 |
|
|
EWTN’s Dale Ahlquist (right) appears with EWTN personality Kevin O’Brien (left) as he answers a question from the audience about modern education. Ahlquist illustrated what he called problems in education using the writings of G.K. Chesterton during a recent appearance at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash) |
WAUNAKEE — The air-conditioned parish hall at St. John the Baptist Parish in Waunakee was a welcome break from the heat one recent Sunday afternoon.
A crowd of families and supporters from Madison’s St. Ambrose Academy, as well as varying degrees of literary fans, gathered to hear about Catholic writer G.K. Chesterton.
Chesterton has become one of the most quoted writers in the English language. Scholars and fans of the author say he foresaw and wrote about the issues Catholics struggle with today, such as social injustice, the culture of death, the decline of the arts, assaults on religion, and attacks on the family and on the dignity of the human person.
EWTN host gives talk
EWTN’s Dale Ahlquist presented the wit and wisdom of Chesterton on how to educate and to avoid giving into the fads and fashions that afflict modern education.
Ahlquist is the creator and host of the EWTN series G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense. He is also the editor of Gilbert magazine, the president of the American Chesterton Society, the co-founder of Chesterton Academy in Minneapolis, and the author of three books on Chesterton.
Ahlquist opened his talk with some background on Chesterton. He said the author is so-often studied because he wrote so much — enough “to fill 18 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica.” Ahlquist remarked Chesterton was “always writing.”
Ahlquist said Chesterton today is looked at as a “prophet,” and that his “pulse is on the heartbeat of our generation.”
He said Chesterton’s writings predicted the current state of globalization and the dependence on technology. Chesterton said people would become “slaves” to technology. The author also warned against the acceptance of Freud, psychoanalysis, and divorce. Chesterton wrote about a growing attack on morality, especially when it came to education.
Problems in education
Ahlquist used the writings of Chesterton to illustrate current problems in education today. He noted Chesterton said big government and big business would be a problem in education.
Ahlquist said public schools today focus more on what is new in technology and learning and do not focus on the old concepts. He said this hurts society, pointing to a Chesterton quote, you can “trust the under-educated, but can never fully trust the badly-educated.”
He took things a step further, saying public schools “aren’t allowed to teach the truth” anymore. With the disappearance of prayer in public schools, and a more secular curriculum, he said public education is “doing more damage to our society than anything else.” He said educators need to “let the truth form everything we are teaching.”
A look at Chesterton Academy
He then took a few moments to highlight Chesterton Academy — a private high school in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota. According to the school’s website, Chesterton Academy offers an integrated college preparatory curriculum taught through the lens of the Catholic faith.
Through the study of art, music, literature, language, history, mathematics, science, philosophy, and religion, the school aims to prepare children to think both rationally and creatively, to defend their faith, to contribute positively to society, and to promote a culture of life.
Q and A session
A short question-and-answer session with the audience led Ahlquist to comment more on the current state of public education. He said there needs to be a “separation of education and state” with the country doing away with public money on education.
When the issue of educating the poor came up, he said that responsibility may rest with the Church to teach the less fortunate, as had been done in the past.
For more information on Dale Ahlquist and the American Chesterton Society, go to www.chesterton.org