the erection, preservation & repair of the buildings, the care of the grounds & appurtenances and of the interests of the university generally
It is fascinating to me that they were so concerned with the buildings themselves. I would have thought that taking care of the buildings and the grounds would have been a given, but it was important enough to include in this document. Caroline Peterson
they are of opinion that it should consist of distinct houses or pavilions, arranged at proper distances on each side of a lawn of a proper breadth, & of indefinite extent in one direction at least
This description of the proposal for the lawn is very specific. Since I am in an aesthetic engagement currently, I noticed how the idea wanted it to be symmetrical. The lawn today is very symmetrical; sometimes if I'm standing in the middle by the lawn rooms and I can't see the Rotunda, I'm not sure which direction it is because both sides look the same. At most college campuses, some individual buildings are symmetrical, but in contrast, the entire plan for the layout of the university was symmetrical.
As well might it be urged that the wild & uncultivated tree, hitherto yielding sour & bitter fruit only, can never be made to yield better: yet we know that the grafting art implants a new tree on the savage stock, producing what is most estimable both in kind & degree.
This is a very insightful metaphor that shows that demonstrates that education depends on the student. Just as cultivation that is successful for one tree might be unsuccessful for another, depending on many variables, the way one student learns and is educated might not work for another student, as people are all vastly different. This is important to realize, because if the aim is to educate all students, the teachers must be willing to shape their own methods. Caroline Peterson
Education generates habits of application, order and the love of virtue; and controuls, by the force of habit, any innate obliquities in our moral organization.
Education is a powerful tool. Teachers can use their authoritative position to shape the beliefs and morals of their students. Many students are eager to learn, so they are easily influenced by what their teachers tell them is fact. Their teachers are the authority in the situation, so therefore they must know how the world works. This can be either positive or negative influence on students depending on how accurate a teacher's knowledge and beliefs are, especially since education "controuls... any innate obliquities in our moral organization." Caroline Peterson