Author: Raymond Le Grand

Students sometimes ask in class “Why do we have to study this?” We can ask ourselves the same question: Why learn proofs in geometry, the rules of algebra, or the detailed history of the 1840’s? The theorems, rules and facts seem to be unnecessary when everything can be plugged into a calculator or searched for online. Why do we need to be in school?  The answer is that everyone, but especially young minds, need training in attentiveness. By learning this rule of algebra or this historical fact, you are training yourself to be more attentive. You are learning how to silence the noise and chatter in your head so that you can experience the world around you as it really is. Education is about fostering a greater attentiveness, a greater perception of the world. A perception of the world around us and the world as it has been: in history, literature, art, and other ways. It is about discovering the existence of things that are not a part of you and do not at all depend on you. It is an openness to the being of things. We can marvel at the changing of the seasons, the origins of the Read More …