We had our major awards ceremony this past Saturday. As is tradition, we began with a poem by Lucille Clifton that she allowed us to adapt slightly for the occasion.Our president then gave one of his patented speeches, this one centered on Plato’s Meno. It was exactly what I wanted our students to hear: a full-blown defense of the liberal arts.
Tag Archives: Liberal Arts
Answer the Door, Child–Truth is Knocking
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Light that came to lucille clifton", College, Education, Lucille Clifton, Meno, Plato, Socrates Comments closed
Meaning Is the Meaning of the Liberal Arts
When Frost’s tree falls in front of us, it can mean two things (at least). Literally, it’s a hassle. To the unexamined life, that’s all it will ever be. Get down and clear it away. On the other hand, there’s that question of meaning and where it comes from. Human beings do their best when their actions are invested with significance. That’s why we have ceremonies, like this one, to compel us to stop (because time itself doesn’t do so on its own), take some time, reflect on the significance of what is happening to us.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "On a Tree Fallen across the Road", Education, Joseph Urgo, Robert Frost Comments closed
The Classics, Better than Business Guides
The Republic, The Art of War, The Social Contract, The Prince, and the Tao Te Ching gave me a way of understanding the broader implications of the business choices I was making. They helped me look beyond the immediate challenges to find a greater purpose. My individual efforts seemed part of a legacy of thinkers and doers who had come before.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Art of War, Business, Darien Bates, Education, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Machiavelli, Plato, Prince, Republic, Social Contract, Sun Tzu, Tao Te Ching Comments closed
Ignoring Books–Another Way to Burn Them
Read, reflect, act. That is my vision for how we should respond to literature. Therefore I was pleased to see a version of this advice appearing in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. I’m reading Bradbury’s dystopia because I will be leading a discussion of it tom0rrow as part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged censorship, Education, Fahrenheit 451, Jon Meacham, Ray Bradbury Comments closed
