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Introduction to Classical Education: Course Introduction | Christopher Perrin, MDiv PhD — Transcript

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0:00hi this is Christopher parin welcome to
0:03this introduction to a course which is
0:06called an introduction to classical
0:09education this is kind of an
0:11introduction to an introductory course I
0:13remember when I was in seminary and
0:16studying uh a course on the gospels and
0:19spent an enormous amount of time
0:20studying the gospels with with uh with
0:22our professor and at the end of the
0:24course I remember the professor saying I
0:27hope you've enjoyed this introduction to
0:29the Gospels
0:30and um I remember thinking wait a minute
0:32I'm in graduate school how how can this
0:34be an introductory course but it was uh
0:38a lot of Educators have said throughout
0:40the years that in one sense all
0:42education is self-education in other
0:45words you you you are you're trained
0:47you're encouraged you're mentored you're
0:49inspired by others but you know at the
0:51root of it you have to do the study you
0:54have to become your own student and to
0:56some degree uh your own teacher this is
0:58what Dorothy Sarah says and the ends of
1:00her her essay The Lost tools of learning
1:03the end of education is that a student
1:05would learn to teach himself to be his
1:07own teacher to learn for himself uh not
1:10only did s say this classical Educators
1:12have said this for centuries so this
1:15will be an introductory course designed
1:17to prompt and to stimulate and I hope to
1:20guide and help but it will be uh the
1:23beginning it will not certainly be the
1:25end even when this course is finished
1:27certainly not when this introduction to
1:28an introductory course is finished but I
1:30want to thank you for for coming uh
1:33journeying with me uh and even taking a
1:36look at this first lecture well um you
1:39see that in this image U on the slide I
1:42have a puzzle piece um some puzzle
1:46pieces um and you know a partially
1:48formed
1:51puzzle in in one sense we are going to
1:53seek to try to pull together the pieces
1:55of a puzzle in fact there are many
1:58different pieces that come to was in the
2:00classical tradition um the difficulty is
2:03we've never seen um all of them together
2:06with a great uh integrated Unity have we
2:10um it's as if we've uh Gone on a uh you
2:13know a a summer vacation with our
2:15extended family and one of our relatives
2:17pulls out a big jigsaw puzzle of a
2:20thousand pieces and says we're going to
2:22put together this puzzle this week right
2:24here on the coffee table and then the
2:26dog eats the box top how do we pull
2:29together all of these pieces without
2:31having a sense of what what the whole is
2:34that will be one of our challenges so we
2:36want to kind of pull together these
2:38pieces and and look at them uh as a
2:40whole now you might see this particular
2:43uh you know puzzle and think well gosh
2:46there are 12 different items Concepts
2:49listed here on this is this the only way
2:52of conceptualizing classical education
2:54no it's not but I'm trying to illustrate
2:56that there are pieces that we need to
2:58see together as a whole and I think
3:00these are some of the pieces I think
3:02they're important but this might not be
3:04the definitive list so how are we going
3:07to how are we going to do this well I
3:09think there are four major questions
3:11that every educational approach has to
3:13ask who is a student what curriculum do
3:16we teach that student in what setting
3:19and to what ends or purpose uh this will
3:23Orient the way um I present this course
3:26to you these four questions should kind
3:28of loom in the background around what is
3:30a student what is a human being what is
3:32a human being for and after we've
3:35answered that question or the
3:36anthropological question then we can
3:38address the curricular question what do
3:39we teach that student and in what
3:42setting what does it mean to have a
3:43school or homeschooling community and
3:46what is the purpose of it all that
3:47should guide the whole Affair um we
3:50could change this to uh change the
3:52analogy perhaps from puzzle to pearls
3:56there are some lovely ideals and IDE
4:00and Concepts and practices of Education
4:03that have come down to us throughout the
4:05centuries and they're like treasured
4:08pearls and you've come across some of
4:10these pearls you probably have a few of
4:12them in your own little pocket but we
4:14maybe have never seen all of these
4:16pearls uh uh strung nicely uh so that
4:19they form a beautiful necklace again we
4:23need we need a kind of integrated Beauty
4:26and unity to to understand and
4:28appreciate the what we can call the
4:30classical tradition of Education it it
4:33has some unity in the midst of its
4:36diversity there these pearls come
4:38together well what are some of these
4:40pearls again we could come up with
4:43different ways of naming the various
4:45Pearls of various important elements of
4:47the classical tradition of education but
4:49let me suggest that at least these
4:51should be included as pearls uh the
4:53liberal arts we should know what the
4:56liberal arts are we should know them
4:57very well we should know their history
4:59and their purpose um what what they seek
5:02to do we should know pedagogy the
5:05associated uh teaching methods for
5:07teaching the liberal arts and there's a
5:09pearl of the great books we should we
5:11should know what the great books are we
5:13should know something of the the great
5:15conversation the great ideas that have
5:17been talked about by the greatest Minds
5:20over the years how do we how do we mind
5:23the treasures of these great
5:25books uh scol this uh this idea of
5:30undistracted time to study the things
5:32that are most worthwhile a restful
5:35contemplative learning um where is the
5:38scol and our schools and home schools
5:41this this is a pearl to recover and what
5:43about virtue this this word that is uh
5:47uh it's meaning almost lost in our
5:49contemporary moment what what is virtue
5:52and what are the educational virtues
5:54there's a a collection of traditional
5:56virtues habits dispositions or character
5:59traits that describe what a student
6:02should be what are those virtues how do
6:05we get these pearls on a string so that
6:09uh uh we recover an integrated
6:12meaningful uh classical education well
6:16that's what we'll seek to do in this
6:17introductory course and in a sense is
6:19what we're seeking to do uh on classical
6:21U uh
6:23generally um so if we want to put we
6:27want to pull together the pieces of the
6:29puzzle we want to put the pearls on a
6:31string it's also important to pause and
6:33say that as we look at the classical
6:35tradition that's come down to us that we
6:37recognize it as something beautiful and
6:39good a rich wonderful inheritance and
6:43that we affirm it even as we affirm what
6:48it means to be a human being in this
6:50wonderful world even though it's broken
6:52even though there's a lot of lostness
6:54and there's fallenness there's
6:56corruption this world still is beautiful
6:59as Gerard Manley Hopkins has said uh the
7:02world is charged with the Grandeur of
7:05God we still see goodness and truth and
7:09Beauty a kind of Glory in the cosmos
7:13that attracts us to it and makes us feel
7:16that it's good to be here and we can
7:19affirm in a sense a kind of fundamental
7:22Harmony of ourselves being placed in
7:24this world and seeking to know that
7:26Harmony better that's a part of the
7:29classical tradition this idea uh of
7:32beginning with an affirmation of what it
7:34means to be in this world and to know
7:36this world to know ourselves to know the
7:38Creator so for example Richard Weaver uh
7:42um says this he said in his book ideas
7:44have consequences when we affirm that
7:46philosophy begins with Wonder we are
7:49affirming in effect that sentiment is
7:51anterior to reason we do not undertake
7:54to reason about anything until we have
7:56been drawn to it by an effective an
7:59effective interest he's not saying all
8:02of life is sentimental he's saying there
8:04is a kind of
8:05intuitive uh um attraction to the world
8:09is something beautiful and good that
8:13effectively that's with an a draws us to
8:16begin to use our reason knowing that we
8:19are in a place that is wonderful and and
8:23and therefore we do philosophy because
8:25at first we are at Wonder in the world
8:28to quote aristot
8:31all philosophy begins in Wonder um so he
8:36goes on to say Weaver does that reason
8:38on its own without this foundation in
8:40Wonder is actually going to be kind of
8:43reasoning in the void it's going to be a
8:45kind of empty reasoning and he says for
8:47example how frequently it is brought to
8:50our attention that nothing good can be
8:52done if the will is wrong reason fails
8:55to justify itself it needs this will
8:58directed towards Wonder to to guide
9:01reason he says not without cause has the
9:03devil been called The Prince of lawyers
9:05and not by accident are shakespear's
9:07villains good reasoners if the
9:10disposition is wrong reason increases
9:14maleficence if it is right reason orders
9:17and furthers the
9:19good so Weaver is arguing that we must
9:22use reason and we must use it well but
9:24we ought not to be like Shakespeare's
9:26villains or the Devil Himself who is the
9:28prince of lawyers our reason must be
9:31guided by a right disposition that is in
9:35Wonder or at Wonder in this lovely world
9:38that we find ourselves so there's a kind
9:40of fundamental affirmation that's
9:43present and behind the tradition of
9:45classical education uh let me just quote
9:49him once again uh Richard Weaver says
9:52every man participating in a culture has
9:54three levels of conscious reflection his
9:58specific ideas about things his General
10:00beliefs or convictions and his
10:02metaphysical dream of the world and when
10:05he says that metaphysical dream of the
10:06world he's referring again to that will
10:09that has been uh guided and oriented by
10:12Wonder in the world a metaphysical dream
10:16so there's a kind of metaphysical
10:18priority you might say this idea of an
10:20Ultimate Reality that we find ourselves
10:22in that is true good and beautiful and
10:24causes us to be at wonder is that you if
10:28that describes your disposition position
10:30then you are you are you are well suited
10:32well disposed to the recovery of the
10:34classical tradition of education but let
10:37me also refer to some other thinkers um
10:40ysph peeper uh is written of course
10:42Leisure the basis of culture Leisure
10:45being scol another translation for the
10:47Greek word scol which is restful
10:49learning or undistracted time to study
10:51the things that are most
10:52worthwhile uh in his book um only the
10:55lover sings on contemplation he says
10:57this what is required to celebrate a
11:01feast obviously more than a day off from
11:04work the requirement includes man's
11:07Willing Acceptance of the ultimate truth
11:09in spite of the world's riddles even
11:12when this truth is beheld through the
11:13veil of our own tears it includes man's
11:16awareness of being in harmony with these
11:19fundamental realities and surrounded by
11:22them he goes on to express such
11:25acceptance such Harmony such unity in
11:28non-ordinary ways this has been called
11:31since time in Memorial to celebrate a
11:33feast so PE is really saying the same
11:36thing that weer is that we are to see
11:39this world uh as being shot through with
11:41Grandeur and glory and goodness and we
11:43are to be at Wonder at it and this leads
11:46us therefore to accept it with a kind of
11:49Harmony and only then can we be in a
11:51celebratory celebratory mood or mode
11:54only then can we really celebrate a
11:56feast and have Festival
11:59that's peeper saying there's a
12:01fundamental way in which we affirm uh
12:05our our position as human beings in this
12:07world so there's there's just this a
12:09beginning affirmative mode and uh it
12:13becomes a kind of principle maybe a
12:15fundamental principle of the classical
12:17tradition of Education um affirmation of
12:21what it means to be a human being in
12:22this world and of course in the
12:24Christian tradition this becomes vitally
12:26important because we see that there is
12:28an Eden from which we have fallen and an
12:31Eden to which we yearn to return and a a
12:35coming of a savior who will bring us
12:38there but we still see in the midst of
12:40the veil of Tears in the midst of the
12:42fallenness of this world the Brokenness
12:44and the corruption a fundamental wonder
12:46and goodness that we can
12:48affirm um that becomes a principle and
12:52what is a principle other than it is a
12:55first thing um uh Weaver talks about
12:59this principle of affirmation is kind of
13:01an
13:02unsentimental sentiment or intuition
13:05that guides our reasoning it becomes a
13:07kind of premise for our reasoning um
13:11Lewis talks about first things and
13:13second things of course I'm referring to
13:14CS Lewis uh he says this he says of
13:18course this law this fundamental
13:21principle this law has been discovered
13:23before but it will stand
13:25rediscovery it may be stated as follows
13:28every preference of a a small good to a
13:30great or a partial good to a total good
13:34involves the loss of the small or
13:36partial good for which the sacrifice is
13:39made you can't get second things by
13:41putting them first you get second things
13:44only by putting first things first if we
13:48don't put the first things first LS says
13:50we will lose the second things as well
13:53so sometimes we make the secondary
13:55primary and of course what Lewis is
13:58arguing is that there are some
13:59fundamental first things and that's kind
14:02of what the word principle means it's a
14:04first thing where do we start what are
14:07the first things that we must get right
14:09if the secondary things are going to
14:11follow and I'm arguing that as we begin
14:13the recovery of class the classical
14:14tradition of Education that we get this
14:16right that the world is true good and
14:19beautiful and we are made such that we
14:22can know and perceive and love the
14:25things that are true good and beautiful
14:28you might call this an ass asson of say
14:30philosophical realism uh you might call
14:33it Christian realism if you're in the
14:35Christian tradition but that's what it
14:36is a fundamental first premise that we
14:41are made such that we can know the
14:43things that are true good and beautiful
14:45if we don't start with that premise a
14:47lot of problems follow in fact Lewis
14:50will argue that if we if we don't start
14:52with this premise we are really in
14:54danger of not being able to prove
14:55anything at all there's something
14:58axiomatic about about this kind of an
15:00assumption that truth exists and that
15:02truth can be known if you don't believe
15:05that you're going to live you're going
15:07to find yourself in a world of
15:09individually created facts which are
15:11substituted for truths in which every
15:14person does what is right in his own
15:16eyes and a kind of chaos ensues over
15:20time at least a kind of
15:22fragmentation many would argue that's
15:23what's happening in secular cultures
15:27today so principles
15:29um and you'll see throughout this course
15:31that we'll talk in terms of principles
15:34principles that enable us to to use our
15:36reason well and to actually uh
15:39understand and derive
15:41practices uh practices and principles
15:43are of course in a kind of ongoing
15:46relationship a virtuous cycle we might
15:48say and here's a slide that some of them
15:51I won't go through them right now but we
15:52will be seeing these later uh some
15:55principles that will guide us in our
15:57pedagogy in this case notice number six
15:59is Wonder and curiosity this is a
16:03fundamental first
16:05thing well we'll see principles in a lot
16:08of other places too um we need to be
16:11able to think principally um in this
16:14famous Psalm you might ask yourself and
16:16if you're there with a group of teachers
16:17you know what what what principle or
16:20principles are contained within this
16:22Psalm that might help us to predict
16:25future Behavior or events and by the way
16:27that's something else that we says he
16:29says that when we come to understand
16:31principal truths these are not lots of
16:34collections of isolated or or or
16:36collected facts they are uh they are
16:39principles that enable us to actually
16:41predict and understand future events and
16:43situations so on behaviors um the way a
16:47proverb can be a truth that helps us to
16:51understand and predict the future
16:52behavior um so what principles do you
16:55see here what what future Behavior might
16:59you predict or future events might you
17:01predict as you study this Psalm you'll
17:04see that there's at least one very
17:07important principle present or we could
17:10look at uh say a poem like this a famous
17:14poem by Walt Whitman when I heard the
17:15Learned astronomer when the proofs the
17:18Figures were arranged in columns before
17:20me when I was shown the charts and
17:22diagrams to add divide and measure them
17:25when I sitting heard the astronomer
17:27where he lectured with much Applause in
17:30the lecture room how soon unaccountable
17:33I became tired and sick till rising and
17:36gliding out I wandered off by myself in
17:40the mystical moist night air and from
17:42time to time looked up in perfect
17:45silence at the
17:47stars what is he describing here that
17:50you might think is a principle that
17:53could predict future Behavior or events
17:57um this is a great poem to meditate
17:58meditate on for educators because it
18:00contains two aspects of what it means to
18:02learn one is of course to learn in the
18:05lecture room kind of like you are right
18:07now to to have someone describe and
18:09teach and instruct directly through a
18:12lecture you know the word lecture is
18:14related to lectio means to read
18:16something so lectures used to be just
18:17read manuscripts and you would
18:20listen and there's a place for that but
18:23notice that excuse me Whitman also are
18:28articulates another way that we come to
18:30know things that are true good and
18:32beautiful and that's to contemplate when
18:34he goes out in the mystical moist night
18:37air and from time to time looked up in
18:39perfect silence at the
18:43stars we we'll learn later that in one
18:45sense the beginning of this poem
18:47describes the use of ratio reason that
18:50collects and classifies and does divide
18:53and add and figure it's very important
18:55it's a very important part of learning
18:57it's a part of of being a human being
18:59and exercising our capacities Rao but
19:02then there was the intellectus and the
19:04intellectus was that part of the Mind
19:05the medieval to the medieval to the
19:08medieval thinking that uh receptively
19:12engaged uh something that was true via
19:14contemplation lingering pondering
19:18savoring uh we come to know intuitively
19:21or intellectually as well as via our
19:23reason and this poem gets it that and so
19:25therefore it it it it gives to us a kind
19:28of principle of learning we need both
19:31The Rao and the
19:33intellectus or we could look at a a
19:36painting like this and ask ourselves can
19:38we even
19:40derive and see principles embedded in a
19:45work of visual art well many would say
19:48we indeed can um what this this is a
19:51very famous po painting it's by Casper
19:54David Friedrich painted in 1818 it's
19:57titled Wanderer of above the Sea of fog
20:00and if you were to take time
20:02contemplating this maybe
20:04with a few prompts I think he would
20:07discover some
20:08things I what do you notice about this
20:10as you look at it what what what jumps
20:12out at you
20:13first if you're like many you've
20:15contemplated this painting you you might
20:17say well there's a certainly a clear
20:19play of light and darkness look at the
20:21darkness the in the in the foreground
20:24and the lightness in the background and
20:27of course that's emphasizing another
20:28distinction foreground and
20:31background you might also if you were to
20:33think about shapes the way shapes are
20:35used in this painting you might see that
20:37there's a play of shapes if you had to
20:40choose one geometric shape that's uh
20:43frequently portrayed in this in this in
20:45this painting what would it be well it
20:47wouldn't be the circle would it no it
20:48would be the triangle if you look
20:50carefully you'll see triangles in many
20:52different places even under the crook of
20:54his arm are two triangles put together
20:57forming a diamond and and his elbow
20:59itself is forming a triangle in fact
21:02he's on a rock itself that forms a
21:04triangle going all the way up to First
21:07at the top of the rock but you could
21:08follow the lines all the way up to the
21:10top of his head and there you see
21:12something else another principle of
21:13color that's embedded in this painting
21:16lots of darks and pale colors only one
21:19flashing red color which is the color of
21:23his hair and notice its placement almost
21:26in the center of the paint ing is that
21:31purposeful well you those of you who
21:34know visual art won't be surprised to
21:37hear that painters actually follow
21:39various principles when they paint they
21:43they they take note of these things and
21:44these things are done purposefully
21:47there's also isolated color there's a
21:50kind of tension also in this poem with
21:51another principle uh notice he's resting
21:55on his back foot but stepping forward
21:57with his front foot
21:59is he moving forward or is he resting is
22:02it a combination is he about ready to
22:04Journey forth um number of things going
22:07on in this poem that suggest a
22:09contemplative stance of the seaf farer
22:11who was a Wanderer but perhaps is not
22:14stopped his wandering he has yet
22:16someplace else that he's contemplating
22:19to go there's also a play between that
22:22which is solid and that which is
22:24ephemeral suggesting all kinds of other
22:27thoughts so even paintings uh will find
22:31principles embedded in the works in
22:33works of visual
22:34art well as we're looking at the that
22:37romantic figure staring off into into
22:41the into the the the the mountains and
22:43the the clouds and the sunlight
22:46ahead it reminds me of the fact that we
22:49have to be focused on a destination
22:52where are we headed and the classical
22:55tradition of education has always PID
22:58significant attention to the aims that
23:01we seek or the ends that we seek what is
23:03the end of education and you know we
23:06really do need to begin with the end in
23:07mind when it comes to seeking to train
23:10up and educate and cultivate a human
23:12being you probably already know that in
23:15the classical tradition of education
23:17education is not primarily seen as job
23:19training it's actually seen as the
23:22cultivation of a human being a human
23:24soul it's seen as something that is far
23:27greater than just uh living earning a
23:30living but it's much more about living
23:32well right so what are the ends that we
23:35seek uh the traditional the traditional
23:38uh words would be words like this wisdom
23:41which is hard for us to Define in this
23:43culture moment virtue eloquence uh the
23:47the what John Henry Newman called the
23:49the Perfection of our intellect by which
23:51he did not mean becoming brainy and
23:53attaining a high IQ he meant the
23:55maturing of our intellectus the maturing
23:58of our human capacity to know and
24:00perceive and appreciate and love the
24:02things that are true good and beautiful
24:04how do we capacitate a human being to
24:07become the fullest version of himself or
24:10herself well this is going to be very
24:13important that we begin with the end in
24:15mind um a number of commentators would
24:17would tell us that even our politics
24:20comes Downstream from our culture that
24:23it's not politics that determines
24:24culture but really culture is having a
24:27fundamental effect on what we do in our
24:29body politic and culture is a
24:32cultivation of a nation's ideals and
24:35ends the ends that we
24:38seek we could talk a lot more about
24:41politics and culture but we'll pass
24:43education reveals those
24:48ideals show me how an a nation educates
24:53its Youth and I can show you what that
24:56Nation values as of the good life the
24:59summum bonum what is it that we are
25:02seeking to pass down to the Next
25:05Generation what what is it that's being
25:07transmitted what is it that we are
25:09hoping for it's embedded in our
25:11curriculum and our courses and in our
25:13educational system what would you say in
25:17your country the the ideals are that the
25:20nation seeks as revealed in the
25:23educational system its curriculum
25:25Etc so what is our view of the good life
25:28the classical tradition of Education
25:30begins with a with careful thought about
25:33what the good life is what it means to
25:35be a fulfilled happy human being let me
25:38quote a writer writing be before World
25:40War II
25:41WC he says this about education human
25:45life has a value immeasurably beyond
25:49that of the daily details of living and
25:51a purpose Beyond ITS m limited
25:53maintenance here on
25:55Earth he's Thinking Beyond even Earth
25:59he says human life is a gift of God who
26:02in the very fact of giving it imp
26:05implies a definite use and end for it
26:08for our human
26:09lives uh if it were only an accidental
26:12thing to be held in an insecure tenure
26:14for a few years the whole business of
26:16training new generations for its use
26:18would be quite feudal all its
26:20significance comes from that at which it
26:24aims and all its details are measured by
26:27the definitive test of their furthering
26:30an eternal achievement in another place
26:33he says that the purpose of education is
26:34to prepare us for the next life uh who
26:38Among Us thinks that far down the road
26:40to where we will be in our next life
26:44there's a kind of Eternal aim that's a
26:46part of the classical tradition of
26:48Education it it it it it does focus on
26:52life here on this earth and the good
26:53life here on this Earth but it's not
26:55even limited to that
26:58that's State starting with I think the
27:01proper and a high aim now if that's the
27:05classical tradition Even in our modern
27:07moment there are Educators and thinkers
27:10who are who maybe not even coming out of
27:13the classical tradition who are starting
27:14to think about the problems that we're
27:16encountering and how we can do a better
27:18job of educating one person like this is
27:21Dr Tony Wagner professor of education at
27:23Harvard University who did an inductive
27:25study in for this book the global ACH
27:28achievement Gap and uh the the uh in
27:32This Global achievement Gap he for this
27:34book he interviewed military leaders
27:36government leaders Business Leaders and
27:38he asked this question what skills are
27:40necessary in the people that you hire in
27:43order for for them to thrive and for for
27:47your work and your Enterprises to thrive
27:50and after an immense amount of research
27:53he summarized what's needed as seven
27:56what he calls Sur sural skills that
27:59would be needed for us to thrive in this
28:01changing global
28:02economy here's what here's what he says
28:05they are seven survival
28:08skills critical thinking and problem
28:10solving collaboration across networks
28:13and leading by
28:15influence agility and adaptability
28:18initiative and
28:19entrepreneurialism effective oral and
28:22written communication accessing and
28:24analyzing information curiosity and
28:27Imagination
28:29here's his commentary about these seven
28:31survival skills that are so needed today
28:34he says however in the 21st century
28:37Mastery of the basic skills of Reading
28:40Writing and math is no longer enough
28:43almost any job that pays more than
28:45minimum wage both blue and white collar
28:48now calls for employees who know how to
28:50solve a range of intellectual and
28:53Technical problems as we'll learn in
28:55chapter one in addition we are
28:58confronted by exponential increases of
29:01readily available information new
29:03technologies that are constantly
29:05changing and more complex societal
29:07challenges such as global warming thus
29:10work learning and citizenship in the
29:1321st century demand that we all know how
29:17to think to reason analyze way evidence
29:23problem solve and to communicate
29:26effectively these these are no longer
29:29skills that only the Elites in society
29:33must Master they are the S they are the
29:35essential survival skills for all of us
29:40and then he says this finally I've
29:43observed that the longer our children
29:44are in school the less curious they
29:47become effective communication curiosity
29:50and critical thinking skills as we will
29:52see are much more than just the
29:54traditional desires excuse me the
29:57traditional
29:58desirable outcomes of a liberal arts
30:01education they are essential
30:04competencies and habits of mine for life
30:07in the 21st
30:10century uh that's a very powerful
30:12statement from someone who has not been
30:15formed in the classical tradition of
30:16education but someone who as an
30:18education Professor has done a lot of
30:20research and concluded that the very
30:23skills that our leaders are saying that
30:25are needed today are the fruits of a
30:28liberal arts education and that now more
30:31than ever the these skills and these
30:33fruits of a liberal arts education are
30:35needed by all of us Blue Collar White
30:38Collar all of
30:40us just showing once again that the that
30:43this classical model of education has
30:45has blessed and benefited human beings
30:48for centuries and it is still what's
30:50needed today we don't even know what the
30:52jobs are going to be in the next uh 20
30:5530 years they the research says that
30:57over half the jobs that are going to
30:58exist we can't even predict what they're
31:00going to be but the liberal arts
31:03education is preparing you for virtually
31:06any
31:07future so I just just to site that even
31:11modern thinkers coming outside of the
31:13classical tradition are in some in some
31:15instances coming back to it returning to
31:18it so we have this lovely reality of
31:21real truths that exist that can then be
31:25uh studied by us so that we can create a
31:27a kind of harmonious understanding of
31:30how they all relate to one another and
31:32we're doing this with education we're
31:34looking back at the tradition we're
31:36looking at these lovely ideas and
31:38practices that have been gathered and
31:41and uh put and put put into use by our
31:43our predecessors and we're seeking to
31:46recover them again in a beautiful
31:49way it's going to be hard to
31:52summarize uh this model simply we're
31:56going to do our best though I think we
31:57need to start with the essentials and
31:59then let the complexity kind of grow but
32:02we don't want to start with complexity
32:03we want to start with the unity and the
32:06essential uh aspects of classical
32:09education so we might be to some degree
32:11in this introductory course looking at
32:13the tip of the iceberg we won't be
32:15exploring in great depth everything
32:16that's there as I said this is an
32:19introduction but we want to start at the
32:22beginning we will use some analogies to
32:25to to try to understand the classical
32:27tradition there are many ways of defin
32:28it and you'll see that in this course I
32:30will Define classical education several
32:32times using some different techniques of
32:34definition but one that I will use is an
32:37analogy there's a sense in which
32:39classical education is like a beautiful
32:41cathedral with its various chaples and
32:44niches with um a kind of unified theme
32:47that takes us up uh up and up and onward
32:51to a central location where we would see
32:53what the theme of a cathedral is in this
32:55case it's Mary um you know a cathedral
32:59uh like this cathedral in orvietto Italy
33:02is immense and beautiful it's been
33:04created over time a lot of people gave
33:07their treasure in time to to hand it
33:09down to us we enjoy it without having
33:11built it ourselves but we can enjoy it
33:14and preserve it and and ensure that it's
33:16transmitted to the Next
33:18Generation Um there's many things about
33:20a cathedral that become analogous to
33:24what it means to recover CL the
33:26classical model of Education
33:29so in some degree just like when we look
33:31at that Cathedral that was built in the
33:321300s uh we actually go forward by going
33:36backward um sometimes that's just the
33:39quickest way forward when you've lost
33:41your way uh we read in Jeremiah that we
33:44shouldn't remove the ancient landmarks
33:46but we should keep to the ancient paths
33:49now there's always room for Innovation
33:50there's always a place for trying
33:52something that's never been done before
33:54and that's
33:55exciting but there's also a place for
33:58conserving and protecting and and and
34:01transmitting to the Next Generation
34:03those wonderful things that have been
34:06cultivated by those who have preceded us
34:08so there's both a conservative move of
34:11preserving the things that are very
34:13worthwhile and honorable and venerable
34:15that are Evergreen and will bless people
34:17in any generation and there's also a
34:20kind of liberal move of trying something
34:22that perhaps hasn't been done
34:24before but there's a sense in which we
34:26probably In This Moment need to look
34:28back to the wisdom of the past even as a
34:31way of innovating and going forward it
34:33was GK Chesterton who said every
34:36Revolution is a restoration every
34:38Revolution is a kind of return um think
34:42of it's come comes from the Latin word
34:44rver which means you know reol R Volver
34:47means to turn and Reay means to turn
34:49again so you can think about you know
34:52once we if we start turning if we're
34:54revolting we sometimes revolve and come
34:57back to we were at an earlier place and
35:01this is why he's saying every Revolution
35:03is a restoration it's very similar to
35:05the way artists innovate you can't
35:07become a great pianist or a great
35:09guitarist By ignoring the artists who
35:11have gone before you no you study the
35:13artist who have gone before you to
35:15actually find your own voice and
35:17style Sarah says we can go back well we
35:21can't travel back in time but we can go
35:23back in the sense of revising an error
35:26and if we've gone wrong in some way not
35:28in every way but if in this particular
35:30cultural moment we've gone wrong in some
35:31ways looking to the Past can actually
35:34help us to correct our path and this is
35:37what Lewis says in his essay on reading
35:40old books he says that uh we every
35:43culture goes wrong in some way but it's
35:45rare that uh two two cultures from two
35:48different times will go wrong in exactly
35:49the same ways and so by studying the
35:51cultures that have gone before us we
35:53actually can learn how to correct some
35:55of our own contemporary errors
35:59good ideas are evergreen there are some
36:01things some ideas that are like
36:03perennial flowers they just keep popping
36:06up every spring and they're for every
36:08generation and I would argue that's true
36:11of the ideas that come down to us and
36:13the practices in the classical model of
36:15Education to quote Chesterton again he
36:18said that tradition you know we think of
36:20tradition as kind of a maybe a backward
36:22move looking looking to something that's
36:23gone before us I think that's correct
36:26tradition comes from this Latin word
36:27word Trot which means to hand down we
36:30get the word trade from it well
36:32Chesterton calls tradition the Democracy
36:36of the dead he says this tradition means
36:39giving votes to the most obscure of all
36:42classes are ancestors it is the
36:45Democracy of the Dead tradition refuses
36:48to submit to the small and arrogant
36:50oligarchy of those who merily happen to
36:52be walking about so just because someone
36:55has died doesn't mean that their voice
36:57ought not to be heed he says in the
37:00Democracy of the Dead all men at last
37:03are equal there is neither rank nor
37:05station nor
37:06prerogative in the Republic of the
37:09Grave so we will give a voice to those
37:13who' have gone before certainly we'll
37:14listen to contemporary voices as well
37:16we'll listen to Modern research modern
37:18research actually can be very helpful in
37:21helping us refine the classical
37:23tradition we might not accept all of the
37:25conclusions of modern research but there
37:27are a lot a lot of a lot of science that
37:29really actually informs and helps what
37:30we're doing every Revolution is a
37:35restoration I want to conclude just by
37:37thinking about how we are doing things
37:39again the Latin prefix Reay means to do
37:42something again to recapitulate right to
37:46revisit just think of all the ways in
37:48which since we are seeking to recover
37:51wisdom from the past we have to take a
37:54look again so we
37:58recover we
38:00renew we
38:02recuperate we recreate we restore we
38:05reform we which means it's always reform
38:08always has reference to form so what is
38:11the form we revive we rebuild we
38:15redeploy we
38:17reappropriate we
38:19resuscitate we
38:21reaffirm and we re-approve that's uh
38:24reap
38:26probation and we actually are repeating
38:29something aren't we uh what I love about
38:31that word repeat and we revisit we
38:33review but the word repeat comes from uh
38:35the Latin word Reay pet but pet means to
38:39seek something to aim at something uh we
38:42get the word petition from this right
38:44when we're when you seek something it's
38:46a it's a petition even a competitor is
38:49someone who is seeking the same thing
38:51that you are seeking and it's only a
38:53problem when there's only one office and
38:55two people seeking it but several people
38:57can be competitors seeking and finding
38:59the same thing repetition means to to to
39:03seek again or to aim at something again
39:07petay to aim at so what are we aiming at
39:11so there's a sense in which to repeat
39:13the classical tradition is just to once
39:16again reorient our aim and our eye to
39:21properly uh Orient ourselves to the good
39:25life to the true the good and the
39:27beautiful to a to to the right
39:32AIMS in this course as a way of kind of
39:35re aiming we're going to Define describe
39:39and defend the classical model of
39:41Education we'll also discuss it briefly
39:43and I'm going to encourage you and your
39:45own you know groups that may be watching
39:47some of these videos to to discuss and
39:50talk about classical the classical model
39:52of Education we'll have a lecture on
39:55deploying it in our schools and home
39:57schools developing it and deepening as
39:59classical Educators
40:01ourselves uh the basic syllabus is right
40:04here and you've probably seen this
40:05already we'll we we'll look at the what
40:07and the why and the how of the classical
40:10model of Education there's some
40:12resources for you to download an
40:14introduction to classical education a
40:16booklet there's an article there may be
40:18other PDF resources that are there on
40:20the page encourage you to look at those
40:22and download any that we may add in the
40:25future uh there's some other courses
40:27that I might mention briefly to go
40:29deeper into the tradition of classical
40:31education I recommend the course that we
40:33have here on the site the liberal arts
40:35tradition I also recommend the course
40:38that David deer teaches on on Plato the
40:41great philosopher educator there is a
40:43book associated with each of these
40:45courses so after you take this
40:47introductory course I encourage you to
40:48take a look at the liberal arts
40:50tradition and the Plato
40:53course so we'll go forward and we'll go
40:56forward faster
40:58if we can return home if we believe that
41:00we have lost our way then the fastest
41:03way forward is to return home here's
41:06what Lewis says just to quote him in
41:08conclusion he says we all want progress
41:12but progress means getting nearer to the
41:14place where you want to be and if you've
41:16taken the wrong turning then to go
41:19forward does not get you any nearer if
41:22you are on the wrong road and progress
41:24means doing then progress means doing
41:26and about to turn and walking back to
41:28the right road and in that case the man
41:31who turns back soonest is the most
41:34Progressive man there is nothing
41:37Progressive about being pigheaded and
41:39refusing to admit a mistake and I think
41:42if you look at the present state of the
41:43world it's pretty plain that Humanity
41:45has been making some big mistake we're
41:48on the wrong
41:50road and if that is so we must go back
41:53going back is the quickest way on

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