"The crucial challenge is to learn how to read critically, analyze data and formulate ideas - and most of all to enjoy the intellectual adventure enough to be able to do them easily and often." - Fareed Zakaria
Notwithstanding the fury that Hurricane Joaquin unleashed on our fellow countrymen in the southern islands of the Bahamian archipelago, for this author the week past has provided a refreshing respite from the frequent, inept and inane utterances of Jurassic court jesters and pleistocene pretenders who play at petty political polemics. I was particularly fortunate to have spent the past few days at my alma mater, Saint John's University in Minnesota. The visit afforded me the opportunity to reflect, 40 years later, on an earlier, more youthful life-altering chapter.
When I first entered those corridors of academia as a young teenager, I was totally unaware of the future that would be fashioned and how a youthful life would be transformed within those hallowed halls over the next four years. Therefore this week, we would like to Consider this... What is the relevance of a liberal education in a modern world that seems to accentuate a linear relationship between a course of study and obtaining a job?
A liberal education
The American Association for the Advancement of Science describes a liberal education this way: "A liberal education produces persons who are open-minded and free from provincialism, dogma, preconception and ideology; conscious of their opinions and judgments; reflective of their actions; and aware of their place in the social and natural worlds."
Liberally educated people are trained to think for themselves rather than conform to higher authorities. Traditionally, a liberal education includes a curriculum that embraces the classics, English literature, the humanities and moral virtues.
Unlike a professional and vocational education that prepares students for their careers, a liberal education prepares students for universal freedom and tolerance and attempts to assist the individual in avoiding conflicts in life. A liberal education fosters students' self-awareness and a better understanding of their actions and motivations. Individuals receiving a liberal education often become more considerate of other beliefs and cultures.
Liberal arts institutions
In the United States of America, as of 2012, there were 4,706 degree-granting institutions. Of that number, 1,738 were two-year colleges, while 2,968 were four-year colleges. Of the total 2,968 four-year colleges, 271 were liberal arts institutions that represented all denominations and sectarian schools, with only four to five percent of students studying for a bachelor's degree in liberal arts.
There were 247 Catholic degree-granting institutions, 236 offering a bachelor's degree or higher. In the state of Minnesota, there are seven liberal arts colleges. Of the 14 Benedictine colleges, only five of them are both Benedictine and liberal arts, namely Saint John's University, the College of Saint Benedict, St. Vincent's, St. Anselm and Benedictine College.
The benefits of a liberal education
In his recent publication, "In defense of a liberal education" Fareed Zakaria noted several benefits of a liberal education, the most important being that it teaches students to write. Secondly, it places considerable emphasis on encouraging students to express their own ideas, to make the connection between thought and word. Zakaria observed: "Writing forces you to make choices and brings clarity and order to your ideas." Another great advantage of a liberal education is that it teaches you how to speak and how to speak your mind.Finally a liberal education teaches a person how to learn by reading more closely, finding new sources of information, searching for data in order to prove or disprove a hypothesis and determining whether an author is trustworthy.
Saint John's University
Saint John's University (SJU), an all-male liberal arts institution, was founded in 1857 by the Benedictine Monks. Its sister institution, the College of Saint Benedict (CSB), all female, was established in 1913. More than 600 Bahamian men and 700 Bahamian women have attended Saint John's University and the College of Saint Benedict, respectively. These two institutions have probably graduated more Bahamians than any other four-year college outside The Bahamas.
In the early years of the 20th century, one of the first Bahamians to attend SJU was Sir Etienne Dupuch, publisher of The Tribune, who also served in the House of Assembly for 24 years. The education that he obtained at SJU contributed to the transformation of the social and political landscape of The Bahamas through the reporting of significant events and the shaping of public opinion over many decades. Another prominent SJU graduate was Sir Etienne's brother, Eugene Dupuch, who wrote SJU's "The Johnnie Fight Song" which is sung at the beginning of all university sporting events. The law school in The Bahamas is named in Eugene's honor, in recognition of his contribution to national jurisprudence.
Other notable Bahamian attendees included Deacon Leviticus Adderley, a wrestling and tennis champion while at SJU; and Monsignor Preston Moss, who has contributed enormously to building on the spiritual foundation of the Catholic Church in The Bahamas in general and the Benedictines in particular.
An impressive number of SJU graduates have considerably and consistently contributed to the development of so many aspects of Bahamian life, in the private and public sectors, as well as in the spiritual and secular spheres. Their impact has transformed the Bahamian society.
Back to the future
So there I was, exactly 40 years after graduating from SJU in 1975, this time not as a student but in the capacity of a board trustee, charged with the awesome responsibility and profound privilege of assisting in forging the future direction of the institution that was pivotal in developing my own future.
I entered SJU in 1971 with the dream of returning to The Bahamas one day and making a contribution to the country of my birth, which I so dearly loved and which had given me so much. I decided to study philosophy and political science with a view to pursuing a career in law upon completion.
Back in the 1970s, many of my contemporaries frequently asked, "What are you going to do with philosophy and political science? You cannot possibly get a job with a degree in those subjects." I cannot forget my response at the time: "It will teach me to think, to analyze and to write. Getting a job will not be problem."
The years spent at SJU were undoubtedly the most transformative of my life, a view shared by so many other Bahamians who attended SJU and CSB.
The next generation of Johnnies
While at SJU this past week, I met with some of the Bahamian students there. They are impressive and enjoy a superlative reputation on campus for being polite, respectful, studious and excellent ambassadors for The Bahamas. I was particularly pleased that a Bahamian student, Ramond Miller, who serves as a student body senator on campus, is also the senate's representative on the board of trustees.
Ramond is studying theology with a minor in communications but does not plan to pursue a religious vocation. It is clear in speaking to him that Ramond truly appreciates the importance of a liberal education. He is not sure what the future holds for him, but he has already made a positive impact on campus. No doubt, his future is very bright.
Bahamian students are pursuing other major subjects that will place them on definitive career paths like accounting, nursing, and education, to name a few. Others are pursuing studies that can generically be classified as pre-med, pre-engineering and others yet to be determined.
As I recount and reminisce about my days at SJU, over 40 years ago, I can affirm that the exposure that the Bahamian students obtained from the Benedictines who we came to know, appreciate, and revere beginning with St. Augustine's College, and later at SJU, made a life-long transformative impact not only on our lives, but on the thousands of persons with whom we have come into contact over the many decades.
Above all, I fully appreciated as I returned to the environment that substantially shaped many future lives, including my own, that the value of a liberal education cannot be overstated. I also appreciate that the propensity of always discerning a linear relationship between one's course of study and a job can often deprive the student of the ability to find a more enriching and fulfilling future, a future that can be substantially enhanced when guided by obtaining a liberal education.
o Philip C. Galanis is the managing partner of HLB Galanis and Co., Chartered Accountants, Forensic & Litigation Support Services. He served 15 years in Parliament. Please send your comments to pgalanis@gmail.com.
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