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John Milton's “Of Education” and Lessons for the 21St Century

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John Milton's “Of Education” and Lessons for the 21St Century Running head: ON THE PERSISTENCE OF REFORM 1 ON THE PERSISTENCE OF REFORM: JOHN MILTON’S “OF EDUCATION” AND LESSONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY By Edward Robert Raupp A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Arts & Humanities program at Selinus University Faculty of Arts & Humanities in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Language & Literature 2019 ON THE PERSISTENCE OF REFORM 2 On the Persistence of Reform: John Milton’s “Of Education” and Lessons for the 21st Century ON THE PERSISTENCE OF REFORM 3 DECLARATION “I do hereby attest that I am the sole author of this thesis and that its contents are only the result of the readings and research I have done. The dissertation titled “On the Persistence of Reform: John Milton’s “Of Education” and Lessons for the 21st Century” submitted for the award of Doctorate in English Language and Literature at Selinus University is my original work. All material from other sources has been appropriately cited. Date: September 30, 2019 Edward R. Raupp STUDENT SIGNATURE STUDENT ID: UNISE 0893 IT ON THE PERSISTENCE OF REFORM 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Danna Vance Raupp is my inspiration, as well as Senior Editor of all my publications, and, most important, she is my beloved wife. I acknowledge with gratitude the opportunity that Selinus University provides to working adults to continue a lifetime of learning through online access and to offer students the freedom to pursue their own paths. I further acknowledge the leadership and staff of Gori State Teaching University for allowing me to share my research with our wonderful students, both at the bachelor’s and the master’s levels. The photograph of John Milton is from the free library at https://www.google.com/search?q =john+milton&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs2Ov10ITkAhVDzaQKHYrtBoE Q_AUIESgB&biw=1366&bih=576. The drawing of Milton and Galileo is from https:// fineartamerica.com/featured/milton-and-galileo-1638-39-granger.html. The photograph of Andrew Carnegie is from https://standrewsny.org/page/CarnegieCircle. All images are fair use and covered by Creative Commons, CC-BY-SA. (See https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa /4.0/ legalcode.) Finally, I am enormously grateful to the United States Peace Corps for the gift of being able to serve the people of the country of Georgia as a Volunteer at Gori State Teaching University from May of 2003 to October 2006. Edward R. Raupp STUDENT SIGNATURE STUDENT ID: UNISE 0893 IT ON THE PERSISTENCE OF REFORM 5 Abstract Change is inevitable. Change may be caused by the dynamic forces of technology, globalization, or demographics, or in the case of John Milton, as he writes in his tractate “Of Education,” the cause of change is what he judges to be the urgent need to reform a corrupt and ineffectual system of education. Milton argues that the education system of his time and place, 17th century England, is detached from the real world and ill prepares students for the challenges they will face after graduation. It is an argument that drives many in the 21st century, and especially in the United States, to reform education at all levels. In an environment of increasing global competition, the argument for reform—even for “catch-up”—is all the more compelling. In the United States, exceedingly high levels of spending in the education sector compared to other countries do not result in correspondingly high levels of performance in reliable international assessments. This current study looks past the reform de jour so often proposed as a remedy to the anomaly. We see in Milton some lessons that might guide today’s would-be reformers, not least of which is to associate academic preparation more closely to the real world outside the classroom. ON THE PERSISTENCE OF REFORM 6 Contents Title Page ............................................................................................................................. 2 Declaration Page .................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 4 Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 5 Contents ............................................................................................................................... 6 List of Figures and Table ..................................................................................................... 9 Chapter One ..................................................................................................................... 10 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 10 1.2 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 12 1.3 Justification for the Study ............................................................................................ 13 1.4 Scope of the Study ....................................................................................................... 16 1.5 Structure of the Dissertation ........................................................................................ 16 Chapter Two: Milton’s Life and Times ......................................................................... 20 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 20 2.2 The English Civil Wars ............................................................................................... 21 2.3 Interregnum and Restoration ....................................................................................... 23 Chapter Three: Milton’s Education .............................................................................. 31 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 31 3.2 Milton’s Early Education ............................................................................................ 31 3.3 Milton at Cambridge ................................................................................................... 32 ON THE PERSISTENCE OF REFORM 7 Chapter Four: Milton the Puritan: His Quest for the Ways of God .......................... 37 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 37 4.2 Puritanism in the 17th century ..................................................................................... 38 4.3 Milton and The Bible and Myth .................................................................................. 42 4.3.1 The Old Testament ....................................................................................... 44 4.3.2 The New Testament ...................................................................................... 50 4.3.3 Myth ............................................................................................................. 54 Chapter Five: Milton the Reformer ............................................................................... 57 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 57 5.2 Milton’s Complaints .................................................................................................... 58 Chapter Six: “Of Education” ......................................................................................... 62 6.1 Structure ...................................................................................................................... 63 6.2 Main Ideas ................................................................................................................... 63 6.3 Reception ..................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter Seven: Lessons from “Of Education” for the 21st Century ......................... 65 7.1 Education in schools for the real world. ...................................................................... 65 7.2 Education in universities for the real world. ............................................................... 69 7.3 Internships and apprenticeships. .................................................................................. 72 7.4 Study abroad ................................................................................................................ 72 7.5 Education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) ................ 73 ON THE PERSISTENCE OF REFORM 8 Chapter Eight: Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................... 78 8.1 What lessons can be learned from Milton’s “Of Education” that may be applied to 21st century education systems? ....................................................................... 78 8.2 What obstacles might today’s reformers face in implementing lessons learned from Milton’s “Of Education”? ............................................................................. 79 8.3 What strategies might today’s reformers employ to implement lessons learned from Milton’s “Of Education”? ............................................................................. 79 8.4 Recommendations for Further Research ....................................................................
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