Hence I hold it reasonable that
the things which have reference to virtue ought to be taught to male and female
alike; and furthermore that straight from infancy they ought to be taught that
this is right and that is wrong, and that it is the same for both alike; that
this is helpful, that is harmful, that one must do this, one must not do that.
From this training understanding
is developed in those who learn, boys and girls alike, with no difference. Then
they must be inspired with a feeling of shame toward all that is base. When
these two qualities have been created within them, man and woman are of
necessity self-controlled
And most of all the child who is
trained properly, whether boy or girl, must be accustomed to endure hardship,
not to fear death, not to be disheartened in the face of any misfortune; he
must in short be accustomed to every situation which calls for courage. Now
courage, it was demonstrated above, should be present in women too.
Furthermore to shun selfishness
and to have high regard for fairness and, being a human being, to wish to help
and to be unwilling to harm one's fellow men is the noblest lesson, and it
makes those who learn it just.
We pride
ourselves on our efforts to give the same quality of education to women as we
do to men, in treating them equally and offering them the same opportunities.
In that it proceeds from a respect for the dignity of the human person, and not
merely from an attitude of conflict between the sexes, this is surely a noble
thing.
Consider,
however, what Musonius proposes as the proper end of education, and how this
may differ from what we pursue over the many years we now send our young people
to school.
Stoicism,
working from our very identity as creatures of mind and will, establishes
virtue as the highest human good, by which all other conditions should be
measured. What makes any man or woman a success in this life? Whatever else
they may do, they live well when they first pursue excellence of character.
Education,
in turn, of whatever sort, fulfills its role when it works toward this goal.
Far too
often, our attitudes diverge from such a respect for our true nature. We may
see people not as having moral worth, but as having worth from what they
consume and produce, from what they are capable of buying and selling. We
replace a concern for what is inside of us with a concern for what is outside
of us. According to this view, what makes any man or women a success in this
life? It is sadly only the power of wealth and the prestige of honor.
Education,
in turn, is then what makes us the most efficient managers, or the most
obedient workers.
Do we
pay lip service to the formation of character? Yes, of course, because such
sentiments sell, but we usually don’t invite someone to give a commencement
address because he is honest and caring; we ask him because he is rich and
famous. We don’t usually publicize graduates who went on to practice small acts
of kindness; we praise those who have ended up winning great positions of
influence, who have learned the skill of impressing others.
Mouthing
the words won’t be enough. Certainly, teach the best professional skills, but
none of them will be of any use without a moral compass.
It is
far more important to build a conscience, to be proud of doing right and
ashamed of doing wrong, to discover meaning in life from the merit our own
deeds instead of relying on our circumstances, to find the deepest satisfaction
from loving our neighbors as ourselves.
No, we
can’t use fancy statistics, or columns of financial profits and losses, to
quantify a wise and loving soul. I would suggest that is precisely the point,
since the qualities that make us noble and good are not determined by who dies
with the most toys.
Written in 6/1999
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