Thomas Aquinas College’s Proposal for Liberal Education

TAC

Thomas Aquinas College is especially dear to my heart for two reasons: it was the school from which I learned about Great Books education and it was the first college I was admitted to.

Although I eventually went to Biola University instead of TAC, and though I am not Catholic, TAC has always remained in my imagination a beacon on a hill of pure, liberal arts education. Can you imagine: One, four year, core curriculum that all students take; no majors; no electives; no nonsense; all sciences and humanities are taught as a whole; tutors not professors; great books not textbooks; discussion not lecture; small cohorts not unseemly mobs of anonymous and lonely students. A wonderland.

While no school is perfect, TAC aims for and often achieves a level of purity that guarantees its students will be the light and salt of the west even as degradation advances to its terminal stages. The alumni (I’ve met (two of whom are fellow philosophy PhDs) have always praised the school.

Now, in the fullness of time, I am sending in an application to teach at Thomas Aquinas College.

This requires me to read their founding document. Give it a read! It’s about 35 pages. Like the Yale Report, it is a helpful briefing on the purpose, means, methods, and history of truly integrated education.