4 Matching Annotations
  1. Dec 2017
    1. These innocent arts furnish amusement & happiness to those who, having time on their hands, might less inoffensively employ it; needing, at the same time, no regular incorporation with the institution, they may be left to accessory teachers, who will be paid by the individuals employing them; the university only providing proper apartments for their exercise.

      The study and appreciation of arts is just as important as other fields of study such as sciences and literature. As the document fairly states: "Arts furnish amusement and happiness." Arts give us an insight into the world beyond letters, numbers, and formulas, and it endows us with creativity and possibility. The education of arts should be mandatory, providing abundant resources to faculty and students who pursue it. From my own experience, a good education of arts teaches me to look at the world in an entirely different way.

    2. The Italian abounds with works of Very superior Order, Valuable for their matter, and still more distinguished as models of the finest taste in style and composition,

      It is sad to realize that Italian, a language that had "finest taste in style and composition," has become less and less popular nowadays. People may prefer to study Spanish and French because these two languages are more commonly used in the world. The less spoken languages such as Italian, Latin, Greek, Hebrew seem to be left unattended in a fast-developing world. Language is art, and the beauty of its style and composition is an invaluable treasure that human shall always embrace and not forget. Language speaks of its own culture and history.

  2. Sep 2017
    1. Ours on the same correct principle, should be adapted to our arms & warfare; and the manual exercise, military maneuvres, and tactics generally, should be the frequent exercises of the students, in their hours of recreation. It is at that age of aptness, docility & emulation of the practices of manhood, that such things are soonest learnt, and longest remembered.

      Here is another example that demonstrates the historical significance of the Rockfish Gap Report as a document. Although people may not often refer back to this old document, it stands as an embodiment of the early notion of education and provides insight into how things have changed since then. For example, this highlighted sentence emphasizes the importance of military education, which is not prominent nowadays in UVa but very important back then due to political and social reasons.

    2. To improve by reading, his morals and faculties.

      Reading broadens one's perspective, opening one's eyes to the unknown yet exciting realms of intellects, arts, ethics, culture, science, and society. Reading improves one's morals and faculties because not only does he/she absorbs the knowledge in reading, he/she also learns to think critically while he/she reads. Reading is a process of absorbing, reflecting, and sometimes disagreeing. I would also like to add something to the sentence--To improve by reading (and reading as much as one can into all fields of knowledge), his morals and faculties. Reading helps facilitate a sense of cosmopolitanism in one's upbringing.