tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post6299237566847116265..comments2024-02-24T03:34:18.060-05:00Comments on Stealing Commas: Narnia: If the Heroes did their jobs: Meeting the invisible peoplechris the cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06872875475212333027noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-38120714715728201752013-12-02T02:04:26.721-05:002013-12-02T02:04:26.721-05:00Lewis definitely wasn't fond of schools. As h...Lewis definitely wasn't fond of schools. As he explains at length in his autobiography, he was bullied fairly relentlessly at his school and didn't mention it to his father because he thought it was an inevitable part of school (to be fair, the school didn't seem to care) and not worth mentioning. What later delivered him from this was his father getting him a tutor who was excellent both intellectually and personally. (Sorry for the vagueness; it's been two years since I read <i>Surprised by Joy</i>.)<br /><br />So, if I might guess what sort of education Lewis would approve of... Young children would first be tutored by a parent or possibly close family friend for the basics. Based on <i>Abolition of Man</i>, Lewis would consider that to start with the moral law and continue through reading and writing to logic. (I'm leaving out math because Lewis was completely incompetent in it and admitted as much.)<br /><br />If the parents could continue this until the child's totally prepared for adulthood, I think Lewis would consider that a good thing. In Narnia, where most Talking Animals can get their food off the land, that'd probably be more common than on Earth. Though, since the Dwarves in <i>Horse and his Boy</i> offer Shasta sausages, there's clearly an economy whirring on behind the scenes... so we need some schools. <br /><br />The top grade of education would be individual tutoring. Considering classical mythology, I'll say it's by Centaurs who periodically search out particularly-promising students and take them to live with them... probably in huts or tents on the grasslands. Perhaps there would be two or three students per Centaur at a time; that seems like a good compromise between efficiency and Lewis's valuing individual tutoring.<br /><br />For lesser schools... If the Pevensies merely abolish boarding schools, and leave day schools open, that'd go a long way toward helping victims of bullying such as Lewis. Having teachers who treat it as a serious problem would help, too - there're groups putting out checklists for this in real life. But I think Lewis would point to teachers having a responsibility to treat students as equals (or, at least, who they are in reality) governed by real-life moral rules, rather than trying to inculcate an artificial social hierarchy.<br /><br />So to sum up: This Narnian educational system consists of several years of homeschooling followed by individual tutoring (for a few) or day school with no in-class hierarchy. I think?Evannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-47974159590917318302013-11-28T13:09:10.318-05:002013-11-28T13:09:10.318-05:00Lewis was not fond of schools, apparently, and sai...Lewis was not fond of schools, apparently, and said in the first book that one of the first things the children did as good and noble rulers was to outlaw schools (because keeping your population ignorant is totally what good rulers do.)<br /><br />On the other hand he did seem to have a fondness for tutors, which is how Caspian got his hands on one. But for the non-nobility one teacher per student doesn't make much sense.<br /><br />So... stuff.chris the cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06872875475212333027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-59849426490653966372013-11-27T05:53:06.219-05:002013-11-27T05:53:06.219-05:00I would have to assume, like Lewis' idea of a ...I would have to assume, like Lewis' idea of a Proper English School -- lots of discipline and rote memorisation. (But, being fair to Lewis, <i>consistent</i> discipline rather than arbitrary, and rote memorisation of things that might actually be useful later.)Firedrakenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-17866822168185600062013-11-27T03:56:13.399-05:002013-11-27T03:56:13.399-05:00>>>After a pause she added, "Learn y... >>>After a pause she added, "Learn your history."<br /><br />(I wanted to leave this comment yesterday, then forgot what I wanted to say.) If they still have schools in Narnia after Miraz' regime was overthrown (I don't feel like re-reading those books just to search for any throwavay mention of Narnia's then-current teaching system) - I wonder what those schools are like? How do they work? <br /><br />--- RedcrowAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com