One source that many non-Catholic schools are not even aware of , but has most assuredly shaped the roots of the movement is the Ratio Studiorum. Long before Dorothy Sayers penned the Lost Tools of Learning and others piggy-backed on some of her insights, the Jesuits authored a most important education document. Classical Christian schools with Protestant leanings, and certainly those committed to "mere Christianity" would benefit from the countless gems in this writing.
When reading the Ratio, we are not to see it as a required curriculum, but we really should see it more as giving details related to instruction, administration, the calendar of the year, specific classes, the library, and the various types of testing that go on through the learning year. It is of the greatest importance to see the stress placed on the overall vision of this document that we glorify God and love our neighbor through the educational process.
There are various rules throughout this work. There are rules for professors of Rhetoric, rules for teachers of Humanities, and even rules for the Scholastics. For example, as we look at the rules for the professors of rhetoric, eloquence is limited to oratory, style, and erudition. We are instructed to read Quintilian, Aristotle, and Cicero, but it is Cicero who we are to give the greatest attention regarding style.
Additionally, there is a good bit of instruction on reading the historians and poetry. Related to the overall learning experience, we should dedicate a great deal of attention to memory. There is also instruction on written work, on how we should imitate serious poets and orators, and how we can learn from one language to another. There is also emphasis placed on both studying oratory and poetry and properly interpreting poetry and oratory. This process will cultivate genuine thinking skills. Throughout the document, there are occasional references to yielding to proper authorities, respecting those authorities, and learning from those authorities.
This amazing educational writing does not shy away from specifically pointing out that great rhetoricians, historians, and poets should be studied. And these authors are taught not only because of their stature, but they are taught because of their form and content as being standard setting. The notion is that when learning, we should learn from the very best. In addition to memorization, there is also emphasis placed on recitation.
At one point the document reads, "during the first half–hour after lunch, let a poet and the catechism be recited from memory…" It is worth noting this takes place after lunch! I would add here for the modern academy, if one is hesitant to instruct a catechism, one could easily replace the catechism with select Sacred Scriptures or select Creeds. Throughout this educational masterpiece, there are insights on how best to provide instruction, even on how to grade papers. One of my favorite aspects of this writing is that it is the "master" who must be the model of all of these matters at all times if the student is to learn. All teachers should be "masters" of teaching. All teachers should also have mastered the subject and form of their disciplines. The world of the Ratio is a far distance from the modern educational factories.
Let me specifically quote from this document, and this alone is why we should read this piece for Classical Christian schools serious about true learning. "Let our scholastics strive especially to preserve purity of mind and right intention in their studies: seeking nothing further into these than Divine glory and the profit of souls; in their prayers let them frequently ask for grace that they may progress in learning and that they may at length become suitable,…to cultivate the vineyard of Christ our Lord by their example and their learning." One of my favorite items in this writing is that the "scholastics" is a term that was used for students. We should reclaim this term and refer to the students as "scholastics" and the teachers as "masters."
Without a doubt, this writing is among the most "practical" when it comes to instruction. There is even material on studying according to the direction of the headmaster or the superior. Attention is given to note taking, stress is placed upon both personal moderation and the moderation within studies. It is also worth noting that the student is strongly encouraged to participate in all sorts of fruitful academic related activities that will supplement their thinking. There are numerous exhortations to constantly take advantage of all opportunities for learning. Compare this to the modern academy and ask, to what end will these different philosophies of education take the "scholastics"?
When reading the Ratio, we are not to see it as a required curriculum, but we really should see it more as giving details related to instruction, administration, the calendar of the year, specific classes, the library, and the various types of testing that go on through the learning year. It is of the greatest importance to see the stress placed on the overall vision of this document that we glorify God and love our neighbor through the educational process.
There are various rules throughout this work. There are rules for professors of Rhetoric, rules for teachers of Humanities, and even rules for the Scholastics. For example, as we look at the rules for the professors of rhetoric, eloquence is limited to oratory, style, and erudition. We are instructed to read Quintilian, Aristotle, and Cicero, but it is Cicero who we are to give the greatest attention regarding style.
Additionally, there is a good bit of instruction on reading the historians and poetry. Related to the overall learning experience, we should dedicate a great deal of attention to memory. There is also instruction on written work, on how we should imitate serious poets and orators, and how we can learn from one language to another. There is also emphasis placed on both studying oratory and poetry and properly interpreting poetry and oratory. This process will cultivate genuine thinking skills. Throughout the document, there are occasional references to yielding to proper authorities, respecting those authorities, and learning from those authorities.
This amazing educational writing does not shy away from specifically pointing out that great rhetoricians, historians, and poets should be studied. And these authors are taught not only because of their stature, but they are taught because of their form and content as being standard setting. The notion is that when learning, we should learn from the very best. In addition to memorization, there is also emphasis placed on recitation.
At one point the document reads, "during the first half–hour after lunch, let a poet and the catechism be recited from memory…" It is worth noting this takes place after lunch! I would add here for the modern academy, if one is hesitant to instruct a catechism, one could easily replace the catechism with select Sacred Scriptures or select Creeds. Throughout this educational masterpiece, there are insights on how best to provide instruction, even on how to grade papers. One of my favorite aspects of this writing is that it is the "master" who must be the model of all of these matters at all times if the student is to learn. All teachers should be "masters" of teaching. All teachers should also have mastered the subject and form of their disciplines. The world of the Ratio is a far distance from the modern educational factories.
Let me specifically quote from this document, and this alone is why we should read this piece for Classical Christian schools serious about true learning. "Let our scholastics strive especially to preserve purity of mind and right intention in their studies: seeking nothing further into these than Divine glory and the profit of souls; in their prayers let them frequently ask for grace that they may progress in learning and that they may at length become suitable,…to cultivate the vineyard of Christ our Lord by their example and their learning." One of my favorite items in this writing is that the "scholastics" is a term that was used for students. We should reclaim this term and refer to the students as "scholastics" and the teachers as "masters."
Without a doubt, this writing is among the most "practical" when it comes to instruction. There is even material on studying according to the direction of the headmaster or the superior. Attention is given to note taking, stress is placed upon both personal moderation and the moderation within studies. It is also worth noting that the student is strongly encouraged to participate in all sorts of fruitful academic related activities that will supplement their thinking. There are numerous exhortations to constantly take advantage of all opportunities for learning. Compare this to the modern academy and ask, to what end will these different philosophies of education take the "scholastics"?
