Society has been observing a cataclysmic event: the
acceptance and universal approval of ‘classical trash’. For too long have school children been
assaulted with the responsibility of reading, analyzing, and even quoting doubtful
works of merit to comply with scholastic expectations. Quality, has been punctured with trashy
additives, yet we are told by the expert few, that those works are still a
valuable resource for the collective knowledge.
Should schools claiming a religious focus subject their
students to this literary criteria?
No. As an institute representing
a particular religion, these schools have a responsibility to maintain high
moral values that accurately reflect their beliefs. To squander an opportunity
to share works of high moral merit with the students who have chosen that
particular learning environment, is to throw away individuality in favor of
identical conformity.
Students who have made the choice between a religious school
and a secular one, deserve a high level of education. There may be some works, such as Much Ado About Nothing that are utilized
in literary courses. The schools may
fear excluding such literary giants as Shakespeare, and rightly so. However, the argument stands that schools
that offer a high caliber of moral expectancy, also have the chance to reveal
the value of moral absolutes—something that secular schools may skip over. To include works that offer behavioral
acceptance of moral depreciation can be a strength if at the same time, it
incorporates a discussion as to why
the behavior, words, etc. are excluded from acceptance within the particular
religious environment.
Historical evidence suggests that civilization is built upon
strong protective and freedom enhancing regulations. If we, as a nation, and as a world, refuse to
create, foster, and support varying ways of approaching learning environments,
then we are doomed to create a society of imitation and lack of ingenuity. To foster the growth of a nation, we must
foster our individual strengths. We must
not only claim, but we must expect, a rich and vibrant diversity within our
culture. This allows our collective
strengths to provide a rich tapestry of literary and scholastic variety—with
each subset of educational values providing enhanced focus upon the values they
claim to hold to.
Strong, diversified education enables the students to
achieve and succeed within the world, and yet hold true to the values they are
learning and strengthening. To succeed, there
must first be belief. Individuals must
believe that it is possible to create great works without vulgarity and
violence. To step into that possibility, we must cherish our beliefs, and
promote those who adhered and kept their moral fiber, while in the midst of
creativity. If the academic world
chooses to ignore those who are lesser known in favor of wildly popular, yet
morally weak works, then the world suffers in a lack of diversity.
To create a world of diversity, we must protect it. No single entity can become the expert of
all. Thus a voluntary division of what
is taught can be a marketable and reasonable way to insure the survival of many
types of works. Each school has the
right to create a focus and create marketing priorities to win prospective
students into their schools. Schools
such as Andrews University, California Baptist University, Brigham Young
University, and others have the unique ability to achieve what secular schools
cannot.
Many prospective students find a religious environment both
supportive and freeing. In Doctrine and
Covenants chapter 88, verse 118, it states, “Seek ye diligently and teach one
another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom;
seek learning, even by study and also by faith,” are words that promote great
learning. If we as a nation defend our
values, and seek learning by diversification, we strengthen our collective
knowledge and have a greater chance to make valuable contributions to society
at large.
