Some highlights from the speech:
Practical education trains students to discriminate, to recognize and apply first principles, in whatever field they find themselves in later in life. We teach our students to make distinctions; if they make distinctions well, they are well educated. The scholastic tradition had a slogan: “Always distinguish, never deny.” By making distinctions we clarify points and refine arguments. That is the effect of a practical education. So it turns out, I believe, that the most “practical” education we can find for our children will be education in the classic Catholic tradition.
Dante, Shakespeare, Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Augustine. Each time one reads these works, one draws new insights from them. These books are always relevant, because they address – and sometimes answer – the questions that people always ask themselves: questions about the meaning of life, about truth and goodness, about love and honor. These works have stood the test of time. We know that they have lasting value, because they have proved so useful to so many generations before us...Students who grapple with these great works will find that the exercise brings lasting rewards. They draw something special out of these books, and they learn something that will serve them for their entire lives. Beyond that, in fact, they are introduced into a great conversation. If they study the great texts seriously, they become a party to the conversation that Plato had with Aristotle, the conversation that Albertus Magnus had with Thomas Aquinas. We can all join in that great conversation, through the works that these great thinkers left behind them... To be a party to the great conversation is a wonderful privilege: a priceless benefit of real education. Most of the time, for most of us, our role in that conversation will be as passive listeners. Most of us don’t pretend to be great thinkers. When Aristotle and Shakespeare are talking, it makes sense of us to be quiet and listen. To be involved in the conversation is enough. Perhaps we realize that we can’t grasp everything that they are saying, but just as children learn by hearing the grown-ups talk at the dinner table, we learn – bit by bit, gaining a bit more each year – by listening in on the conversations among the great philosophers...
To preserve the Christian tradition, and to advance the Christian tradition, one must live the Christian tradition. It isn’t enough to read books about the spiritual life; we must have an active life of prayer. To gain a really accurate understanding of the Catholic faith, one must live the faith: making use of the sacraments, participating in that special ‘great conversation’ of the saints down through the centuries...
Since the early days of Christianity, this is what Christian parents have done: Raise their children to understand the faith, to promote the faith, to practice the faith. This is what is happening today at Magnificat. And this is why it is so very important for us all to support the outstanding work this school is doing.
To read the full text of the speech, click here.
