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Why Modern Schools Fail, Part I:
Philosophy
by
William Michael
When I
say "modern education", you will probably think you know what I'm
talking about--but I bet you don't. As I'll show in this article,
schools of every sort, from public schools to Christian home schools are
guilty of being "modern" in the philosophical sense. Though many
think they're doing something different, it's essentially the same.
They have misidentified the source of the problem and, as a result, take
pride in their re-packaged error.
The Nature of Man and Education
Christianity has
always and will always teach that man is the noblest of all God's
creatures. This greatness is owed to man's being made in God's
likeness, i.e., in being given a soul. As the catechism plainly
teaches, man is unique in that he consists of body and soul, the greater
of which is the soul:
3 Q. What is
man?
A. Man is a creature composed of a body and soul, and
made to the image and likeness of God.
7 Q. Of which
must we take more care, our soul or our body?
A. We must take more care of our soul than of our body.
8 Q. Why must we
take more care of our soul than of our body?
A. We must take more care of our soul than of our body,
because in losing our soul we lose God and everlasting happiness.
The Catechism (Book
4) explains the advantages the soul has over the body. Of these
advantages the faculty of Reason is greatest. It was God's will
that man would follow the eye of his soul rather than the eye of his
body through life and seek God above all else.
"My soul hath
thirsted after the strong living God;
when shall I come and appear before the face of God?."
Psalm 41
As such, when we
discuss human education, our challenge must be to cultivate this faculty
of reason as the ultimate guide to our ultimate end. A look back
into history sees that wise men did just this--whether pagan or
Christian--through a system known as the classical liberal arts.
Classical Educational Philosophy
Plato, the great Greek
philosopher, understood the true goal of education, though not
necessarily in Christian terms. He discovered the truth by reason, just
as God intended. In his most famous work, The Republic, he used an allegory to clarify the challenge of true education.
Take a minute and look carefully at the illustration below. (The
red numbers and circles are mine.)
Plato says children are born in a cave where they are chained
(1) and allowed
only to look forward at shadows (A) of carved images held behind him (B).
By the first step of education, the child is freed to turn around and
see (2) the objects behind him, rather than their shadows. As he
continues, he is able to stare (3) into the fire (C) that illumines the
cave as his sight adapts to the brightness. Next, he is brought out
from the cave (4) to see the
"real" objects from which the carved images inside were patterned. He is
able to look upon the sun itself only in dim reflections (e.g., in water),
but finally, he is able to gaze into the sun itself--the first cause of all
the light that he has seen.
What does Plato mean by
this allegory? Plato explains the allegory himself later in the
same book. The inside of the cave is the physical world.
Outside the cave is the spiritual world. The inside of the cave is
observed and studied by the senses. The outside of the cave is the
"real world", the world of being and not becoming, which is examined not
by the eyes of the body, but by Reason, which is the eye of the soul.
The sun outside, being the brightest and best of lights on earth is God,
the brightest and best of all that is.
Plato, therefore,
understood that the goal of education was to lead students (of any age)
"out of the cave", and he called this 'conversion'. To be led out
of the cave children must be (a) freed from the chains of material
desires and (b) trained to "see" the invisible world by the right use of
reason (i.e., reflection). Plato knew that man had in him the
power to seek the highest and best, but that power was suppressed by
false beliefs, bodily lusts and sin. The role of education was to
bring about this "turning around" to see the light, and to follow that
light to its source, by allowing the soul to become the guide to
ultimate truth, ultimate goodness and ultimate beauty.
True Christian Education
Considering
the obstacles Plato had to overcome as a pagan relying on reason to
guide him, his conclusions were right on the money--an amazing testimony to
the power of the soul to discover truth. St. Augustine
acknowledged this when he advised Christians:
"if those who are called
philosophers, and especially the Platonists,
have said anything that is
true and in harmony with our
faith, we are not only not to shrink from it, but to claim it
for our own use."
On Christian Doctrine (II. 40)
When we look at the
teaching of Scripture on the subject, we find the same message, only in
different terms. We see them not as the conclusion of human
philosophy, but often as divine revelation.
Simply enough, consider
how God educates his own creatures. He does not bring them into
heaven to see, hear, taste, touch and smell the Truth, for that isn't necessary. Nor does he normally answer
the questions of men directly, for that isn't necessary. Having
endowed us with reason, He gives us signs
upon which that reason may efficiently work. The Old Testament
tabernacle and its instruments were all designed as ladders and bridges
by which man, by reflection, was to ascend to Truth.
The writer of Hebrews clarifies this:
"Jesus is not
entered into the Holies made with hands, the patterns of the true:
but into Heaven itself, that he may appear now in the presence of
God for us."
Further, consider our Lord's teaching style, which is certainly a
model for us to imitate. His goal is to achieve what Plato
described as "conversion", to turn us around that we may see with the eyes
of our souls, rather than the eyes of our bodies. How does he do
this? By helping us to look beyond what is visible and reflect
upon the invisible.
"Behold the birds
of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into
barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much
more value than they? ...And if the grass of the field, which is to
day, and to morrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how
much more you, O ye of little faith?"
Our Lord
turns our attention away from this world, or rather through this
world, to see
what is real. He, in essence, teaches us to lean more upon the eye
of our soul, and less upon that of our body (i.e., the physical senses). Plato approaches very
nearly to the truth, only from a different angle. What is most
significant is that in both the pagan tradition, and in the example of
our Lord Himself, we see the same role for education: the
cultivation of reason and reflection.
After our Lord, St. Paul
continues to turn men to reason. Consider his words in the following
verses:
"The invisible
things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made. His eternal power also and
divinity: so that they are inexcusable."
Romans 1
"While we look not
at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are
not seen, are eternal."
2 Cor. 4
How can
men clearly see
invisible things ? How exactly do we "look at things which
are not seen"? Not with the eyes of the body, of course, but with
the "eye of the soul", which is reason. There is no question
whether the same notion of true education was employed by the apostles in their
ministry.
Later in the Church, St.
Augustine, one deeply influenced by and respectful towards Platonic philosophy, teaches that
the truth is to be taught through the faculty of Reason.
"Although we are
not able to show unto human sight those divine things which
we believe, yet do we show unto human minds that even those
things which are not seen are to be believed."
And finally,
today, the Catholic Church still speaks of this "divine pedagogy of
salvation" in the Catechism (CCC, 1145-7):
"As
being at once body and spirit, man expresses and perceives spiritual
realities through physical signs and symbols.
God
speaks to man through the visible creation. The material
cosmos is so presented to man's intelligence that he can read there
the traces of the Creator."
Thus, from
beginning to end, Christianity has been taught and has taught in a
specific manner, according to a specific philosophy of what man is and
how man approaches truth. It is the same philosophy taught by Plato, who
taught nearly all of the pagan world. This and this alone may be
called true "Classical" and/or true "Christian" education.
What is most important
about this true education is that it focuses on a process and never on
content. The ultimate benefit is the use of a faculty, not the
mastery of a body of information. True education teaches human
beings to seek truth, goodness and beauty by the use of
faith-enlightened reason.
No other education may be
called classical or Christian that does not have this as its defining
characteristic. The
Classical Liberal Arts
Having shown
you the real essence of classical and Christian education, it is
necessary to explain how this leads to the Classical Liberal Arts
curriculum.
While the classical Greek
philosophers,
Our Lord and the apostles all knew and practiced the art of true
education, they did not distinguish and systematize it. However,
over the course of time, wise men did categorize the studies that
accomplished the goals of this true education of man. This system
was known, for thousands of years, as the seven liberal arts.
Don't get
this confused with the term as it's used today to define colleges as
"liberal arts colleges". The liberal arts were seven specific
subjects that led a student through the conversion process described by
the ancients.
This course
began with Grammar, which focused on speaking and writing well.
Next was Rhetoric, which taught the art of effective communication.
Then was Logic, the art of using Reason effectively. Fourth came
Arithmetic which led students to reflect upon absolute quantities.
Next came Geometry, which taught the measurement of "size at rest".
Lastly came Music and Astronomy, which respectively taught relative
quantity and "size in motion". These arts were the steps that
converted the student and prepared them for Philosophy, and ultimately
Theology. It is clear to see how these seven steps fulfill Plato's
allegory of the cave, and they imitate Jesus' instruction, though more
mechanically.
The seven
liberal arts formed the educational system used in Greece, Rome and
throughout Christendom for over 2000 years. As you look through
history, you must realize that just about every famous thinker
and writer before 1900 received this education. This was Christian
education. The Return to the Cave
Novum Organum (The New
Method) was presented
by Francis Bacon in 1620 as the new way to learning and knowledge.
He argues in his book that the method of the past (i.e., the Socratic
method) must be abandoned since scientific experimentation is the
only way to true knowledge. His argument assumes that the ideas of
the past are wrong and that scientific
experimentation will prove his assumptions.
"The art of Logic...has tended
more to confirm errors than to disclose truth."
-Preface to Novum Organum
It was this new method that
inspired schools to replace the classical curriculum with the modern, science-based and
encyclopedic
curriculum. In the modern curriculum, "seeing is believing".
Proof is accomplished not by reflection or by trusting in divine
revelation
(e.g., the Bible or the Church) but in showing that something is true by means of a
scientific experiment. This philosophy argues that if
something can't be proven to the senses,
it cannot be said to be "true".
As the
Scientific Revolution launched, the definition of "reality" was changed
from that which is unseen to that which must be seen. The method of
learning was changed from reflection to experimentation. Logic was
removed from the curriculum and replaced by Lab. The eye of the
soul was expelled from school, and the eye of the body made headmaster.
Worse, fundamental self-evident
philosophical principles (axioms), were cast off since they could not be
"proven". For example, all Christian thought begins with the rule:
"God created all things from nothing." However, since this rule
cannot be proven in a manner that satisfies the modernists, it is
rejected as one of the errors of the past and worthy of no more
attention than if one were to say "A chicken made the world."
Thus, after 2,000 years,
humanity was led back into the cave. The assumption was that man
was moving into new frontiers, on the verge of unlocking the secrets of
the universe by looking at it with the eyes open, rather than reflecting
upon it with the eyes closed. Instead, man has run full-speed down the path God
has urged us not to take. As an example, consider God's response
after Solomon makes Wisdom the one request of his life:
"Because this
choice hath pleased thy heart, and thou hast not asked
riches, and wealth, and glory...nor many days of life: but hast
asked wisdom and knowledge...wisdom and knowledge are granted to
thee."
What exactly
is it that modern schools seek through the education of children? Is
it not the list of things Solomon despised when he opted for wisdom
instead? We simply get what we ask for. The Results
Many will object to any
negative treatment of the modern age by pointing to advances made in
medicine, healthcare, communication, housing, transportation and so on,
but do you see a troubling pattern with this? Remember that all of these serve the
cares of the body, rather than the soul.
Does
Christianity not teach us that the soul is that part of our nature that
is to receive our greatest care? Why, then do we boast of the
improvements made for the bodies of men--unless the improvements made
for the soul have been even greater?
They have not been.
The result is
what we see in the North Carolina Public School curriculum.
Compare the following to the educational philosophy of Plato, Jesus and
Christian history:
The challenge of education is to prepare
students for a rapidly changing world. Students in modern society
must be prepared to:
-
compete in a global economy;
-
understand and operate complex communication
and information systems;
-
apply higher level thinking skills to make
decisions and solve problems. American businesses seek students
with the knowledge and skills to succeed in the international
marketplace of today's information-based society.
Is this not
tragic? The creature God designed in His image to share in His
eternal happiness is reduced to a movable part in the global
marketplace. Are we educating souls for eternal life or finishing
cattle for the auction? To see the evil of this philosophy,
replace "students" above with the names of your children. Is that
your vision for your children's education?
The most telling sign of the errors of this
modern philosophy is built
right into the state's definition of education: the phrase "rapidly
changing world". It is this very characteristic of the world that
led the ancients to despise its charms--not chase after them with
greater vigor as the modernists do!
Christians do not seek to answer the
constant change in the world by upgrading our technology and adding new
programs. We overcome the change by fixing our eyes on God, who is
always the same. As we pray,
"Lord God, you reward each
one according to his works. Hear us as we pour out our hearts
to you, seeking your grace and secure protection. We look to
you for our stable hope in a constantly changing world."
LOTH, Vol. I, p. 868
Unfortunately, it's not only secular
public schools that are guilty of this error. Every form of education
that neglects the classical liberal arts has abandoned the way to true
human education. That's a bold statement, but we are persuaded
that it's true.
Most inexcusable are the Christians who have denied the essence of their
faith and embraced the new philosophy without stopping to think about
it. (Of course, that's not surprising since reflection and
self-examination are fruits of classical liberal arts education, not
modern Christian education.) Despite the danger signs on every
side (which include complete ignorance of and abandonment of the faith
among teens), they have found 1,001 ways to hide the wolf with sheep's clothing--and
make a lot of money doing so...home school publishers included.
Conclusion
Now, in all
of this, some may point to success stories, that despite every 9
tragedies there is a comedy here or there, or that the results are
"better" than public schools. This is (no surprise) bad reasoning.
First of all, we should care less what public school results look like
since they include the work of society's worst families and students.
Any school that needs to compare its product to that of public schools
is desperate for legitimacy.
Second, if pointing to isolated success stories made any sense, we would
do well to encourage a child's sexual immorality because St Augustine
was an immoral boy who became a holy man.
What
makes education classical and Christian, is the intention of the
curriculum to lead students from the in-human obsession with earthly
things to the reason-oriented love of eternal and unchanging things.
The neglect of this true spiritual "conversion" is the
fundamental philosophical reason why modern schools fail.
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Why Modern Schools Fail, Part II: Culture |
