The first quote that made me stop and think was “The very word ‘liberal’ implies that these arts belonged to the education of free men, not to the technological training of slaves” (Schrader, p.264). I was reminded of my privilege in receiving an education. I had assumed that liberal referred to free thought and not to people who are free. This is an interesting take to me because that kind of access to education is prevalent, to a lesser degree, in most countries around the world. Liberal arts education is available to you if you can afford it and are not overburdened by other responsibilities. I think it speaks to the inequity in our societies are continue to make higher education inaccessible.
The second quote that made me stop and think was “Those who did go on into law or medicine did so for profit” (Schrader, p.271). I find this quote rather amusing since growing up in a Chinese community, this was definitely a pervasive belief, to the point where parents only viewed school and education as a means for future profit. I have a lot of respect for people in law and medicine, but when I hear about dentists performing procedures that their patients don’t require, and billing the insurance companies, I can’t help but think that they’re grifters. Existing in a capitalist society makes it difficult for any to pursue education purely for the sake of education and knowledge and I wish that were not the case.
The third quote that made me stop and think was “There were no examinations in the modern sense of the term. The student had simply to swear that he had read the books prescribed and attended the lectures. To qualify for a degree, he was required to participate in public disputations, either defending a proposition or opposing one defended by another student” (Schrader, p.272). This brings up important questions regarding assessment. At some point, possibly when schooling became compulsory, the purpose of exams became weaponized as an accountability tool in addition to determining students’ understanding. What’s interesting is that the alternative to the exam seems like what could be considered a thesis defence. One of the benefits of a system like this includes allowing adequate time for students to think about ideas and synthesize something meaningful, showing a higher level of understanding according to Bloom’s Taxonomy. What I also find interesting is how this also adheres to the modern idea of authentic assessment, in particular the need to defend your stance.
Schrader, D. V. (1967). THE ARITHMETIC OF THE MEDIEVAL UNIVERSITIES. The Mathematics Teacher, 60(3), 264–278. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27957550
Very interesting! This conversation of "free" education and also of education for the sake of bettering oneself and not necessarily oriented towards employment are still important and relevant today! Cultural backgrounds and personal histories bring all sorts of different values and purposes for education into our schools.
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