On 6/08/09, L. Swilley wrote:
> When the liberal arts were strong in universities, their
> students were gentlemen - wealthy men who did not work (and
> did not need to) and who ideally spent the rest of their
> lives improving their minds and serving society in politics
> and arts and without pay. The best of these were aware that
> in pursuing the liberal arts they were realizing their
> human being.
>
> Democratization has significantly changed all that; these
> days and for a long time most colleges and universities
> have more or less shelved the liberal arts and devoted
> their efforts to the training of the worker, professional
> and technical. The liberal arts are suffered, but they are
> no longer in the forefront of required subjects. The
> development of human being has given way to the production
> of the worker.
>
> Educators who lament this, seem not to have noticed that
> the new "gentleman," the new wealthy, leisured person is
> not only the trust baby but that growing number of persons
> who are retired, many of them perhaps unconsciously hungry
> for a meaningful intellectual life.
>
> I see little evidence that the exclusively liberal arts
> colleges (like St. John's?) make significant effort to
> recruit these new "gentlemen." It is a pity. Those of us
> who have been so fortunate as to have had older and retired
> persons as students in our classes and found them
> delightfully eager to learn our subjects for simply the
> sake of the knowledge should speak to our university
> administrations and urge them to make a special effort to
> recruit these potential students.
>
> L. Swilley

L. Swilley,

I thought I would share my experience yesterday hoping you
would enjoy it. I attended my son-in-law's college commencement
yesterday at a large research university. He graduated with
high honors and other awards with a double major in Philosophy
and Religious Studies. After attending exclusively professional
degree commencements for the past 20 years, it was interesting
to attend one in liberal arts. The comments and various
speeches were subtly different than what I am used to. My SIL
wants to go on for his Ph.D and be a university professor. It
will not be easy, but he is passionate and his professors have
offered to help him apply for the best schools in his interest
areas. Anyway, it was an interesting experience. Little talk of
"jobs and careers" and more talk about doing something
meaningful, solving world problems, finding a cause to support,
and finding something you enjoy doing.

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