Of all the medieval universities, Paris was pre-eminent. The University of Paris attracted scholars from every country, in large part due to the immense reputation it accrued due to previous esteemed professors such as William of Champeaux, Peter Abelard and Peter Lombard. So many students flocked to the university, that housing was scarce. Boarders could exact exorbitant rates of the young scholars, making this the education of the wealthy aristocracy. Thus, Thomas living at the priory was not only down to his religious commitment to his Dominican Order, but also presented an affordable residence with an easy commute.

At the outset of his appointment at the university, Thomas was required to present inaugural lectures that expounded a biblical text. This was known as the principia biblica, one of two lectures at the inauguration of a new professor. The passage Thomas chose for this brief lecture was Psalm 104:13. The story goes that he received this passage in a dream where a figure handed him this particular text. However we regard this legend, it seems that Thomas worked out a rather compelling delineation of the relationship between religious knowledge and the instruction of students in the liberal arts. In many respects, this brief lecture anticipates the fuller synthesis Thomas achieved in his career, reconciling faith and reason. This article explores his inaugural lecture, entitled “Rigans montes,” to draw from it insights for our own educational renewal movement.

An Exposition of Rigans Montes

The text of the inaugural lectures was lost for centuries until they were discovered again in 1912 among the writings of Remigio dei Girolami at Santa Maria Novella in Florence, according to Ralph McInerny, who translated the text for the Penguin edition (Selected Writings 5). One can find the text online or in its published form in McInerny’s edited volume, Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings. It’s a rather brief sermon that falls into four parts following a short preface. The sermon is an exposition of Psalm 104:13 which reads “You water the hills from your upper rooms, the earth is sated with the fruit of your works.” (Note: in the Vulgate the numbering of the Psalter differs from our English versions, so in printed editions of Thomas’s lecture, one will find it referring to Psalm 103:13.) For Aquinas, this text serves as a model for how divine revelation reaches the mind of the learner.

He seems quite Platonic when he reasons that the “gifts of Providence” are given to those who are lower “by intermediaries” in his preface. The water cycle becomes a metaphor for this intermediation. The clouds release rain at the top of the mountain. This water flows down the mountain, feeding the rivers, which go out into the land “so that the satiated earth can bear fruit.” By analogy, divine wisdom flows down through well-trained minds to those who are learners. He writes, “Similarly, from the heights of divine wisdom the minds of the learned, represented by the mountains, are watered, by whose ministry the light of divine wisdom reached to the minds of those who listen” (Selected Writings 12). This then structures the four parts of his sermon, so that his outline covers the height of doctrine, the dignity of teachers, the condition of learners, and the order of communication. Let us follow this outline.

To begin, divine wisdom comes from on high. Thomas references James 3:15 regarding how God’s wisdom comes from above. He acknowledges how some things are generally known. So, for instance, knowledge of God’s existence is naturally known by all. Some divine knowledge is comprehensible, such that Paul can state in Romans 1:19, “what can be known about God is plain to them,” that is all humanity. But some divine knowledge is hidden or veiled, requiring revelation through Scripture and the inworking of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, God reveals this high wisdom in order that “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). And for those who are in Christ, Paul’s admonition is that we would “seek the things that are above” (Col. 3:1). So, Thomas begins his exposition by accumulating a variety of text to make the point that divine wisdom is high and exalted, yet God pours this wisdom out in various ways such that it flows down the mountain, so to speak.

Because of the height of divine wisdom, teachers who would teach divine wisdom must have certain characteristics. Thomas begins by calling upon teachers to despise earthly things and cling exclusively to heavenly things. He quotes Philippians 3:20 where Paul writes that our citizenship is in heaven. The vocation of the teacher is a high calling. Next, the teacher must be illumined by divine wisdom. Returning to the image of the mountain, it is the top of the mountain that receives the first light of the sun in the morning. For Thomas, the teacher receives these high beams of light. He writes, “the teachers are illumined by the first beams of divine wisdom” (Selected Writings 14). Then, Thomas continues the analogy of the mountain, this time focusing on how a mountain provides protection to the land, a defensible position. The teacher of divine wisdom defends the faith and stands against error. He sees these characteristics exemplified in Paul, who defines his own ministry in these terms:

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.”

Ephesians 3:8-9

To express this a different way, a teacher ought to be enthralled and experience joy in being able to reach for the heights of wisdom, while also being grateful and humbled to be a vessel to convey this exalted knowledge to others. Such dispositions place the teacher in right frame of mind to climb the mountain and bring these truths down to the land below.

Learners also ought to have dispositions that make them capable of receiving divine knowledge. Chief among the dispositions is humility. To receive something so high, one must recognize how low one is. The student is of the earth in the analogy of the mountain. The knowledge comes down from on high. And like the earth, the student must acknowledge this lowness by remaining humble. Yet, like the earth, the student must also be characterized by firmness and fruitfulness. When we think about training students in a biblical worldview – or imparting divine wisdom to them – the goal is to establish them firmly in their faith as well as to enable them to experience fruit in their lives.

Thomas concludes his reflections by addressing the mode of communication. Even though God communicates his wisdom abundantly, the teacher cannot know everything and, likewise, the teacher cannot even teach everything he has come to know. Teaching is limited because we are limited beings. We know in part and we teach in part, with the hope that our insufficiency is empowered by God’s sufficiency. Thomas goes on to convey that teaching is an act of sharing in wisdom. The teacher does not possess the wisdom. Wisdom belongs to God, who shares abundantly with us. So the teacher draws the learner into this stream of shared wisdom. Because wisdom belongs to God, the power of God is required in order for it to be properly conveyed or communicated.

Reflecting on the Nature of Teaching and Learning

The mountain analogy expressed at the outset of his career is not quite his full expression of the harmony of all knowledge in his Summa Theologica. What this inaugural lecture does, though, is remind us of some key principles that are worth reflecting on.

First, the matter we get to work with as teachers is high and weighty. The dictum that “all truth is God’s truth” means that no matter the subject area, there is a pathway from the heights of the mountain top to the topic at hand. The truths handed down through the generations arrive in our classrooms on a daily basis. To engage with this material is to stand on holy ground, to open oneself to the mysteries of the cosmos and the depths of the human spirit. This is no small task. The work before us is worthy, but also demanding. We must approach it with reverence and humility, for the insights we seek to impart to our students have the power to inspire and transform. Before our students can engage with such wisdom, we ourselves must be captivated by it. Let us delve into these rich veins of knowledge, that we might emerge enlightened and empowered.

Second, in fulfilling our calling as teachers, it is easy to become weighed down by the demands of the classroom and the deadlines of the calendar. We can lose sight of the joy and wonder that first drew us to this calling. However, it is essential that we cultivate these qualities within ourselves, not just for our own fulfillment, but for the sake of the wisdom God has bestowed from the heights of heaven. There comes a point when Latin grammar or geometric proofs become mundane. And it is exactly at this point where we must ask of God to renew our curiosity and wonder. True joy and wonder can only be found when we humble ourselves and depend on God’s power working through us. It is not something we can manufacture on our own, but rather a gift that comes from surrendering our own agenda and allowing the Holy Spirit to work. As we learn to walk in this posture of humility and dependence, we will find a renewed sense of awe and excitement about the privilege of shaping young minds and hearts by means of the materials at hand. Our students will be the ones who reap the rewards, as they are inspired by teachers who radiate the joy of the Lord.

Finally, in our pursuit to teach students within this educational renewal movement, we must not lose sight of the true objectives to provide a firm foundation for our students to stand upon, and to cultivate fruitfulness in their lives. At the heart of this endeavor lies the timeless virtues of truth, goodness, and beauty. It is our responsibility to guide our students on a journey of discovering the profound truths that are foundational to life’s meaning, and to inspire them to live lives of moral integrity and excellence. Ultimately, the greatest gift we can impart to our students is the opportunity to walk in step with the Lord and to be discipled in the ways of the our Savior. For it is only through this intimate relationship that they will find the strength, wisdom, and purpose to thrive and make a lasting impact in this world. Let us, therefore, remain steadfast in our commitment to nurturing the whole person of each student so that they are well equipped with the tools they need to stand firm upon the ground of truth and to live fruitfully as they walk with the Lord.

Learn more about training and consultation packages that focus on improving your academic program.

Visit our consultation page for more information.

The post Wisdom from the Heights of the Mountain Top: Inspiration from Thomas Aquinas appeared first on .

Most educators agree that pursuing knowledge is a primary goal of education. But views diverge soon after, specifically when questions about the purpose of knowledge emerge as well as what fields of knowledge to pursue. 

As I have begun working on my first book about the craft of teaching, this question has become of unique interest to me. In particular, as I have been reading Doug Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion 3.0, I have been struck by Lemov’s contagious passion for teaching, learning, and gaining knowledge. This got me thinking, “What drives Lemov? Does the same motivation drive me as a classical educator?”

In this blog, I will present three views on the purpose of knowledge and conclude with the beginnings of a synthesis. Thomas Aquinas, the thinker I have selected to represent the medieval-classical tradition, views knowledge accessed by the liberal arts as the pathway to knowing God, humanity’s greatest happiness. Charlotte Mason emphasizes the moral and psychological impact of knowledge, specifically as it equips the mind to encounter relations between all that we can learn. And Doug Lemov, author of the Teach Like a Champion series focuses on knowledge as the pathway to raising independent students for future opportunities in college and career.

Let us now take a look at each one of these thinkers more closely. 

Thomas Aquinas: Knowledge for Happiness in God 

As a theologian, Thomas conceives of reality through a God-centered lens. Therefore, according to “the angelic doctor,” the pursuit of knowledge is nothing less than the perfection of humanity, which is happiness found in God. 

Thomas writes,

Now, the ultimate end of man, and of every intellectual substance, is called felicity or happiness, because this is what every intellectual substance desires as an ultimate end, and for its own sake alone. Therefore, the ultimate happiness and felicity of every intellectual substance is to know God.

Summa contra Gentiles, Book III, c. 25

Here we see Thomas integrating Aristotelelian metaphysics with his theology to argue that knowledge finds its ultimate purpose in and through knowing God.

How is this knowledge created and justified? From a classical perspective, the answer is the same way all things are made– the arts. Whether one is a carpenter, architect, or painter, she is using a particular art, or skill, to make a new creation. The same is the case for knowledge. Knowledge is fashioned through the arts, namely, the liberal arts.

These liberal arts offer “a particular canon of seven studies that provided the essential tools for all subsequent learning” (Kevin Clark and Ravi Jain, The Liberal Arts Tradition, 2nd ed., 2019, p. 6). The Trivium arts pertain to knowledge about language and the Quadrivium arts pertain to knowledge about number. Together, these arts constitute the seeds and tools of learning.

In summary, knowledge finds its ultimate purpose in knowing God and it is created through the liberal arts, the well-worn paths of learning. By following these paths, students can independently create a vast array of knowledge. 

Practically speaking, students learn the arts of language when they are taught reading, hermeneutics, debate, persuasive speech and writing. And they learn the arts of math when they are taught counting, calculation, measuring, empirical discovery, and theoretical proof (Clark and Jain, 7). These arts are, simply put, the skills students need to make sense of the world and cultivate understanding. As the arts are mastered and knowledge is gained, wisdom is the result.

The importance of this final point cannot be missed. Clark and Jain write,

The goal of education is not simply knowledge for knowledge’s sake, however; the goal of true education is for our knowledge of God, man, and creation to come to full flower in wisdom and for this wisdom to help us better love and serve our neighbor.

Kevin Clark and Ravi Jain, The Liberal Arts Tradition, 2nd ed., 2019, p. 7

While Clark and Jain do not explicitly state happiness in God to be the purpose of knowledge as we saw in Thomas, we can observe a similar vision. We pursue knowledge because we believe this knowledge will lead us to God himself, our source of happiness. The result will be the formation of a wise, servant-hearted human person.

Charlotte Mason: Knowledge for the Flourishing Life 

Next we turn to Charlotte Mason, a British educator dedicated to educational reform at the turn of the 20th century. While Mason is a devoted Christian, her emphasis regarding the purpose of knowledge is less theological and more moral-psychological. Referencing contemporary neuroscience, she argues that knowledge is food for the mind and the key to a flourishing life.

In her sixth and final volume on education, she writes,

A great future lies before the nation which shall perceive that knowledge is the sole concern of education proper, as distinguished from training, and that knowledge is the necessary daily food of the mind.

Towards a Philosophy of Education, pg. 2

Here Mason emphasizes the distinction between vocational training and a liberal (arts) education, going on to argue that the more educators focus on human formation, “the better will he fulfill his own life and serve society” (3).

While Charlotte Mason completed the volume above in 1922, she had been developing her educational philosophy for decades. In 1904, she published School Education in which she offers a curricular program for children up to age 12. In this volume, she makes the connection we have already encountered between education and wisdom, writing “…for wisdom is the science of relations, and the thing we have to do for a young human being is to put him in touch, so far as we can, with all the relations proper to him” (School Education, 75). 

Here is a helpful clue to Mason’s view of knowledge and its purpose. It is primarily a relational endeavor in which children make contact physically, affectively, and intellectually with the world around them. She writes,

When we consider that the setting up of relations, moral and intellectual, is our chief concern in life, and that the function of education is to put the child in the way of relations proper to him, and to offer the inspiring idea which commonly initiates a relation, we perceive that a little incident like the above may be of more importance than the passing of an examination.

School Education, 78

To help understand Mason’s point about relations, imagine two children. One has been educated in the way she describes. He has encountered a rich array of knowledge since a young child. He knows about birds and plants, geography and history. He navigates life with a sense of vivaciousness, intrigue, and curiosity. The world is bright, colorful, and of utter fascination to him. Each day is a fresh opportunity to learn, explore, and make new connections.

Now compare this child with one whose education or upbringing has been stultified. The birds around him are unknown to him, both intellectually and relationally. He was never trained to take notice of the plants outside his house or to observe how they bud each spring. He has not been read the great stories found history and literature. As a result, the child’s ignorance breeds only more ignorance, and, ultimately, disinterest about the world around him.

The contrast between these caricatures is startling. What is the difference? Knowledge. Knowledge fuels the mind and animates the soul. Its purpose is to inspire a student to live a flourishing life. Knowledge and knowledge alone is the intrinsic motivation that will inject a person with meaning and purpose, according to Charlotte Mason. She writes, “The matter is important, because, of all the joyous motives of school life, the love of knowledge is the only abiding one; the only which determines the scale so to speak, upon which the person will hereafter live” (245-246).

Doug Lemov: Knowledge for Future Opportunity 

Lastly, we look at Doug Lemov, an educational leader in the public charter school movement. His experience has been primarily focused on inner-city schools that are under-resourced and statistically less successful in terms of graduation rates and college readiness than their suburban peers.

In his introduction to Teach Like a Champion 3.0, Doug Lemov writes,

…there are teachers who everyday without much fanfare take the students who others say “can’t”–can’t read great literature, can’t do algebra or calculus, can’t and don’t want to learn—and help, inspire, motivate, and even cajole them to become scholars who do.

Teach Like a Champion 3.0, xxxvi

Here we see a small window into Lemov’s drive for knowledge. It is oriented towards helping students overcome social and individual obstacles getting in the way of their learning in order to help them become scholars with future opportunities. His book is full of techniques to enable students to do the work of learning and, thereby, become independent knowledge seekers.

In the third edition of Teach Like a Champion, Chapter 1 provides five principles, or mental models, through which the subsequent teaching techniques can be contextualized. Each of these principles, often backed by research in learning science, are geared toward helping students become independent learners and preparing them to be successful throughout school, in college, and beyond.

For example, the first principle focuses on the distinction between building long-term memory and managing working memory. He writes,

A well-developed long-term memory is the solution to the limitations of working memory. If a skill, a concept, a piece of knowledge, or a body of knowledge is encoded in long-term memory, your brain can use it without degrading other functions that also rely on working memory.

Teach Like a Champion 3.0, p. 8

Lemov’s point here is not to pooh-pooh working memory, but to help readers understand that both are essential to the learning process. By keeping working memory free, teachers equip students to more fully connect to the world around them and integrate the knowledge they are learning.

I have mentioned one principle on which Lemov’s techniques hang for increasing student knowledge. The others are equally valuable and worth exploring at a later time. For now, I simply list them for the reader’s benefit:

1. Understanding human cognitive structure means building long-term memory and managing working memory.
2. Habits accelerate learning.
3. What students attend to is what they will learn about.
4. Motivation is social.
5. Teaching well is relationship building. 

Conclusion

Each of these figures offers an important aspect of the purpose of knowledge. Knowledge enables us to know God, our greatest happiness. Knowledge propels us to thrive in the world God created. And knowledge enables us to more fully connect with the world around us, becoming more engaged scholars for whatever opportunities God puts before us.

Each of these purposes can serve as drivers to learn in their own right. To conclude, I want the emphasize a common thread I observed in all three views: the importance of fully-integrated, inter-relational knowledge development. Whether it is the classical tradition’s emphasis on holistic wisdom, Charlotte Mason’s idea of the science of relations, or Doug Lemov’s emphasis on the power of long-term memory, it is clear that a unified knowledge base is key.

At a recent staff meeting, our colleague read aloud from Ephesians 4, “…one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” At the risk of sounding heretical, perhaps in our schools, we can add one more to the liturgy: one knowledge, granted from above, worth of our pursuit, and the source of our true in happiness when it is ends in Christ.

Want to go deeper with Educational Renaissance?

We have compiled a variety of resources for as you as you take the next step in your teaching journey. Read great books. Listen to our podcast. Download webinars. Join us to keep the renaissance spreading!

The post The Drive to Learn: Three Views on the Desire for Knowledge appeared first on .