Unsolicited Praise for Hillsdale College
Having spent nearly a week as a guest of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, I thought it worthwhile to post some pictures.
More important than the lovely campus is the mission of the school, which is essentially to preserve and pass on the best of Western Civilization and of the American experiment in democracy without getting deflected by leftist political agendas onto sidetracks that dead-end in irrationality and falsehood, and so lead to evil. In addition, the college and its president are actively attempting, through education, to restore to public discourse a true valuation of freedom and of the proper role of government, which is not to satisfy all needs but to provide for the common defense and to secure individual rights and justice.
Hillsdale establishes a civilized atmosphere in which students can thrive intellectually and morally. It has attractive architecture, richly appointed (non-“institutional”) reading and conference rooms, and a challenging and noble honor code. Its academic program demands the skills of the trivium (grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric) and offers core content of deep and lasting value (Aristotle, Shakespeare, the U.S. Constitution). Its teachers (several of them extraordinarily gifted) use reason and argument and do not apologize for faith in God or for their promotion of the universal fundamental values that I have consistently argued for in this blog. It keeps the lid on grade inflation in the name of quality education. And, consistent with its mission of teaching the responsibilities of freedom, it conscientiously resists the cultural depravities common on so many college campuses in our day, including not only sexual license, drunkenness, plagiarism, and grade fever, but the racism, prejudice, and coercion endemic wherever “political correctness” is the rule.
Hillsdale’s hospitality, standards of behavior, and vision are unparalleled in my experience of institutions of education. In keeping with its principles, it takes absolutely no public money from federal or state sources, including student loans. It is funded entirely by private donations so that it can answer for itself only to God, truth, and virtue without having to compromise ethical, political, and pedagogical principles under pressure from unconstitutional bureaucracies like the Department of Education. Check out the website here.
Some photos of the campus in July:
More important than the lovely campus is the mission of the school, which is essentially to preserve and pass on the best of Western Civilization and of the American experiment in democracy without getting deflected by leftist political agendas onto sidetracks that dead-end in irrationality and falsehood, and so lead to evil. In addition, the college and its president are actively attempting, through education, to restore to public discourse a true valuation of freedom and of the proper role of government, which is not to satisfy all needs but to provide for the common defense and to secure individual rights and justice.
Hillsdale establishes a civilized atmosphere in which students can thrive intellectually and morally. It has attractive architecture, richly appointed (non-“institutional”) reading and conference rooms, and a challenging and noble honor code. Its academic program demands the skills of the trivium (grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric) and offers core content of deep and lasting value (Aristotle, Shakespeare, the U.S. Constitution). Its teachers (several of them extraordinarily gifted) use reason and argument and do not apologize for faith in God or for their promotion of the universal fundamental values that I have consistently argued for in this blog. It keeps the lid on grade inflation in the name of quality education. And, consistent with its mission of teaching the responsibilities of freedom, it conscientiously resists the cultural depravities common on so many college campuses in our day, including not only sexual license, drunkenness, plagiarism, and grade fever, but the racism, prejudice, and coercion endemic wherever “political correctness” is the rule.
Hillsdale’s hospitality, standards of behavior, and vision are unparalleled in my experience of institutions of education. In keeping with its principles, it takes absolutely no public money from federal or state sources, including student loans. It is funded entirely by private donations so that it can answer for itself only to God, truth, and virtue without having to compromise ethical, political, and pedagogical principles under pressure from unconstitutional bureaucracies like the Department of Education. Check out the website here.
Some photos of the campus in July:
posted by G.Rap | 9:20 AM
1 Comments:
A beautiful school, lovely grounds, quiet time of day. Going on school visits during the summer with my college bound kids, strolling lovely green grounds shaded by trees in full leaf, I thought how unfortunate it is kids have to actually live at these schools not in their summer glory but fall and winter dreariness. No matter. What a joy to attend summer school. I may not have the chance to until I hit my own autumn, but well before winter I hope!
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