- Dec 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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Ideology
How would you even teach something like ideology? It's an extremely broad subject so I would think they'd narrow it down... but about what exactly, that's the question. Is it just politics? Economics? Did they teach what makes an ideology what it is? Goals and purposes? History of ideas?
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To give to every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business. To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express & preserve his ideas, his contracts & accounts in writing. To improve by reading, his morals and faculties. To understand his duties to his neighbours, & country, and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either. To know his rights; to exercise with order & justice those he retains; to choose with discretion the fiduciaries of those he delegates; and to notice their conduct with diligence with candor & judgment. And, in general, to observe with intelligence & faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed.
The document emphasizes the goal of self-sufficiency and independence by stating "his own" and "for himself." These ideas are still heavily emphasized today. However, because only "he" is used, it indicates how women were not allowed to attend to UVA for quite some time and were not able to experience the such independence.
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- Oct 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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Military
The first time I read through this I was surprised to see military put into mathematics. Perhaps it was put into mathematics because they have to deal with things such as manufacturing bullets and would have to calculate their weight. Or maybe they need to calculate how long it would take to get from one place to another when coming up with routes during battle. Still, it's interesting to see such an emphasis on military education.
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- Sep 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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The objects of this primary education determine its character & limits. These objects would be, To give to every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business. To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express & preserve his ideas, his contracts & accounts in writing. To improve by reading, his morals and faculties. To understand his duties to his neighbours, & country, and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either
Interesting to see that the original purpose of learning was to develop morals and how to be a good citizen; people went to school to learn, not necessarily to just, well, find a job after they graduate. It's sad; we've gone far from being understanding and supporting one another to being overly competitive in our education, and thus we disregard some of our morals in order to aim for the top. Instead of developing character, we tend to put more emphasis into developing our brains. I wonder, how would Jefferson react if he knew the university life has become like this? Would he approve or would he want us to go back to education that helps us think for ourselves and improve our morals...?
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