Tutor Dr. Richard Ferrier Appears on Classical Education Podcast

A tutor on the California campus, Dr. Richard Ferrier appears in a recent episode of the Classical Education Podcast, sharing five decades’ worth of learned insight. “The purpose of education as a whole, from little children to graduate school,” he says in the interview, “is to strengthen the soul so that one loves, and seeks, and finds … the truth concerning the things that are central to human life.”

Of course, Dr. Ferrier — known as much around the College for his heartfelt patriotism as for his intellectual acumen — could not fail to mention that education has an irreducibly civic dimension. “The free man is free not only with respect to his thinking about speculative matters,” he says. “There’s another aspect of freedom, particularly in a free society, and that is loving and knowing your republic, so that you can take your part as a free human being in the common life of the community.”

Throughout the interview, Dr. Ferrier displays his characteristic optimism and vigor. He stands athwart critics who allege that the contemporary revival of classical education is only a trend destined for the offal at the wayside of history. “I beg to differ,” he says with a chuckle. “We just started a new campus! We’re going to have twice the students next year that we had, say, five years ago, when you add the two campuses together.” Indeed, he sees initiatives such as the Classical Education Podcast as signs that the revival is no mere fad: “You are the Johnny Appleseed for classical learning in the K-12 world — and in conversations about classical learning in college and graduate school, too!”

Other topics discussed include the architectonic role of the Catholic faith in shaping Thomas Aquinas College’s integrated curriculum, the transcendent beauty of mathematics, and the educational function of studying literature. The full interview bursts with rich ideas and a catching enthusiasm. As the podcast hosts say in the show-notes, “Dr. Ferrier is a true sage in classical education.”