Comments for An Illiberal Education at http://www.thecatholicthing.org , comment 1 to 9 out of 9 comments http://www.thecatholicthing.org Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:24:29 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/an-illiberal-education.html#comment-1939 It never ceases to rankle when I hear young people whine "What good is {English, History, etc.}?" Lord, what a society full of dunces and barbarians! Is it any wonder we are debased and debauched? I always tell me children, \"Don\'t bother with Computer Science; take something really useful like Dante or Medieval History.\" - Ben Callicoat Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:28:03 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/an-illiberal-education.html#comment-1944 As a wearied high-school teacher, I stand and applaud (metaphorically!). Popular, um, culture and an obession with gadgets have pretty much gutted the curriculum. Well, it's what The People want, eh. - Mack Hall Thu, 28 May 2009 16:52:45 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/an-illiberal-education.html#comment-1943 Fr. Schall is lucid as always! Literacy, just like liberty, is understood scientifically as we might quantify the fruit of a tree. We recognize the fruit and it becomes the object of our efforts. However, the truth of our misunderstandings lie in the fact that our focus must return to the soil, free from thorns and its cultivation is fully dependant on the roots that can only be comprised of the 7 virtues if we wish to see good fruit. Thanks again Fr. Schall. - Achilles Thu, 28 May 2009 16:52:15 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/an-illiberal-education.html#comment-1942 Fr. Schall is right on target. I would add to his list of references "President Eliot and Jesuit Colleges," by Timothy Brosnahan, S.J., which first appeared in the Sacred Heart Review, Jan. 13, 1900, and was used in English classes in the late 1940s when I was a student at Holy Cross. Fr. Brosnahan's reasoning was beyond reproach. Harvard's president advocated the elective system even to secondary and high schools. - Bill Loughlin Thu, 28 May 2009 15:57:09 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/an-illiberal-education.html#comment-1941 My contribution to the open duelling -- between Fr Schall and his appreciative readers -- of favourite quotes from St Thomas Aquinas (taken from his commentary on Aristotle’s ‘On Heaven and Earth’): ‘The study of philosophy is not directed toward discovering what men may have thought but toward knowing what is true.’ - Stephen MacLean Thu, 28 May 2009 15:56:19 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/an-illiberal-education.html#comment-1940 I agree with "Attorney," BUT... on the other hand,if a person is "illiterate" in computer science these days, they are considered a "dunce and a barbarian." - B.A. Thu, 28 May 2009 15:55:56 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/an-illiberal-education.html#comment-1936 Excellent article! Ever since the radical 60's with it's student riots demanding their own curicula and professors being held hostage and even removed for their establishment views, education became more of a utilitarian process aimed at a specific goal. Students today know nothing of Plato and Aristole and no language but English. The Humanities did not survive only social science and natural sciences. Allan Bloom's book, "The Closing of the American Mind" describes the problem well. - William Dennis Thu, 28 May 2009 08:43:03 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/an-illiberal-education.html#comment-1937 Fr. Schall closes his article with a St Thomas Aquinas quote. Coincidentally, I just read my daily Focus on the Family email and they conclude their email with another St Thomas Aquinas quote... "Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate." — St. Thomas Aquinas ...Reading between the lines, one can sense the dissatisfaction of the author and his first reference, Ralph McInerny, with their respective universities. - JDS Thu, 28 May 2009 08:42:47 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/an-illiberal-education.html#comment-1935 Amen. Imagine ... going to school to actually learn something. I have heard high school students as well as college students state they "know more" than their teachers. So, I ask them, why isn't it you up there doing the teaching? And I also see, with a great deal of sadness, that learning today stops when you stop going to school. No one reads anything worthwhile any longer - and if you don't believe that check out what the best sellers today are! Easier to watch "Survivor" than to be one - Liz Thu, 28 May 2009 06:12:57 +0100