 by Dr. Jeffrey Lant . Author's program note. Ca ira is pronounced "saa ee rah" and means "it'll be fine". You'll find it in any search engine. Beware, for it is one of the most potent songs ever written.... This is an article about change, sweeping change, change that will summarily toss a host of the old verities into history's trash bin and replace them with a whole new way of thinking, of learning, of living which will include and influence all of us. Such a transformation, root and branch, will, let it be frankly acknowledged and admitted at once, not be to the advantage of all. It will disadvantage... it will pain... it will dislocate and unsettle. We must therefore expect yelps from the ones who cannot be expected to see this sea change in its true light... denouncing it in the strongest possible ways, never mind its great advantages. So do the ones pinched and buffeted make their puny, selfish stand against even the greatest of benefits. And that is lamentable. However, and here's the heart of the matter, this change will improve the lives of millions worldwide who yearn for the better life all of us want... but only a fraction of Earth's denizens can have as matters currently stand... and as the benefits are so substantial and acute, so must we ask the relatively few disadvantaged to see the big picture and embrace the unparalleled benefits, as the breathtaking new realities become more and more apparent. The music. But first, let's play a beloved tune, a piece of Americana whose simplicity and sincerity crackles down the years, a clear remembrance of how things were, the better to understand the huge leap we are all about to confront, at all levels of education. This wistful little number is "School Days," and it is only right that we remember it, for in 1907 when Byron G. Harlan gave voice to its words his was the cutting edge and people ooued and aahed saying as they heard the recording for the first time, "What will they think of next?"; words that are the very touchstone of the American experience, where the old and outmoded is sharply jettisoned for the new and better still which will in its turn be jettisoned, too. Go to any search engine now and give both song and singer the respectful listen they have earned, a good, kind reminiscence of halcyon days gone by when "you wrote on my slate, 'I Love You So'/When we were a couple o' kids." In the not so faraway days of yore, school was the proverbial little red schoolhouse where a prim and proper lady, selected as much for her probity as her pedagogy held court; a place where discipline and educational details were given per a strict, community scrutinized curriculum of things deemed acceptable, useful, "reading and 'riting and 'rithmetic." The teacher, often revered in the community, did her best and carried as much civilization in her thread-bare reticule as she could, for of course the good people of her district wanted maximum value for minimum cost, a point of view, then as now, resulting in the "education" delivered being distinctly limited and often punishingly inaccurate and inadequate... This is the model we still adhere to today, and our entire educational system suffers because of it... and the very Great Republic itself, which can never achieve more than its educational system can deliver. This may have been acceptable when there was no other viable alternative. But it is most assuredly not acceptable today when the Internet, that protean device delivering one breathtaking improvement after another, offers us an entirely new way of educating people worldwide, a way that has the unexampled ability to raise up the entire world and every person who desires to be so raised and realize their hitherto neglected potential. Now let us examine how this could all be organized for maximum impact and complete effectiveness and easy use. I shall begin with what I call World University, which is sorely needed now and which will in short order, as these recommendations are implemented, become one of, if not the most important institution on Earth. Here's why. First, there will be a curriculum as rich, broad and diversified as the human brain can imagine, hundreds and even thousands of times more expansive, inclusive and diverse than what is offered now by even the most prestigious and renowned institutions of higher learning, or even all their curricula together. Consider the following examples of courses which ought to be offered.... but either never are, or only rarely so: for example the neglected Polish language, Polish history and culture... and so on through the language, history and culture of EVERY people, region and nation... whether those people, region and nation are extant today, or not. Human language is arguably our species most important contribution to our planet. Now, at World University, the glory of language in all its manifestations will not be given just so much lip service, as is generally the case today, but will flourish as never before imagined, much less implemented. And so it can be with every single category of knowledge, so much hitherto neglected, now embraced, extolled, celebrated... and above all else, taught. Another example of spectacular curriculum improvement, this time in the fine arts. Over the years teaching about the artistic masterpieces of mankind has gradually been diminished or even removed from every level of education, to the abiding shame of the pettifogging officials who have so diminished us, thereby saving pennies, at such terrible cost. World University will change all that and provide the greatest boost to seeing and understanding the fine arts in their every aspect, from artist to genre to the full range of applications and techniques wherever used and found. And what of music? Not one general course provided without enthusiasm, an afterthought, but individual courses on Mozart! Beethoven! Wagner... and Elvis Presley, for he, too, as a cultural icon deserves the ultimate compliment of being studied and understood and at new WU he'll get it. Who will teach this supernova of new subjects, hitherto disdained and ignored now given their rightful place? The world's experts will teach these courses, always remembering that in addition to having the subject matter at their fingertips, they must have superior presentation skills, savoir faire and the ability to connect with their far-flung universal audience. At last the finest instructors now made available solely to the most privileged students, will be made available to everyone, a concept worth stating over and over again. These instructors, of course, will not be found in one place, in one university but all over the world. Some will propose themselves; others, already recognized as stars, will be solicited. The end result, however, will be the same: a galaxy of the best and the brightest, their mission the uplifting and instruction of the planet and all those who reside therein. What's more each is able to participate from the comfort of home or office. Well might we call this a revolution, a word wrongly and habitually over- used in our days of constant misuse and imprecise usage... but not here. This is the real deal. There are, of course, many details to work out, thousands of them. Just who will preside over the messy business of birthing and developing World University (and its necessary junior partner, World Secondary School) has yet to be determined, although betting folks might well consider the Harvard-MIT partnership, EdX, now with over 30 participating institutions of higher education, laying the groundwork for their leadership and international hegemony. It is what we do in Cambridge where reinventing the future is our metier. Before setting forth on this unparalleled project of unparalleled benefits, I give you one of the best known and most lyric phrases in our language: "Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive/ But to be young was very heaven!" They are by Wordsworth, William Wordsworth (1770-1850) who wrote these words as he contemplated the mind-boggling events in revolutionary France, events which toppled Europe's premier monarchy and its bloated, rapacious nobility and an established church which was anything but Christian. Despite the confusion and detritus Wordsworth saw in these events the better future struggling to be born, never certain or guaranteed, a process of often painful growth and the wrong roads often taken, errors inevitable. Progress is never linear or without costs. Enter the Ca Ira, the ultimate song of revolution, front and center. Tunes as famous as this one attract stories, true or not no one can say. Did Queen Marie Antoinette strum its catchy rhythm on her harp? Was it Benjamin Franklin who inadvertently provided its title when asked how the then faltering American Revolution would turn out answered in his halting French, "It'll be fine", "Ca ira." And with the help of France, it was. What we do know is this: that a street singer named Ladre' wrote it in time for the Fete de la Fe'de'ration of 1790... we know, too, it was played that year at the execution of Louis XVI, no longer graced by God. It became the unofficial anthem of revolution, of sweeping, joyous, triumphal change. Now we have need of it again... for we, too, have a revolution to arrange, and such things are not without their hazards, great and small. What matter? Ca Ira shows us the way. "The one who is humble shall be elevated/The true catechism shall instruct us/ Ah! it'll be fine, it'll be fine, it'll be fine." That's why we must start this great project as soon as possible. Dedication: The author dedicates this work to his long-time colleague and friend George Kosch, Internet visionary, notable technician, a man who has danced nimbly ahead of the curve for the last 20 years, helping others worldwide stay ahead, too. Thanks to George such grand visions become grand realities. Ca ira, ca ira, ca ira. |
