Sometimes writing is like a cross-country road trip. You’re heading on one road in a certain direction and then some interesting, unexpected sight lures you on a detour. The detour proves to be really good.  

Recently, while doing some research, one source led me to another, and eventually I wandered over to Gilbert Highet’s The Art of Teaching. This former classicist at Columbia has a number of glowing things to say about Jesuit education. Here is one:

“The best proof of the educational genius of the Jesuits is that many of their best pupils were not Jesuits. The best proof of Plato’s genius as a teacher is that Aristotle worked with him for twenty years, and then founded a mighty school of his own, based partly on his criticism and refutations of Platonic doctrine. The aim of good teaching is summed up in Aristotle’s own remark about these differences: “Though both truth and Plato are dear to me, it is right to prefer truth.”

Matt Emerson's essays have appeared in a number of publications, including America, Commonweal, and the Wall Street Journal. The Catholic Press Association named his September 2012 essay "Help Their Unbelief," published in America, as the "best essay" in the category of national general interest magazine for 2012. He is the author of the book Why Faith? A Journey of Discovery (Paulist Press 2016).Articles:Fruitful Searching (Jan. 5-12, 2015)Preambles for Faith (May 13, 2013)Help Their Unbelief (Sept. 10, 2012)Posts at The Ignatian Educator