What education we need  today in our best of the worlds? In French, the word “éducation” is an anglicisme. It’ll be better to say instruction. Education comes from the Latin ex-ducere, guider, conduire hors.

Instruction comes from the Latin instructio, “action d’adapter, de disposer”.

In 11th century Andalousia, Muslim knights, plus to traditional military skills, had to be trained in public speaking and in poetry.

In the 18th century, education included Ancient Greek and Latin.

In the 19th century, an educated man was supposed to be at ease in arts, music, literature, history, a bit of sciences, and certainly in wines and cuisine. Good manners were a necesssary condition.

Nowadays, a philosophy professor who can’t tweet or blog, will be considered illiterate.

A relative of mine, professor of biology at a prestigious american university, an intelligent person, has no idea who is Beaumarchais,  has never read “Faust”, but  is consideredby his friends and colleagues as a well educated intellectual. Does modern education aim to give young people a profession for living or to prepare them for the real world in a wider sense – to develop their social skills, capability for adaptation, tolerance, team work, submission to political correctness and often hypocrisy?