I am enrolled in another online course through Hillsdale College, Great Books. Hillsdale is a small (student body of about 1400) independent, co-educational, residential liberal arts college in southern Michigan founded in 1844 and does not accept any governmental funds. It is an institution we have long supported and one that is included in our estate legacy. It has been too long ago that I last read and studied these. Quite intense and thought provoking, started with Homer's Iliad and The Odyssey. Similar to the History and Constitutional courses I have taken at Hillsdale this one on literature beginning with the classic ancients is occupying much of my previously free time to read, listen to the lectures, ponder, review the discussions, etc with a new session each week. I am enjoying this depth immensely.
My bucket list for retirement included to pursue and reengage in educational courses in history and literature of which I have always been fond. While in my professional career days there was little time for such. The course in the Holocaust that I took at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse in the fall was another stimulating activity. Thanks to the ease of online study I can partake in much more. It invokes my discipline to keep up weekly.
Today I am pondering on what will happen to our culture as we no longer teach, learn nor appreciate history and literature. There seems to be a subversion of the basics, and a resultant ability to discern. In the lecture on The Odyssey, Professor Whalen spoke of Mnemosyne, Greek goddess of memory, the mother of the nine Muses and how memory is a gift that distinguishes us from other animals. Memory facilitates reasoning, and may be a basic foundation of civilization. Mnemosyne is unknown to many of the so called educated in the current generations, I am sure a mention of her would evoke a blank stare from our adult grandchildren and their parents, perhaps along with the blankness a grimace of "this means nothing to me....I live in California."
What happens when a culture, a people, an individual no longer has memory? Consider dementia and the dreaded Alzheimer's, how once memory is gone only barrenness remains. Robbed of memory the individual deteriorates. I equate that to what is happening today as deliberate indoctrination replaces education, an ability to reason to discern begins to vanish. Reasoning the high light of humanness dims. Humanities are disdained, few appreciate history and ever fewer have any awareness of the importance of ancient literature, of classics and the need to acquire wisdom to make judgments. So much is instant, online, finger strokes, Facebook where I too spend time is the substitute of many for personal interaction, discussions. So our western culture is beginning to fall apart to lose value, today sects of immigrants and others are urged to retain their own languages, their own cultures, not to assimilate, not to adopt ours. Could anything be more dreadful?
This of course is a welcome diversion for me as we are in a holding pattern while Jerry has physical therapy sessions and continues with medications to be determined if he will heal and avoid back surgery on the nerve that is pinched by two vertebrae in his spine. This means I do his chores and mine as well as continuing my physical fitness agenda a the Y. Spring is emerging here as well, There were two robins in our back yard and the other day I saw a flock of geese flying north in formation. We still have plenty of snirt, dirty snow, to melt but green grass in visible once again in our lawns.
I created this blog to record our RV trips and ;morphed into life in our retirement lane and telling my tales of life. Now my tales of life are on widowhood, my new and probably my last phase of l I have migrated to Facebook where I communicate daily, instantly with family/friends all over. I write here sometimes. COPYWRIGHT NOTICE: All photos, stories, writings on this blog are the property of myself, Patricia Morrison and may not be used, copied, without my permission most often freely given.
Other blog dominating
Blogger insists on showing my posts and comments to others as my Books Blog, You can click on it to get here and vice versa....the Book blog is just that while this one, my first, original has miscellany
Link to BookBlog https://patsbooksreadandreviewed.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)