ibrahim wrote: > Andrew Janssen wrote: > > >>The Order of Lucia offers free schooling to all children through the age >>of 14, and charges fees for children ages 15 to 18. After age 18, >>Sedonians who can afford it may attend the University of Thalsedon. >>Full Scholarships are available to students who are bright but poor, and >>the Sedonian State Church pays half the fees of students who commit to >>joining an Order. The University also reduces the tuition fees of >>students who agree to remain at the University after taking their degree >>and teach. >> >>Overall functional literacy rates in Sedonia are in the 55-60% range, >>but nearly all Sedonians can at least write their own names. The Order >>of Lucia places importance on literacy and numeracy. In rural Sedonia, >>most families have a hard time seeing the value of literacy, but they >>keenly grasp the importance of being numerate, especially when it comes >>time to sell the harvest, or the tax assessor comes around. In the >>rising merchant classes of the cities, literacy approaches 85-90%. >> >>The University offers three levels of degree, roughly corresponding to >>our bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. Generally speaking, as >>one rises through the University system, a student moves from the >>general to the specific. >> >>Bachelor's degrees are given in liberal arts, theology, civil >>engineering, and natural philosophy. Most children of noble families >>take a liberal arts degree: they learn a little bit about everything, >>but not a lot about anything. Generally, only students intending to >>enter the Church or students who come from mercantile families pursue >>higher degrees, although there are exceptions: The Duke of Caladyn is a >>Master of History, while his son, the Count of Rochlyn, holds a Master's >>in Political Philosophy. A student's bachelor degree influences which >>specific higher degree he or she may try to achieve. >> >>A liberal arts degree may lead to a master's in any of the following: >> * Art >> * Music >> * History >> * Drama >> * Sedonian Literature >> * Modern Languages >> * Ancient Languages >> * Culinary Arts >> * Mathematics >> * Philosophy >> * Political Philosophy (Political science + economics, more or less) >> * Library Science >> >>A civil engineering degree may lead to a master's in any of the following: >> * Architecture >> * Road & Bridge-building >> * Mines >> * Hydraulic Engineering >> * Naval Architecture >> * Military Architecture >> >>A natural philosophy degree may lead to a master's in any of the following: >> * Botany >> * Zoology >> * Mathematics >> * Astronomy/Astrology >> * Geology >> * Geography >> * Anatomy >> * Alchemy/Metallurgy (also includes elements of Physics) >> >>A theology degree may lead to a master's in any of the categories under >>liberal arts, Botany, Anatomy, or Comparative Theology. >> >>Doctoral degrees are offered in all of the above categories. In >>addition, doctoral degrees are offered in Law, Veterinary Medicine, and >>Medicine. >> >>The University is open to both men and women, and students from any >>country are admitted, provided they can pass a proficiency test in >>Sedonian, and can pay their fees. >> >>Andrew >>---------------------------------------------------------------- >>To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net. >> >> >> >> > > An interesting post Andrew, but perhaps it is a little too sophisticated > for this period of Qaiyore (even Cedonia)? Education has always been a > rapid means of social movement and progression. > > If Cedonia is an at least partly feudal society, then restrictions > (official or otherwise) would exist on social movement. Tradition would > also be another restriction - the family, cultural and social pressure > for a bright boy to follow his father's occupation of farming or piggery > would also easily crush his aspirations for learning. Sedonia is not, precisely, feudal. I've been thinking about this for some time. The titled nobility arose out of the early Imperial administration. The title that I usually translate as "Duke" is perhaps better represented by "Imperial Governor". In theory, the titled nobility are administrators appointed by the Emperor to act in his name. In practice, titles are usually inherited, but the law, to this day, allows the Emperor to name whomever he wants to a position which falls vacant. Empress Yzara's father and grandfather both removed several incompetent barons and counts and replaced them with more able members of the merchant classes. > Basic economics would prevent a huge number of peasants from acquiring > much if any schooling, especially peasents at the subsistence farming level. > > And surely there would be some class prejudice both ways against the > lower levels of society gaining education. The well-to-do might look > down upon or even be hostile towards an "uppity" peasant who doesn't > know his place in the world (even a noble-born priest or professor, for > example, could easily carry such prejudices), and similiarly, the family > and peers of a peasant with academic or otherwise aspirations would > easily disparage him for rejecting his own people and being "uppity". > > Education to both boys and girls is highly advanced - perhaps a little > too progressive for Qaiyore at this point in time? Perhaps it is more > readily available to the upper classes, and for those women who have > joined some kind of religious order (much like the educated nun of > medieval europe)? The upper classes are the ones who take the most advantage of it, but the Order of Lucia has a religious imperative to provide education. Education, however, is not *mandatory*. Sedonians are more flexible with regards to social mobility, in some respects, than Europeans from a comparable period would be. > Take the University for example - why is it free? Subsidised > universities in our own histories were generally subsidised to produce > educated public servants and military officers (though nowdays it is to > produce high-skilled workers to fill the needs of a modern economy), > unless they were private institutions set up by a charitable and wealthy > benefactor. What does the Sedonian government expect from the University? The government expects, in large part, civil servants. While nobles are the ones who generally take liberal arts-type degrees, and future clerics take theology and natural philosophy courses, the scions of merchant families gravitate most heavily to civil engineering and law. Many merchant families also gravitate to languages. The theology faculty is largely Church-funded, while the liberal arts faculty is largely funded by the nobles, and the government subsidizes the engineering school and the natural philosophers. The Sedonian government has a constant need of engineers trained in the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, aqueducts, cisterns, and dams. > How "free" is knowledge, especially religious knowledge, in Cedonia? Is > there a monopoly on any of secular or religious knowledge? Is the > education provided by the orders limited to people of a certain > religion, domination or even ethnic group? Religious knowledge--theology--is the most jealously guarded. Apart from mandatory for all students classes in Modern MidSea Religions and Ethics, most theology courses are restricted to students entering an Order. > And continuing this theme - certain bodies of knowledge would be > jealously guarded by guilds or quasi-professional associations, where > the admittance of new members (apprentices or students) is limited by > economic concerns (like preventing an oversupply of practitioners, for > example), and with preference given to students/apprentices with > family/political/other connections. > > Just a few thoughts of my own on education in Qaiyore in general. > Education in our own world has only become progressive in the West in > the last 50 years really, before that it was restricted to a variety of > degrees and by a variety of concerns (class, status, wealth, religion, > ethnicity, even politics). Even though most Earth civilisations have > had their golden ages of learning (the Greeks, the Romans, the Ummayyad > Caliphate, the Renaissance, various periods in ancient India and China, > etc etc, and of course our own time), huge portions of human history > have been overwhelmed with ignorance and superstition in various types > of Dark Ages (decline of the Roman Empire, the censoring of texts and > the burning of the Alexandria Library during the struggle between the > early Christian creeds, the Mongol sack of Baghdad, the 15th century > Chinese withdrawal from the world, ), and it has generally been a > cyclical pattern (good-bad-good......). > > Sounds cynical, but that is history. It has only been in this last > half-century that the power-wielders and the knowledge-holders have > increasingly shared their power and knowledge with the majority in their > societies. My overall impression of your article on Sedonian education > was that it was too good for Sedonia, let alone Qaiyore, in this period. Part of the reason for the development of education in Sedonia is, as I said, the Lucian Order. Part of their mission, as they see it, is "to illuminate the world". This is generally taken to mean educating it. Does this cause conflicts with other groups? You bet your sweet bippy it does. Also, I should note that the various advanced degrees within a category are less compartmentalized than they seem. Generally, a first-level degree is awarded after three years, and a second-level degree takes anywhere from one to three years more. A third-level degree is another two to three years. Finally, the educational system described above was largely pre-war: one of the effects of the Sinari and Civil Wars on the University was a loss of students and a shifting of resources to the civil engineering courses at the expense of the more liberal arts. Andrew. > Cheers, > > Ibrahim > > > > ================================ > Confidentiality Statement and Disclaimer > ================================ > This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and contains information that is privileged and confidential. If you, the reader of this message, are not the intended recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by return email and delete the original message. Thank you. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net. > ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
