"Our English Syllabus"

Lewis covers many topics in this lengthy essay, yet they are all related to learning and education. One of the main points that Lewis makes is that "learning, considered in itself, has, on my view, no connexion at all with education". At first glance, this may seem contradictory but as we look deeper into this, we can see that Lewis does in fact make perfect sense. Lewis believes that "institution[s] are homes not for teaching but for the pursuit of knowledge" which suggests that as university students, we are to take control of our own learning and not let people tell us what we have to know. To pursue learning in the best sense of the word implies that we chase, thirst for, follow, yearn, or strive to learning. Further, "[t]he proper question for a freshman is not 'What will do me most good?' but 'What do I most want to know?' For nothing that we have to offer will do him any good unless he can be persuaded to forget all about self-improvement". Lewis states that as students we must decide what it is we love most and then dive into learning as much as we can about it. The above are some of the main ideas that Lewis presents and develops throughout this essay.

Primarily, I can say that I agree with Lewis, but I cannot say that I do completely. I believe it true that we must "find time for both education and training: our danger is that equality may mean training for all and education for none". It is essential to have a balance of both education and training, or else we would almost become like robots, taking in the information that we are told and and treating it as the truth. Lewis is right that this is a danger, which is why we must take control of our own learning. When we learn about a concept, it is important to take that information and analyze it ourselves - discerning what is bad and what is good, what is wrong and what is right, and what we are passionate about and what we are not passionate about. Discerning and letting the things we learn sift through our minds empowers us not only to become better students but helps us to detect and and observe the truth and the evil in what we are being told. It also proves that we are learning and taking charge to "pursue knowledge" on our own, just as Lewis suggests. In pursuing this knowledge, we must remember that "a perfect study of anything requires a knowledge of everything" which is impossible to do. Instead it is important to opt for the most important concepts - which is another skill to have in order to be a successful learner. Lewis elaborates well on this when he says that if "we picture our subject as a tree we have first of all the soil in which it grows...[l]et us keep quiet about the soil, and go on to the roots" - the roots symbolizing the most important concepts that we can draw out of what may often times seem like an overabundance of information.

Although picking the "roots" when we learn is a wise choice, I do not agree with Lewis that "nothing that we have to offer will do him any good unless he can be persuaded to forget all about self-improvement" because sometimes we need to study subjects that we don't necessarily want to - ie. the core curriculum - in order to make us more well-rounded individuals. Often too, it is within the areas of learning that we often do not think we enjoy that we find the thing that we "most want to know", as Lewis says. After all, God often challenges us to do things that we do not want to do, and if we obey they end up being the most rewarding experiences of all - so why would learning something that we initially do not want to be any different? I think that there is a slight bias presented in this essay by Lewis since he was gifted with the ability to write. Although this is something he was extremely passionate about, he may have been even more of an influence if he had studied for example the sciences as well. Overall, I agree with Lewis that it is important to find what you most want to know, but not without establishing a wider base of knowledge in order to build a stronger foundation.

Whether we are in agreement with Lewis with respect these issues of education and learning, I believe it is most important to first of all be curious, to have the desire to learn. With this, whether you are learning something you are passionate about, or something you is hardly interesting - you are learning nonetheless and adding to your core foundation of knowledge. Remember to "keep quiet about the soil, and go on to the roots". My hope is that we long to be educated. More importantly, let us yearn to learn.