Teacher’s Pet

When ‘Gazza’ the regional Victorian farmer, dropped off our new puppy, Marty, he offered one piece of advice. “I have found that a smack on the bottom with a rolled-up newspaper is a very useful way of teaching a dog”. Gazza clearly comes from the old school of dog training – ‘spare the whack and spoil the hound’.

Dog training has changed considerably in recent years and currently the emphasis is on helping dogs make ‘good choices’ rather than punishing misbehaviour. For readers who are interested in finding out more about this, I suggest having a look at the online videos by Ian Dunbar, McCann Dogs, Kikopup, Zak George or Pippa Mattinson (to name a few).

The COVID-19 pandemic, has thrown up many education challenges and also provided some very useful education opportunities. As we have not been able to meet in person, we have had to forgo the direct face-to-face classroom approach of old:

This has resulted in the use of virtual forms of instruction which have proliferated and increasingly offered us the chance to explore niche forms of learning in our own homes. There are now innumerable examples of information, entertainment and infotainment – from dog training, to making our own face masks, to improving our health, and even acquiring new skills (which might prove useful as our city opens up):

Some institutions, and the National Gallery of Victoria is a notable example, have embraced the virtual world and there is now a plethora of information about art and culture that is readily available.

During the pandemic, the meaning and value of education has also been reviewed by the federal government with a change in emphasis (and course fees) on what is considered important in our tertiary institutions in the future. The shift from a belief in the importance of the humanities to principally technical, vocational or professional studies has created considerable consternation and debate.

As I reflected on the shift in education away from the humanities, I looked back at the history of learning and wondered about the relevance of the ‘Seven Liberal Arts’ which informed the foundations of our modern-day education system.

The Seven Liberal Arts or artes liberales refers to the specific ‘branches of knowledge’ that were taught in medieval schools and included the Trivium and the Quadrivium. Arising from the work of Greek philosophers, who believed that particular studies developed greater intellect and moral excellence, seven areas were defined and became the basis of study at the earliest universities.

The first division, the Trivium (‘the place where three roads meet’), referred to the branches of knowledge which focussed on language – specifically grammar, dialectic and rhetoric – and its completion was equivalent to a modern day  student’s Bachelor degree.

The ‘grammar’ component of the Trivium encouraged students to critically analyse and memorise texts as well as produce their own writings; ‘dialectic’ was focussed on the arts of reasoning and logic; while ‘rhetoric’ concerned expression, history and some aspects of the law.

The second division, the Quadrivium, was concerned with mathematics and its application – particularly arithmetic, astronomy, geometry and music. These areas of study were considered to be more advanced than those of the Trivium and would have been the equivalent of a current Masters degree.

The seven liberal arts subjects were regarded as complementary to theology lessons which every educated student would have also received.  It is worth noting that the medieval Church encouraged the completion of a liberal arts education so strongly that one could not be ordained a priest in some countries if not proficient in what the Quadrivium demanded.

While the Seven Liberal Arts are now relegated to history and largely forgotten, they played an important function in the establishment of our modern-day educational system. The specific disciplines were great, not only from an academic standpoint, but also in the contributions they held for society.

For the past seven months, I have been involved in the virtual tutoring of University of Melbourne final year medical students in a subject titled ‘Professional Practice’. This subject forms a bridge from being a student to becoming an intern and explores complex patient-centred concerns, personal medical responsibility, and broader systems issues which will impact on the students’ imminent new roles. It is not a ‘science’ subject but rather one that utilises ideas from philosophy, psychology, sociology and the law. During our weekly zoom meetings, we have discussed patient and professional themes using art, literature, politics, the media and contemporary culture. The students reported finding these concepts particularly helpful as they forge a professional identity.

While it is essential that we consider what constitute the most relevant functions of our tertiary educational institutions, it is also critical to reflect on and value the breadth of knowledge that is important to the structure and functioning of the world we wish to inhabit. With so much global chaos, perhaps more awareness of the liberal arts subjects is not a bad place to start.

Meanwhile, back in my Marty training world (and armed with contemporary puppy pedagogy), I have devised my own version of the ‘Seven Canine Arts’. So far we have mastered, ‘Sit/ Stay’, ‘Leave it ‘and ‘Come here’. However, ‘Stop chewing/nipping’, ‘Don’t jump up’, ‘Settle’ and ‘Walk nicely on a leash’ (the Quadrivium) seem like a long way off. And (although tempting at times) I have not utilised Gazza’s suggestion – even when Marty experiments with garden design!