91–100 of 198 posts
> Since education rather than money is calling the shots, we have the freedom to ask unheard-of questions. Who is paying the bills, then? > no grades There's a reason why students cram at the end of the semester. Without pressure from grades, they won't do the work of learning. I know for a fact that I don't learn if there aren't exams and grades.
I'm not quite sure what this Catherine project is proposing. What you don't want is just some random selection of topics with no regard for unifying principles, intrinsic importance, or the fundamental concerns of human existence. Even the so-called Great Books[1] curricula, themselves often plagued by a bias toward anglocentrism, have been known to degenerate into "selected topics" with no unifying principle. In so-called classical education, everything that is taught is taught in a cohesive fashion, at least ideally. Modern education is Kafkaesque in this regard: things happen, you're told to do some things here, learn some things there, but there is no cogent overarching whole into which everything fits. The goal isn't to educate as much as it is to equip students with an assortment of skills thought to be economically valuable here and now. Of course, being able to provide economic value is important, but that is secondary to becoming properly formed. A technically savvy savage is still a savage, but even here, his savvy is bound to be superficial. Ironically, someone who is properly formed in a real education is more deeply equipped and free to provide economic value.
All education systems presuppose some vision of man. The modern education's view of man, as an economic actor and a cog in a machine, is a bleak, stunted view of the human person and ultimately one that is dehumanizing.
[0] https://catholicliberaleducation.org/
[1] https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2017/09/great-books-e...
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"We rely on donations from readers and benefactors to pay our staff director and expenses like our Zoom subscriptions." So begging is your business model?
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Interesting to see the deep skepticism in the comments. I attended St John's College - which is probably as close as a "real" school can get to the Catherine Project - and loved every minute. Grades were not given, and there were no professors or lectures. Seeing criticism about the business model and lack of tests, worry about educational fads, etc, is missing the point, in my opinion. Consider the possibility that…
Interesting to see the deep skepticism in the comments. I attended St John's College - which is probably as close as a "real" school can get to the Catherine Project - and loved every minute. Grades were not given, and there were no professors or lectures. Seeing criticism about the business model and lack of tests, worry about educational fads, etc, is missing the point, in my opinion. Consider the possibility that…
Gentle note - I participated in one of the Catherine Project's events - a two hour session on Genesis 1-5. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone involved came prepared, asked good questions, and listened thoughtfully to what others had to say. I'd cheerfully participate again. I don't understand the skepticism either. If people want to engage a great text with a community, what's the harm?
The thread's been jumped on by mysoginistic conservatives?