Analysis Of The Lost Tools Of Learning By Dorothy Sayers

"For the sole true end of education is simply this: to teach men how to learn for themselves; and whatever instruction fails to do this is effort spent in vain." These words penned by teacher and author, Dorothy Sayers, clearly presents her primary point in the essay "The Lost Tools of Learning." Comparing our modern education with the Medieval method, she observed that the tools to learn for oneself had been largely abandoned. Troubled by all she found lacking in education 's current methods, Dorothy Sayers outlined her ideas on the main problem of modern education, her proposal of re-instituting the trivium, and the importance of the integration of subjects.

The main problem of modern education is our grievous loss of the tools of learning …show more content…
The trivium is an effective learning tool that is based on a child 's cognitive development as well as providing tools of learning that can be used at any age. It is made up of three parts: grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric. Grammar, the first stage, is composed mostly of memorization and the accumulation of facts. This is when a child is young and are like sponges absorbing information all around them. The Dialectic stage builds upon Grammar 's foundation and leads to logic and reasoning. In this stage, the student begins to think deeper and more critically. It is the stage that processes the information they have taken in and are provided with the exercise of formal logic in their studies. Rhetoric is the summation of what the last two stages have worked toward. It is the stage of greater creativity and self expression that blossoms after the years of memorizing and processing. This is where the student is allowed more freedom and can pursue to a greater extent what they are naturally more interested …show more content…
In our modern education system we have become lost in merely teaching subjects and leaving out the necessary tools to learn them. The trivium presents itself as an effective solution to ourcurrent problem. Taking into account a child 's brain development, the trivium 's method works alongside and educates in the best way possible for each stage. It also provides the tools that can continue to be used when learning any subject. An education that is based on the trivium and promotes the integration of subjects, will serve to prepare students to think and learn for themselves for the rest of their lives, and that is education 's "sole true