Demosthenes delivering a condemning speech against Philipp of Macedonia. Demosthenes (384 BC – 322 … [+] BC) was the greatest Greek orator. After the “Peace of Philokrates” (346 BC), he rose to become the leading statesman of Athens. Philip II (ca. 382 BC – 336 BC) was the King of Macedonia from 359 to 336 BC and was the father of Alexander the Great. Woodcut engraving, published in1882.
From Greek-is.com: “The education system in ancient Greece was regarded as a foundational pillar of society, preparing individuals for responsible citizenship. Renowned for its emphasis on holistic development, physical fitness, and moral virtues, this approach has left an enduring legacy on teaching practices in many parts of the world today.”
Or maybe no longer.
Education Then and Now
Certainly, when I went through the spectacular public education system in Mount Vernon, New York in the 1950s and 1960s, that was the case. Today, as I see it from my vantage point of having taught two graduate communication and leadership courses for 15 years, it is mostly gone, the victim of nefarious forces, political agendas, general intellectual ennui, and a resignation from the effort to rigorously continue to challenge the rising generations.
Education is the ongoing debt of one generation to the next, but it appears that the past couple of generations have defaulted on that debt. Let’s break it down.
Holistic Development
In the sciences and mathematics, as I remember them being taught, there was not only insistence on mastery of the current subject, but preparation and readiness for the next. In cultural studies, we were exposed to visual arts, performing arts, and literature – lots of literature (more on that later). We read all genre of books and wrote book reports on every one of them. We learned public speaking, ballroom dancing, and etiquette. None of my friends passed on the chance to play an instrument, sing in the choir, and learn a foreign language.
All boys learned to work with wood and metal; all girls learned home economics. (Although gender roles have changed, responsibility to educate should not.) We painted, drew, and sculpted.
Physical Fitness.
Boys learned Greco-Roman wrestling and seven of the 10 Olympic Decathlon events. (Pole vault was not feasible, and placing a discus (flying missile) or javelin (spear) in the hands of developing pubescent boys was apparently judged a bad idea. In gymnastics, we learned floor exercises, rings, high bar, parallel bars, vault, and rope climbing. We learned how to properly throw a football, bounce-pass a basketball, and dribble a soccer ball. We were required to swim 50 meters.
Moral Virtues
To Kill a Mockingbird, The Scarlet Letter, 1984, The Republic (Plato), Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank), My Antonia, Gulliver’s Travels, The Golf Links (by Cleghorn – look it up), The Kite Runner. These were neither objectionable nor subject to “parental choice” banning. They were fundamental building blocks of independent thinking.
We read and discussed a newspaper of record every day. We learned civics and ethics, voted in mock elections, and were visited by city officials. We joined clubs. We volunteered. We learned the meaning – and the value – of others.
So, what happened?
When Albert Einstein first visited America in 1921, here was his impression: “What strikes a visitor is the joyous, positive attitude to life. The American is friendly, self-confident, optimistic, and without envy.”
I see a connection between that America and the one in which I was educated. I see a disconnect between that one and today’s. And I see that disconnect spreading. Where are the ancient Greeks, now that we need them more than ever?
