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Chapin's seven roads to wisdom
by Dr. Patricia T. Hayot, head of school
"A truly great intellect … is one which takes a connected view of old and new, past and present, far and near, and which has an insight into the influence of all these on one another; without which there is no whole, and no centre.”
—John Henry Newman, in The Idea of a University
Louis Menand, in a “Talk of the Town” piece published in The New Yorker this May, discusses the demise of the liberal arts degree at American universities and colleges. He notes that in today’s academic environment, the biggest undergraduate major by far in the United States is business:
“Twenty-two percent of bachelor’s degrees are awarded in that field. Eight percent in education, five percent in the health professions. By contrast, fewer than four percent of college graduates major in English, and only two percent in history.”
At Chapin, we care deeply about the “liberal arts” and believe it is critical to be thoughtful about what we require of our students, whether in English, science, history, foreign languages, mathematics, the arts, athletics or individual studies. Students cherish the places that these intellectual pursuits hold in their lives while at Chapin, and we know that learning for the sake of learning continues even after Commencement, a milestone that the Class of 2007 marked on June 6.
Take, for example, Rachel Randolph ’05, who is studying x-chromosome inactivation in humans through an independent study at the Duke University Genomics Center. Sonali Pillay ’06, now at Barnard College, is planning a major in economics with a minor in East Asian studies and works for the Roosevelt Institute, a student-run version of a national think tank. Alexandra Barker ’04 is studying classical civilization and drama at Tufts University and spent summer 2006 excavating Etruscan ruins near Siena, Italy.
These are just a few of the many Chapin alumnae who have swum counter to the trends that Menand describes in his New Yorker commentary. A look at our alumnae reveals the presence of writers, historians, researchers, biologists and others who confirm that the liberal arts often form the foundation for future study and a career.
The term “liberal” in liberal arts is from the Latin word liberalis, meaning “appropriate for free men,” as distinct from the “servile” arts, which represented those skills necessary for success in various trades. Based on the types of studies that were pursued in the classical world, the “seven liberal arts” became codified in late antiquity and were divided into the Trivium (“the three roads”) and the Quadrivium (“the four roads”). The Trivium consisted of grammar, rhetoric and logic, while the Quadrivium consisted of arithmetic (number in itself), geometry (number in space), music (number in time) and astronomy or cosmology (number in space and time).
These many centuries later, we at Chapin continue to believe in the transformative power of the habits of mind inherent in the liberal arts. We believe that even the youngest among us at 100 East End Avenue is capable of being reflective, thoughtful, reasoned, cultured, inquisitive, respectful, creative and funny. Daily, we witness girls and young women demonstrate a talent with grace and versatility, express an opinion with conviction, and explore with curiosity and optimism.
We marvel at how our students, grounded in the “three and four roads,” are able to imagine, envision and conceive. They do this as scientists, mathematicians, artists, authors, gymnasts, poets and engineers. They do this as students committed to and immersed in the liberal arts. We believe in the “wholes” and the “centres” to which Newman refers, and we know that at our school, these are experienced each and every day.
Click here to see a photo gallery from Commencement 2007
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