An Incredibly Old-School Curriculum

In the wonderfully un-PC script of Pixar’s animated film, The Incredibles, we find rich satirical resources for the present day. To begin, the super-heroes have gone underground, due to heavy cost incurred by the government, from various settlements for the collateral damages of heroic acts. (After all, stopping a speeding train to save the train from plummeting off the tracks can cause whiplash to those aboard the train.) Nevertheless, at the end of the film, the traditional super-heroes have been called out of retirement to save the world once again. At which point, a couple of old men offer the classic refrain: “That’s old school. There’s no school like the old school.”

Though it may seem like an act of derring-do in our day, the old-school curriculum still has its admirers. Most are familiar with the work of Robert Hutchins and Mortimer Adler, and the various Great Books programs that were spawned from their 20th century efforts. Yet, St. Johns College notwithstanding, such traditional curricula often have a strained reputation in an age of consumerism, where electives and choice are the watchwords of higher education.

Nevertheless, there are those who have chosen to counter the trend, reaching back into our educational history for the resources to prepare future generations for civic leadership. One such school is Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina. Belmont’s marketing director, Ed Jones, has an essay in this week’s Pope Center commentaries, outlining the strengths of Belmon’ts more traditional curriculum. The College’s core requirements include a robust offering that constitutes nearly half of the undergraduate degree.

First-Year Symposium
Rhetoric I & II
Introduction to Scripture
Introduction to Theology
Classic Texts in Political Philosophy I & II
Western Civilization I & II
Literary Classics of the Western Tradition I & II
The U. S. Constitution
Mathematics
Two science courses with labs
An introductory course in psychology, sociology, or economics
Fine Arts

Yet, the most remarkable aspect of this core is the classical rhetoric. As Jones explains, rhetoric is the “all-but-forgotten method of teaching writing.” Quoting the professor in charge of writing instruction:

Rhetoric formed the center of liberal education for two and a half millennia, and through the nineteenth century, it was regarded as one of the most important disciplines taught in college. With the advent of the twentieth century, however, the emphasis placed on rhetorical study diminished, and so, accordingly, did our ability to communicate well in both spoken and written discourse.

If Belmont portends any interest in a revitalization of the Great Tradition, perhaps there is hope for a heroic return of some old-fashioned rhetoric.

As Pixar reminds us, “There’s no school like the old school.”