Catholic Candle note: Below is part 4 of the article concerning the best type of education, which is a Catholic Liberal Education. Do not confuse this education with many university programs called “liberal arts” but which are full of fluff, falsehood, and aimless so-called “cultural enrichment” courses and “humanities”.

A liberal education also does not refer to liberalism, nor is a true liberal education an indoctrination into that error of liberalism or political correctness. In fact, a true Catholic Liberal Education is the best antidote to the errors of liberalism.

Previously, in part 1 of this article,¹ we examined the problems we see in modern education:

• Modern colleges do not improve the quality of their students’ minds and their thinking ability much or at all.

  
  

• Most “education” is merely job training, fluff courses, and/or leftist indoctrination.

  
  

• The students are taught to sound like someone in their field but they do little thinking and more memorizing.

  
  

• Grade “inflation” and degree “inflation” is rampant. Grades and academic degrees do not mean much anymore.

In part 2 of this article,² we examined, in general, what education is. We considered the human soul and the perfection of its highest faculty (power) – the intellect – which is immaterial. We saw that our intellects are perfected through knowing eternal, unchangeable truths and their causes.

In part 3 of this article,³ after having seen what education is, we examined the question who should perfect his intellect?

But since modern universities do not provide a true education, is there ever any reason for men or women to attend them? Below, in part 4 of this article, we will consider that question.

The Blessing of a True, Catholic Liberal Education

Part 4

Is There Ever Any Reason for Anyone to Attend a Modern University?

Because a true education is a Catholic Liberal Education, and because modern universities do not provide this, is there ever any reason for anyone to attend a modern university? We will first look at that issue in the case of men; then, we will consider this question regarding women.

Of course, every person’s priority should be to perfect his mind with a true education. This is what God made us to do (viz., perfect our highest faculty) and we should all do this to the best of our ability and circumstances throughout our life.

For some persons, this beginning of a lifelong pursuit of truth and of further perfecting of our intellects would involve attending a college or university to obtain a true Catholic Liberal Education (if/when such an education is available there).

Even if/when there were a Catholic Liberal Education available at the university/college level, some persons could not attend such institution of higher learning because their abilities or opportunities do not allow this. For these persons, the best they can do would be to proceed on their lifelong journey of perfecting their intellects in other settings, according to their abilities.

Although we all have a duty to continue to prefect our minds throughout life, especially studying our Catholic Faith,⁴ the ability of different persons will not be the same. Some persons will advance much further and faster than others and, over the course of their lives will perfect their minds much more. But everyone should do it according to the ability that God has given him.

Even those who have the blessing of a formal, genuine, college-level, Catholic Liberal Education – which is the best way for adults to begin their lifelong journey pursuing truth – they still must at some point transition from this blessed full-time activity to then obtaining the practical preparation they need in order to answer God’s call to their vocation.

For men called to marry and to start a family, this means preparing to provide for the material needs of their future family. To do this, some men might need college-level or even post-graduate level job training, (in engineering, medicine, law, etc.)

This job training has little or nothing of true perfection of the mind but involves matters such as building codes, construction standards, surgical techniques, applicability of commercial laws, pharmacological contraindications, etc.

Universities and colleges can have a role in training those persons who have a practical need for this advanced job training, although that training is a much lower pursuit than a genuine Catholic Liberal Education.

Of course, other men, who do not need such advanced job training, can prepare to provide for the material needs of their future families in other ways, such as through apprenticeships, on-the-job-training, etc.

So, in the case of men, a modern university could play a role in their life’s material vocational preparations. Of course, those men must be appropriately vigilant against all of the contamination present there, because this moral and intellectual contamination seeks to derail them from leading the life that God intends for them to live on earth and from the happiness that God intends for them in heaven.

Is There Ever Any Reason for a Woman to Attend a Modern University?

Having considered whether there could be a reason for men to attend a modern university – hopefully after a strong beginning in their lifelong pursuit of high truth – now let us consider the question of whether there is ever any reason for a woman to attend a modern university – i.e., an institution that does not offer a true education (viz., a Catholic Liberal Education).

We already saw that women (and men) should get a true and genuine college-level Catholic Liberal Education if they are able to do so. We saw that this true education is not merely for a few elite men who would benefit the very most. Rather, this education is for women as well, and for everyone who is capable of benefiting from it in some amount.

Of course, as we saw, everyone should continue to prefect his mind throughout his entire life – especially studying the Catholic Faith more deeply. However, just as men who obtain a college-level Catholic Liberal Education, must leave off from the full-time pursuit of high truth at some point to take time to prepare for the practical aspects of the vocation to which God is calling them, this is true of women too.

After obtaining a college-level Catholic Liberal Education, she could pursue a reasonable amount of job training to help her to support herself while (patiently) waiting for God to send to her the husband that He wills for her.

If it happens that a woman finds that she needs to provide for her own support for a more extended time before God sends her the man that He intends her to marry, then she might possibly need college-level job training such as to become a nurse or otherwise get a job in one of the “helping professions”. However, in all but unusual circumstances, this job training would not mean that she needs to earn an additional degree (viz., in addition to her Catholic Liberal Education).

Hopefully, such academic job training would occur – if at all – only after her Catholic Liberal Education because, commonly, the young woman who is capable of obtaining a college nursing degree would also be capable of using that same opportunity (viz., time and money) to perfect her mind with a true Catholic Liberal Education. Such genuine education would benefit her and her future family far more than her job training. Further, by the time she has had that blessed education, she would often find herself at the age and stage where God is calling her to marry now and to start a family with her husband.

This is because, if God is calling her to be a wife and mother (instead of a professed religious), then He would usually send the right man to her without her spending an extended period of time getting specialized job training and then using it in the workforce – assuming that she does her part to make herself available so her future husband can find her.⁵

In any event, in addition to all of this, the woman must spend the time while she is waiting for her future spouse, continuing to cultivate the womanly arts. For it is an important preparation for marriage for women to master the arts which they will practice as wives, mothers, homemakers, and the homeschool teachers of their children (as is usually necessary nowadays). In other words, women must prepare themselves to respond to the call of their vocations to be the future hearts of their respective homes and families.

But there are many jobs which she should neither train for nor engage in. She should not be a doctor, a lawyer⁶, or practice a similar profession, for four reasons:

1. The years of this training and the cost would rarely “pay off” because she would usually meet her husband and get married before she finished her studies or at least before paying off her additional school debts.

   
   

2. The increased debt she incurred, as well as her time and effort obtaining this job training, might easily create (or increase) the temptation to work outside of the home after marriage.⁷

   
   

3. These types of professional employment are suited to only the most clear-thinking men, since such professions principally require the greatest prudence and the most careful thinking.⁸

   
   

4. Such professions are detrimental to her God-given role as man’s helpmate and assistant, rather than man’s boss and an authority over him.⁹ Such employment is both against the natural role God gave her as a woman and also will make it harder for her to be an obedient and submissive wife when she gets married.

Likewise, a woman should not obtain academic job training in order to seek political office, or to become a police officer, a soldier, or have a similar job for two reasons:

1. The above types of jobs oppose the way God made her because she would be wielding authority over men¹⁰; and

2. Such work opposes her God-given nature as a nurturer, compassionate, a comforter, etc. Being a policeman, soldier, etc., would require a woman to be aggressive, to harden herself, twisting and distorting the way God made women, to her detriment and the detriment of the crucial work¹¹ of her life, viz., being her husband’s helpmate and raising children well.¹²

   
   

Let us contrast these two scenarios:

1. A woman marrying shortly after finishing a university job training degree; and
   

2. That woman marrying shortly after finishing a college-level, true Catholic Liberal Education.

Generally, it makes no sense to undertake very expensive, years-long training for a job which she will hold for only a short time before the time comes when God sends to her the husband she should marry.

In contrast to the imprudence (generally) of obtaining such expensive and lengthy practical job training, a Catholic Liberal Education is directed toward perfecting the mind that God gave to her, not primarily for outside employment and so such true education is not a “waste of money” even if she never “uses” it for outside employment, since that is not the point of a true education. The true perfection of her mind is a lifelong asset for her to use in every aspect of her life and vocation.

So, we see that, although Bishop Williamson is wrong in other respects, his words (quoted here¹³) have a correct element: that “true universities are for ideas”.¹⁴ But such “true universities” are nearly non-existent now. Modern universities are not devoted to ideas which perfect the mind with high truth. Rather, these universities are dens of iniquity, leftist indoctrination, leftist social conformity, and job training. Availing themselves of the opportunity to obtain very expensive, years-long job training would usually be a mistake for “true girls” (to use his words), since these women need to remain available to answer God’s call to their vocation. So, Bishop Williamson would have been more correct to have said “expensive university job training is not for true girls”.

But to the extent that “true universities” do exist, at which a person could obtain a true Catholic Liberal Education, Bishop Williamson’s words are false that “universities are not for true girls”.¹⁵ Women should obtain as much good as they are able to obtain from such a true education, striving for higher-level perfection for their intellects.

A Question Arises

Having seen that women and girls, as well as men and boys have a duty to perfect their minds in the best way that they can do so, what is the best environment in which women and girls could pursue a true Catholic Liberal Education?

To be continued …