“‘I can’t think why anybody should learn Latin,’ said Tom. ‘It’s no good.’
‘It’s part of the education of a gentleman,’ said Philip. ‘All gentlemen learn the same things.’” (Eliot 172)
In George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss, Eliot presents two very different male students: “well-made and active-looking” (171) Tom and Philip. Tom does not excel under Mr. Stelling’s curriculum. As Kristina has brought up, it could be argued simply “has neither the intelligence nor the will for study of ‘Knowledge’” and thus is not made for Latin and drawing. However, this does not allow for a world in which Tom perseveres and achieves the fullest of his potential. Tom’s problem is that he begins his studies without any respect for “the education of a gentleman” (172) for which he is being prepared.
Tom does not care or respect the education he is receiving. This lack of respect for Latin, for example, leads him to believe “it’s no good”. Had he fully immersed himself in the language and works, Tom could then form his opinion of the uselessness of learning Latin. For he clearly regards this education as a trial he must endure while “you’re obliged to remember it” (172) and then promptly rid himself of this superfluous Eton Grammar. There is no enjoyment in Tom and Mr. Stellings give and take of teaching and learning. This lack of both enjoyment and respect is one of the problems at the core of the degeneracy of education. Conversely, Philip is clearly excited by the stories of the Greeks and, for this reason, he voraciously holds onto the stories with fondness.
For this problem of learning to respect education, we must then be wary of attempts to change the education system. Are these new requirements of SFU’s simply band-aids covering a deeper problem? Education may have degenerated, but is this an unfortunate by-product of a degenerate youth who, like Tom, dislike reading and would prefer to get the gist from Wikipedia?
Then to answer Kristina’s question, posed in her article “The Wrench in Newman’s Solution: What about the Toms?”, it seems the best way to educate the Toms of the world is start out by teaching and understanding why an education is important and should be valued. For with respect can come love and understanding. This simple answer - respect - is incredibly difficult insofar as putting it in practical use, but, if we could figure it out, even the Toms of the world may have a good chance.
Eliot, George. The Mill on the Floss. 1880. Toronto: Penguin Books, 2003.
4 comments:
I think that Molly is perefectly righ in stating that Tom does not respect his education; however, I am not sure that it is possible to to teach that kind of respect. If he had been born into a better family would he have been more sensitive to the liberal arts? Although there might be some environmental excuses for Tom's thick-mindedness, I can't help but feel that Maggie, who was born into the same environment, proves these theories wrong. Can Toms be taught something? Certainly. Can they be taught to acquire the desire to study "Knowledge for its own end", as Newman insrtucts? I'm not sure they ever can. In the book, Tom does not receive insight or clarity until the moment before his death.And even then, ,it is not through anything as artificial as a book. It is only when he is "face to face with Maggie-that the full meaning of what happened rushed upon his mind. It came with so overpowering a force-- such an entirely new revelation to his spirit[...] that he was unable to ask a question"(Eliot,541).
If death is what it takes for a Tom to learn, if this is the type of sacrifice required, is 'teaching' him in the Newmanian sense plausible?
In relation to Kristina's question of is teaching the Toms of the world in a Newmanian sense plausible, I would have to say no. Even if teaching students at an early age to respect school as Molly mentioned, we would still run into students who would not be interested. I think that it is impossible to rid the world of Tom's and of course environment can not always be the reason behind the Toms of the world. Such as Kristina pointed out with Maggie.
Due to the degeneration of society which has created money hungry and status seeking people (which we can link to Darwin's struggle for existence) there will always be people out there who are not interested in learning for learning sake but to get a well paying job. Then how do we teach these people morals? It becomes questionable if they can be taught at all. For they have no interest in anything but what will help them buy a big house and nice car. Or there will be those individuals who are not created equal as Kristina also mentioned. School and learning is something that is unattainable for some, they possess neither the will nor drive to pursue education because it is too difficult for them.
In working at an elementary school for the last four years, I can state with almost certainty that in some cases, there is no way to teach respsect to some children. Whether we are talking about a respect for education, the rules of the classroom/school, or even just a basic respect for other people, in some cases it is simply next to impossible to get through to some people. I think that Molly has a great idea in trying to teach respect in order to better understand education, and I'd even say that the majority of children between the ages of 4-11 would respond to this. Go any older, however, and I fear that these students would be cynical and unresponsive.
Ah, yes, now of course I presented an easy answer that, admittedly, is almost impossible think of a way to implement. However, I still believe if that technique could be found then students would work to their full potential. This is not to say Tom could turn into Maggie or Philip, but he starts his courses with a complete lack of respect and this greatly impedes him. Were he able to appreciate the education his father wanted for him, he could have done better.
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