to get back to the real basics when it comes to education.

Thoughts of Socrates and the ineffectiveness of most of our educational institutions, got me thinking about other cultural issues. The first that came to mind was political correctness, Originating in our institutions of higher learning, PC has become a remarkably successful effort by our cultural elites and their language police to distort the language to conform to their own political views. For example, pro-abortion becomes pro-choice even though those who espouse this position really don't want women to make an informed choice. It is, of course, a tyranny designed to alter the way people both speak and think. It's simply one more manifestation of what Pope Benedict XVI calls the "dictatorship of relativism." In essence political correctness is really just another form of dishonesty since it aims to distort reality for the sake of ideology under the guise of individual or group feelings, To be PC, then, is to be a liar. The ramifications of political correctness are not trivial. Indeed, I really believe that no society can be truly healthy unless its language is pure and reflective of the truth.

Those were a few of my odd thoughts as I watched West Virginia and Nebraska win in lopsided, boring games. Happily the later Auburn-Alabama game was far more exciting.

Pax et bonum...

Truth, Facts and Education

Late this morning I received a phone call from a long-time friend, an academic who teaches business-related subjects at a California university. He was mildly upset with me and took issue with what I wrote in yesterday's post. His point was that, contrary to what I believe, the educational establishment is still largely devoted to seeking the truth and not simply focused on the accumulation of useful facts. Here's the gist of what he said to me, pretty close to his actual words:

Of course, we want our students to learn the facts and apply the skills they need to be successful in their chosen professions. That's a major part of what we as educators do. But we also encourage them to seek the truth. One thing about the truth is that it works, and so knowing the truth will help them achieve that same success.

We argued our respective positions very pleasantly for ten minutes or so, but without much movement on either side. I'm committed to my view that our system of education -- particularly higher education -- has largely devolved into a high-cost system of professional or job training. He, on the other hand, is equally sure that his and other universities remain committed to the age-old principles of a liberal education.

I won't claim to be smarter than my friend because I'm not. He is a very intelligent man. But he is also a committed pragmatist, which is evident from his comment that seems to define the truth as that which "works." Indeed, most business people -- and for years I worked closely with all levels of business people from well over a hundred companies -- are pragmatists who seek that which works and tend to confuse this with seeking the truth. This way of thinking also leads many of them to become relativists. As one CEO once told me, "If you start moralizing about business decisions, you can become paralyzed."

But back to this morning's long-distance argument...My business professor friend might be the smarter one but, thanks to Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas and others, I think I had the better arguments, even if I didn't always apply them very well.

Finally, probably a bit frustrated by his immovability, I asked him, "When did you last teach about the search for truth in class?" That seemed to take him by surprise. He said he couldn't recall and that's when I knew I had won the argument. (Okay, maybe I'd won only in my own mind, but that was good enough for me.) The way I saw it, if he couldn't recall when he'd last taught about "truth" I suspect he never had, at least formally. (This will doubtless result in another phone call.)

My main point here is that ever since the enlightenment education has consciously moved away from the search for truth. From the start most of the great universities were formed around the study of theology, the pursuit of the truth about God and His relationship with man. This pursuit was foundational, since it was considered to be the basis of all other truth about man and his world. This is no longer the case. Today the study of theology, particularly Christian theology, is an academic backwater at most universities. Indeed, in many institutions the study of theology has been replaced by religious studies or comparative religion programs --  nice, soft titles that mesh well with the average university's sociology and anthropology departments. And if theology has been retained as a course of study, it's usually relegated to a school of divinity, well segregated from the "normal" student body.

It's no coincidence that this growing neglect of the study of theology was accompanied by a parallel devaluation of the very idea of truth. Once the existence of objective truth is placed in doubt, once the skeptics are in charge, the whole concept of a liberal education dedicated to a search for truth is called into question. Before long education becomes fragmented, focusing instead on learning the facts needed for specialized and practical studies. And from my perspective, this is where education is today, turning out well-trained but uneducated graduates.

Too bad.