Schools and schooling – a philosopher’s debate with students

Tim Willoughby from 2020 in The Aspen Times.

"This year marks Aspen Country Day School’s 50th year. My tenure there spanned 13 of the school’s early years. My memory connects the school with Mortimer Adler, an important post-Paepcke contributor to Aspen’s summer humanities history.

"Around 1978, Adler visited ACDS as a guest speaker. I do not remember how it was arranged, or who arranged it, but I got to attend with my American History class. ...

"It would have made sense for Adler to lecture ACDS students, but he had a different plan and goal. Adler, who wrote more than 50 books, had just published “Reforming Education: The Schooling of a People and Their Education Beyond Schooling.” He intended to engage high school students in a debate on the subject. ...

"The ACDS students engaged with him actively. Small classes sizes helped, but more importantly the students had been taught using the Socratic method that Adler championed. ...

"After a few of these false starts, a student raised a question to challenge Adler’s reasoning. It came after Adler belabored his position that students had to work before they would have the maturity to move on to the next level. He closely defined work as a paid job, and excluded internships and volunteer work. After all these years, I giggle when I remember that question, 'What if you were paid to be a student?' ..."