Monthly Archives: January 2012

Modern education and Specialization…a digression

Posted on January 29, 2012 by marklangley

Among the chief marks by which the “modern school” distinguishes itself from the “classical school” is its adherence to the educational doctrine that proposes specialization as a virtue. The doctrine of “specialization” asserts that every student ought to become a … Continue reading →

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Liberal education, Aristotle and Catharsis

Posted on January 28, 2012 by marklangley
Posted in classical education, education, Literature, slavery | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Liberal Education and the Slavery to Passion

Posted on January 23, 2012 by marklangley

  I had mentioned before that liberal education is an education that “frees” the student specifically from four types of slavery.  It might be worth mentioning that while liberal education is wonderfully useful in advancing the happiness of a human … Continue reading →

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Here’s a million dollars…now do you still want to go to school?

Posted on January 21, 2012 by marklangley

I ask my students students from time to time why they want to “get an education.” These days the expected answer is of course “so that I can get a good job and make a great deal of money.” “Great!” … Continue reading →

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Jean Henri Fabre and the Purpose of Mountains

Posted on January 14, 2012 by marklangley

Even though Jean Henri Fabre is best known for his prolific writings and investigations of the insect world, I am enjoying his work on the earth, This Earth of Ours, in which he discusses the entire inanimate world around us. … Continue reading →

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“Widen your Hearts” How?….. By Catholic classical education of course!

Posted on January 8, 2012 by marklangley

It struck me afresh how important Catholic liberal education is to the very life of the Church. Think about how heartening the sight would be to our 84 year old Holy Father, if he could see young people learning Latin, … Continue reading →

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Liberal Education….Why bother?

Posted on January 5, 2012 by marklangley

Liberal education, why would anyone want to do that? Those of us who are proponents of classical liberal education have an uphill battle to fight. Even the phrase “liberal education” would seemingly have to be abandoned simply because of the … Continue reading →

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Learning Latin

Posted on January 3, 2012 by marklangley

Among the many reasons to learn Latin the least important (although a sufficient reason in itself) is to learn how to speak Latin. A much better reason to learn Latin is to learn how to speak (and write) English! Learning … Continue reading →

Posted in ad libitum, classical education | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments