I went to an appalling secondary school, the Mount Olympus of what would later be called a ‘bog standard comprehensive.’ That dismissive term was mere meaningless polemic in political debate. But it applied to the school I went to. It is only fair to point out here that I was somewhat educationally challenged and didn’t quite learn as others learned and remain to this day highly unorthodox. So the odds are that I would have struggled in most any kind of school. That said, I did manage to scrape together a couple of ‘O’ levels and, undaunted, set off to enter the sixth form at De La Salle/West Park to do ‘A’ levels and resists. I was really only following a couple of school friends who had passed their exams with flying colours and were now going off to do 'A' levels. Amazingly, they let me in, on the strength of my top grade in history (I was always good at history for some reason). I was told later that when my old headmaster found out he said that they ‘must be trying to fill the classes up.’ Charming. I ended up much better qualified than he was. So there.
The differences between the schools were stark. At the one, I was pigeonholed and written off as an idiot. ‘He’ll find his level,’ the physics teacher told my mum and dad at the parent/teacher meeting. When I worked hard (for once) and came fourth in the physics exam, I found a note (bored whilst queuing) in the teacher’s drawer, with my name written down, with the word ‘cheating’ next to it. When I did find my level, this school didn’t recognise it. The sixth form, on the other hand, saw potential and busted a gut to nurture it. In fact, I found there standards exacting and demanding. It put pressure on me to measure up. And, in no time, I started to exert myself. Most of all, though, I was impressed by the ethos of De La Salle, the commitment to ‘educate the whole person.’ I was even taught transcendental meditation. And far from being taught only Catholicism, we learned about all the religions of the world, very sympathetically too. We were encouraged to think for ourselves. Lots of people have bad experiences of Catholic schools, and the media is only too happy to tell their stories. I can only tell mine. Had it not been for De La Salle, my experience in the education system would have been a complete washout.
What, most of all, did I learn? I learned that Love is the most important thing of all, and that the moral and intellectual virtues is a training in the way of Love.
In face of the world's problems, we here many call for greater education. Some say that we need a greater emphasis on science, others say we need to teach the humanities. This is well-meaning but misguided. Many of the greatest sinners against the virtues in history have been highly qualified. Many in positions of decision making power have received a high education. Many of the people that Dante identified as the greatest sinners had received a far better education than he had. More education, more science, more humanities is not the answer, since the problem is not one of ignorance, it is a problem of character.
I’ve written far too much over the years.
I worked for free, and in return received many thanks and compliments from readers. All of which were and much appreciated.
But the fact is that too many words cloud the essential message.
So if you want me to identify the core message of the six million words I’ve written over the years I will say this:
Know the cardinal virtues – Prudence, Justice, Fortitude (courage), Temperance (moderation).
Know the theological virtues – Faith, Hope, and Love (Charity).
Learn them.
Love them.
Practice them.
And you will be fine.
That’s all you need to know.