Growing Virtue Through Education

 

a Review of Norms and Nobility by David V. Hicks

One of the lesser-known cries of the Protestant Reformers was, “Ad fontes,” which means “back to the sources.” They were calling upon people to return to the writings of the Church Fathers when studying theology. The fathers were guides for many who were leading the Reformation at the time. Recently I decided to go back to a source that, while not ancient, was instrumental in the rise of the modern classical education movement: Norms and Nobility (1981), by David Hicks.

Some books allow for a quick reading and yield their insights without much effort. Not so with Norms and Nobility. Although short, it packs enough wisdom to require multiple, slow readings. Mr. Hicks’ thesis is simple: education will produce some kind of person. Whereas modern education produces utilitarian, empty souls; classical, Christian education aids the formation of virtuous souls. He believes the latter should be the intention of education, as it was in classical Greece, Rome, and the early Christian era. But modern education has abdicated that role in exchange for the diminished role of job preparation. In doing so we have failed the rising generation.

Theology of Leaven

 

Theology of Leaven

Matthew 13:33 “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.”

Many people read Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option and discussed it afterwards. Many more didn’t read it but criticized it anyway. The most prominent critique was that he was calling for people to “head for the hills,” or become Amish. Of course removing yourself and your family from a bad situation is not always a bad idea, especially if you live in a place where you will be persecuted for your faith (see Acts 8). But Christians should not be known as people who only retreat.

That said, retreat is not what Dreher calls for. He calls for strategic training and redeployment. Now that may sound like a mere euphemism for retreat, but in reality it’s a separate plan.

The Role of Schools in Our Problems

 

A Review of C.S. Lewis' The Abolition of Man

Years ago when I first picked up C.S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man, I read a bit of the first chapter and liked what I read. But as with some of Lewis’ other works, it gets a bit dense at times. This is not The Chronicles of Narnia. So I put it down. The book remained on my shelf for some time I heard it mentioned for the seventh or eighth time by Christian educators. So I decided to read it all the way through, no matter how dense it was. My reading was thoroughly rewarded. It is a fascinating look at the world of education through the eyes of a twentieth century prophet.

The book was written in 1944, with World War Two ongoing. The three lectures that make up the book describe how modern textbooks and teachers insidiously drain the eternal forms of truth, goodness, and beauty from every part of life. This hollowing out of standards supposedly “frees” us to follow our natural instincts, but that freedom is actually a method of enslaving us to the whims of the broader society and its leaders. What those leaders do with their “slaves” in the name of “man’s power over nature” is attempt to forge a society with themselves in complete power. In other words, he explains how the rules of our world try to take over societies through the side door of coercion, rather than the front door of force.

Learning to Listen

 

A Review of Mortimer Adler's How to Speak How to Listen. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997.

Communication is becoming a lost art. A mere scan of news channels or one’s Facebook feed demonstrates that many do not appreciate opposing opinions. Recent books like Alan Jacob’s How to Think, or Justin Lee’s Talking Across the Divide address the difficulty of speaking and listening to those who hold differing opinions. But communication is more than being polite when someone contradicts you. It requires thinking, pondering, and gently probing to understand what the other person is saying. It requires careful consideration of how your own words, facial expression, and body language will be understood, and striving to use these methods of expression to appropriately convey your meaning.

Mortimer Adler understood the importance of communication. His most famous work, How to Read a Book, is a timeless guide to understanding what we read. In that work he calls the reader to treat a book’s author like a conversation partner, one whom we should approach with magnanimity. His advice has helped many students gain a better grasp on receiving written communication.

Forty years later he wrote another, less famous book on communication, How to Speak, Hot to Listen. The lessons presented in How to Speak are no less important today than they were when he first penned them. Not only does he present the basics of speaking and listening, he explains the why we should care about the topic to begin with. This book is for those who are interested in communication, but he doesn’t stop there. Adler demonstrates how communication is not the end, but the means to an even greater gift: communion with others.

The book begins with two introductory chapters in which he addresses the problem of communication. The second part of the book explains various methods of public speaking, e.g. rhetoric, sales speech, lectures, etc. and how one should prepare for them. These should not be skipped over lightly because one never knows when it might be necessary to publicly address a group. The third part of the book explains what Adler calls “silent listening,” or how one should listen to public speech. He admonishes hearers to listen actively rather than passively, to carefully consider the message of the speaker and how it applies to the hearer. Part four discusses communication in day-to-day conversation. The most notable chapter of that section to me was chapter nine, “Question and Answer Sessions: Forum”. It details how one should participate when there are public meetings that allow short question and answer times between individuals. It is particularly applicable to our social media age, when short posted statements are often quickly followed by immediate responses. The lessons in this chapter may seem dated, but are still important.

My favorite chapter  was the last one, where Adler discusses the connection of conversation to being human. While all mammals communicate in some fashion, God made man with the ability to have fellowship with others, which is something the animals can never have. He then refers to Rene Descartes, the French philosopher who said that man differs from matter primarily because matter can’t think as man can. To apply this lesson today, artificial intelligence can only respond as it was programmed to respond. No matter how detailed it gets, when it is traced back to its origin, those programmed responses have their origin in man. This differentiation is sorely needed today in an age when more and more interaction is mechanical. One recent commercial showed an only child “communicating” with a robot child, and the parents looking on happily. This exemplifies the problem Adler points out. When the meaning of human communion through communication is lost, the result is the confusion in which we live. The first appendix, a lecture given by Adler to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, solidly presents further evidence for why machines can never be truly conversant with people.

Dr. Adler’s background as a philosopher is evident in his writing (I mean that as a compliment). As a classical scholar, he uses language to help the reader think about what writes, not just to score quick rhetorical points or quickly persuade the reader. This book might be a challenge for some who only want a quick, self-help book, but it rewards the reader who ponders its meaning. It is evident that he wants to help the reader grow not only as a communicator but as a human being. If communication is indeed a means to communion, Adler’s book will aid all those who pursue that worthy goal.  ow How to Speak

The Faithfulness of Telemachus

 "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." - Revelation 2:10

Around Christmas in ancient Rome, thousands had gathered at the stadium to watch the gladiatorial contests. The bloodlust was strong as the crowd cheered, not caring as much who won as to see a good fight and abundant carnage. One man though was appalled. The name Telemachus probably doesn’t mean much to you; it didn’t mean anything to the crowd. Yet this man, formed in the desert monastery, had courage forged through the fires of self-denial, daily prayer, and immersion in Scripture. His virtue was not delicate, but his conscience thankfully was.

Visiting Rome on pilgrimage, he was sickened by the murderous games. Seeing the contest he entered the arena and came between the two fighters, calling upon them to put their swords away. “Do not requite God’s mercy in turning away the swords of your enemies by murdering each other,” he said. The crowd turned against the monk, yelling for the battle to continue. He wouldn’t budge, holding the two apart with his hands. The curses of the crowd grew, and the gladiators turned against him, killing him before one and all. The crowed pelted him with rocks, scoffing at the one who would disrupt their entertainment.

But after witnessing the death of this God-fearing monk, Rome would never be the same. The testimony of one who would give his life to stop these games had immediate results. Within a few months of Telemachus’ death the gladiatorial games in the Colosseum ceased. This desert monk of tender conscience and strong courage was used by God to accomplish much. 

May we learn from the example of this godly man who was faithful when it mattered most. 

A Renewed Perspective of Education

 

           A Review of Dorothy Sayers' Essay, "The Lost Tools of Learning"

            For generations the education system has been floundering. Having followed the methods of John Dewey and the mechanical philosophy of Frederick Taylor, public schools are a bureaucratic mass measured by test performance and the ability to inculcate the latest social ideas. Countless parents know there are problems but do not know how to address them. Many educators know that the system is failing to provide students with what they need but have grown apathetic after years of striving within the system. Where is the hope for educating our children when such conditions exist and the system itself seems to be on an endless downward spiral?

            Dorothy Sayers’ essay, “The Lost Tools of Learning,” is timelier today than it was when it was written in 1947. The problems she identified then seem only to have multiplied in the more than sixty years hence. Students have greater access to knowledge today than they did in medieval times yet foolishness abounds. There is a world of information available through technology, but no wisdom as to how and when it should be used. And as Mrs. Sayers so aptly expressed in her essay, “Is it not the great defect of our education to-day… that although we often succeed in teaching our pupils "subjects," we fail lamentably on the whole in teaching them how to think?” 

Living In A Technocratic Economy

The study of economics includes a discussion of what are known as economic systems: the way a society chooses to make economic choices. Every society does this in one way or another. When teaching economic systems, I normally teach about command economies (government run), free market economies (individual and business run), and traditional/household economies (run by patriarchs). This year I added a fourth type, the one I believe we are living in currently: the technocratic economy. 

A technocratic economy is one managed by a combination of the civil government, big businesses, and media/technology companies, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. It is hard for some to imagine how media/tech companies work with businesses to manage the economy, but that's exactly what happens. 

As we've recently seen, when your opinion contradicts the big tech powers that be, you can simply be de-platformed (stripped of your online presence). As the biggest businesses grow in technological presence, luring people into more and tech reliance, the will to resist shrinks. As one former pastor recently said, "What will we do when everyone is has self-driving cars and the operating system no longer allows the vehicle to take us to unacceptable places, i.e. churches?" How will people respond when big business and big tech give us something like China's social credit system?  

As I was teaching this concept, I saw it in action. Many of my students had just been looking at their phones before class started; some continued to discreetly after class started (at least discreet in their minds). Until I start class, I don't often hear from many of my students because they are glued to their phones. I reminded them of this, and the response was, "You're just saying we need to all get rid of our phones." Consider how much of reality is mediated through screens: purchases, relationships, grades, jobs, they are all mediated. If, as Augustine says, freedom is having one's loves rightly ordered, and having self-control, I witness little to no freedom in technocratic society. 

What then is the alternative? To begin (my student's fears to the contrary), we can't all get rid of our phones and become Amish. That is neither possible or sustainable for most. But we can pursue wisdom in how we use technology. For example:

• Vary your technological presence among more than one or two forms. Don't just rely on Youtube or Facebook. Spread it out a bit.
• Be wise in what you post. There are many situations that are simply not our business and nothing will change if we say something or say nothing, so say nothing (Prov. 26:17). Don't put yourself at useless risk. 
• Pursue business platforms that appreciate your convictions. You should already know the major social media platforms and banks hate your convictions; while this may not matter as long as you don't rely on them too much for income, the bigger you get, the more it will hurt if they come after you. Therefore begin with someone who can meet your needs but won't throw you under the bus because of what you believe. 

Once you understand that we are not living in the economic system of your parents or grandparents, you are ahead of the game. The sooner we take steps to prepare ourselves for the ride, the better off we will be.