...put virtue in the first place, learning in the second; and in their studies to esteem most whatever may teach them piety towards God, charity to all, and modesty and Christian humility in themselves.Where would be today if public schools had this as their goal? Where would we be today if (all) Catholic parochial schools or homeschool families had this goal? About 20 years ago, I read some books on classical education and was very impressed with the rigorous methodology as well as its medieval origins. Then a few years later I came across an article that pointed out a minor critique of the entire classical education movement. This critique said that man is not primarily an academic, but rather primarily a worshipper. In other words, if we try to educate the mind without educating the heart attached to that mind, then we are merely following another pagan methodology.
Although not initially impressed with the author's argument, over time I began to see how insightful it was. It is one thing to cram facts into a child's head, and it is another thing to make their learning be for their eternal good. Look again at what St. Thomas More was saying in the quote above. Virtue comes before academia. In essence, I am sure that he wanted both, but when we prioritize, he wanted the virtues to come before whatever schooling could provide. Better to be holy than smart (sounds almost like an Elwood P. Dowd quote!).
What is happening in many schools today is that the children are treated as though they are merely supposed to memorize a few facts and that ethical behavior is "hit and miss". Some schools presume that parents will teach ethics and the school takes care of the academic stuff. This, however, will always lead to trouble. You cannot fully separate truth and goodness as though they are unrelated. If you teach a pagan view of truth, or even an atheistic view of truth, you will be teaching ethics as well (usually an ethics of relativism or self-determination). It is comparable to taking poison in the morning, and the antidote in the evening; eventually the body will not be able to handle it.
More's list at the end includes "piety...charity...modesty...and...humility". Yet, these are not merely details of virtue that he wants taught. Notice that he says "in their studies esteem most..." This means that the academic subjects that he wants included must tend toward and help to foster these holy behaviors (for, as we all know, some subjects tend toward something far less than holiness!). Some Catholic parents today work on piety and charity, a few work on humility, almost none put an effort into modesty; sad, but true. What would our Churches look like if every parent and catechist took to heart this admonition from More? It may sound "old fashioned" to some, but this is merely our Catholic heritage, and if we ignore it, we are causing great harm to our children and to future generations after them.
I do not know the history of More's life enough to know how much personal effort he put into these things for his own children, but I am going to presume that he did not dump the entire duty on the tutor that he was writing to. Even if a parent chooses to allow a teacher or tutor to assist them, they are still responsible for what is being done by that assistant. St. Thomas More chose to give specific instructions on exactly what he wanted the tutor to do; which is far more than most parents do today.
Parents with their children is, however, only one application of this quote from More. We must each think of ourselves and our efforts. Certainly some people are more inclined toward academic studies than others; nothing wrong with that. Yet, for each of us we must put a serious effort into keeping priorities that accord with our Catholic faith. Virtue first, then academics; with virtue defined by the Church: charity, hope, and faith. It would be helpful to read a book about what is wrong with certain sins in order to help us overcome them, yet if we are not working on our own personal virtue before all else, then the information becomes just words on a page.
