The Gift of Education
Education has always been very important to me. From the time I could comprehend, my parents taught me to view every aspect of my education as a blessing, a gift that should never be taken for granted. I feel blessed to have had many different types of education throughout my years of school. My first years of school were spent in a traditional, private-school setting where I learned and grew with some of the best teachers I would ever meet. It was during my first years of school that I realized just how much learning meant to me, especially when it came to reading and writing. My early education introduced me to the world of language arts, and I was excited to watch this new world of written language come alive on paper. The more I read and wrote, the more it fed my desire to learn.
A few years after I began at a private school, my parents made the decision to homeschool me. From the time I began learning at home, I followed a modified trivium approach, studying from early on about the ancient philosophers and writers, geometry and algebra, astronomy, music, drama, and more. Studying the Latin language was also a subject that greatly helped me thrive in this approach to classical education. Learning the basics of Latin proved to help me in numerous ways throughout the remainder of my early education, from aiding with the memorization of scientific terms, to having a deeper understanding of the English language, its origin, and its mechanics. In the eighth grade, I began studying through a program that taught the higher levels of the trivium—logic and rhetoric. I had the opportunity to study subjects such as logic and fallacy, policy debate, and rhetoric, as well as work in-depth with a number of the classic writings. The knowledge and experience I gleaned from this method of education are priceless to me, and I am so grateful that I had to opportunity to study the trivium at home. Needless to say, some days I struggled with the rigorous demands of the trivium, but it has helped me in so many ways in my life, both in my education and out. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to learn through a classical education during my first years of schooling, and I am excited to continue such a method of education through the Great Books Program during my college years.
Many excellent points and observations are discussed about the classical, liberal approach to education in a work entitled “Artes Liberales—The Liberal Arts” by James Schall. One of the first points the author discusses is mentioned when he writes, “The liberal arts are not one person’s invention, but rather, they represent the collected wisdom of many generations and nations” (Schall 24). The author uses this statement to describe what a true, classical approach to learning looks like. Instead of relying heavily on the use of modern-day textbooks and curriculum, the classical approach returns to the roots of education, tracing its way back to the observations of the great thinkers, scientists, and writers, in hopes to discover what they had to say on different educational topics. Schall revisits this idea several pages later in his writing when he says, “The medieval university … considered that a liberal education dealt with already discovered things” (Schall 37). A liberal education, according to the author, does not focus so much on the new, modern methods and discoveries in education, but rather goes back in time to study what has already been discovered and to harvest from what the experts of old thought about the topic.
“Artes Liberales—The Liberal Arts” also speaks frequently on our freedom within education. One example of the author’s thoughts on this point is when he writes, “We should recognize, from the beginning, that these ‘Freeing’ or ‘liberal’ arts are not simply a body of books to read, but a way of life, enabling us to be free enough to know the truth of things” (Schall 24). What I believe the author means by here is that true education is not simply memorizing facts or merely reading works of the ancient writers. According to Schall, education is almost meaningless when the student does not have the will to learn. True education is birthed from the desire to know things; it follows the longing to learn, the longing to cultivate personal thoughts and ideas and convictions. It not only touches the mind, but the soul of the student, if that student has the will to learn. Education is much more than simply reading a textbook and relaying memorized material on a test at the end of the week. True education is a mindset—a way of life that demands our will, our efforts, and our determination. If we are willing to lend it those aspects of our lives, education can be one of the biggest blessings we could ever attain.
Works Cited
Schall, James. “Artes Liberales—The Liberal Arts.” The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking. Wilmington, DE, ISA, 2008.
A few years after I began at a private school, my parents made the decision to homeschool me. From the time I began learning at home, I followed a modified trivium approach, studying from early on about the ancient philosophers and writers, geometry and algebra, astronomy, music, drama, and more. Studying the Latin language was also a subject that greatly helped me thrive in this approach to classical education. Learning the basics of Latin proved to help me in numerous ways throughout the remainder of my early education, from aiding with the memorization of scientific terms, to having a deeper understanding of the English language, its origin, and its mechanics. In the eighth grade, I began studying through a program that taught the higher levels of the trivium—logic and rhetoric. I had the opportunity to study subjects such as logic and fallacy, policy debate, and rhetoric, as well as work in-depth with a number of the classic writings. The knowledge and experience I gleaned from this method of education are priceless to me, and I am so grateful that I had to opportunity to study the trivium at home. Needless to say, some days I struggled with the rigorous demands of the trivium, but it has helped me in so many ways in my life, both in my education and out. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to learn through a classical education during my first years of schooling, and I am excited to continue such a method of education through the Great Books Program during my college years.
Many excellent points and observations are discussed about the classical, liberal approach to education in a work entitled “Artes Liberales—The Liberal Arts” by James Schall. One of the first points the author discusses is mentioned when he writes, “The liberal arts are not one person’s invention, but rather, they represent the collected wisdom of many generations and nations” (Schall 24). The author uses this statement to describe what a true, classical approach to learning looks like. Instead of relying heavily on the use of modern-day textbooks and curriculum, the classical approach returns to the roots of education, tracing its way back to the observations of the great thinkers, scientists, and writers, in hopes to discover what they had to say on different educational topics. Schall revisits this idea several pages later in his writing when he says, “The medieval university … considered that a liberal education dealt with already discovered things” (Schall 37). A liberal education, according to the author, does not focus so much on the new, modern methods and discoveries in education, but rather goes back in time to study what has already been discovered and to harvest from what the experts of old thought about the topic.
“Artes Liberales—The Liberal Arts” also speaks frequently on our freedom within education. One example of the author’s thoughts on this point is when he writes, “We should recognize, from the beginning, that these ‘Freeing’ or ‘liberal’ arts are not simply a body of books to read, but a way of life, enabling us to be free enough to know the truth of things” (Schall 24). What I believe the author means by here is that true education is not simply memorizing facts or merely reading works of the ancient writers. According to Schall, education is almost meaningless when the student does not have the will to learn. True education is birthed from the desire to know things; it follows the longing to learn, the longing to cultivate personal thoughts and ideas and convictions. It not only touches the mind, but the soul of the student, if that student has the will to learn. Education is much more than simply reading a textbook and relaying memorized material on a test at the end of the week. True education is a mindset—a way of life that demands our will, our efforts, and our determination. If we are willing to lend it those aspects of our lives, education can be one of the biggest blessings we could ever attain.
Works Cited
Schall, James. “Artes Liberales—The Liberal Arts.” The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking. Wilmington, DE, ISA, 2008.
I love how much you seem to value your education!I love learning and cannot wait to learn more with you! You took many good points from Schall's work! I loved this!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Rachel! I can’t wait to learn more with you too! I’m so excited for this opportunity!
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