NOTE: The following essay is submitted by Alyssa Erickson, an 18 year-old freshman at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. This essay was a paper written for one of her classes, and uses St. Augustine's Confessions as a source. Alyssa was struck by Augustine's views of the concept of memory, which considers it to be a reservoir waiting to be tapped into. This compares favorably with the views of Swedenborg, who stressed the need for understanding vs. knowledge. I feel that this essay helps to reinforce the idea that the key to unlocking our full potential is to recognize what already resides within. (L.E.)

"All the ideas I hold in my memory, and the way I hold them in my memory is the way that I learnt them" (Augustine 190)*. Memory. . . it is something that has puzzled mankind for as long as, well, as long as we can remember. Its function is thought to be known: The memory collects and stores information that we receive throughout our lives for the purpose of future recollection. But what about that stored information which we have not really perceived in any form, but which resides in our memory regardless of its origin? This is a question that Augustine sought to answer. The purpose of this paper is to prove that the practical application of Augustine's theory of learning as remembrance in today's classroom would be very beneficial to all involved.

A very brief summary of the conclusion that Augustine came to is that learning is, in actuality, just recalling that which we have learned somewhere else before: ". . .the process of learning is simply this: by thinking we, as it were, gather together ideas which the memory contains in a dispersed and disordered way. . .Now they [the ideas] easily come forward under the direction of the mind familiar with them" (189). Therefore Augustine believes that some things are not really learned, such as that of numbers (in the mathematical sense), dimensions, and certain forms of physics, just to name a few. Man "knows them within himself" (190), This all stems back to a theory by Plato about the so-called "Realm of the Forms." According to this theory, this realm is the place where our souls exist before they become earthbound. It is here where we are taught imperceptible notions - that green is green, for example, or the exact angle at which a ball will be deflected off of the wall of a barn so that we may catch it. This general, innate logic had to be learned somewhere.

So what possible connection does this theory have to modern-day classrooms, how can it be applied, and why should it be? The connection is fairly obvious: Schools are designed for learning, and according to Augustine, memory is, in a way, designed for the purpose of learning, as well. This does not mean that an increase in memorization work will lead to an increase in learning. What it does mean is that there is a substantiative amount of knowledge inside each and every one of us that is just waiting to be accessed, or even just recognized. Schools provide the perfect outlet for this, and the responsibility resides within four primary groups of people: parents, administrators, teachers, and students.

Of the four, the parents and administrators have the least amount of involvement. They are still important, but they are not involved in the one-on-one experience. First off, let us take a look at the role of the administrators. This role is fairly indirect; it is up to the administrators to provide the general environment in which this type of learning process may take place. They need to understand the need for a less-structured curriculum and, although this is a bit extreme, realize that it is possible that intelligence cannot be measured strictly by grades. All in all, they need to be willing to be flexible.

The parental role is very similar to that of the administrator in that the support factor needs to be there. Parents need to understand that the face of education is constantly changing, and that schools may have to move beyond the traditional facets of education in order to keep up. Understanding is of key importance here.

Thus we move along to the direct experience, the roles and relationships of the teacher and student. The teacher's primary task is to provide a learner-friendly atmosphere for the student while simultaneously helping the student down the path of knowledge. This role may be the most difficult, as it is sometimes impossible to help others to learn. It may also be the most fulfilling, however. . . imagine the sense of accomplishment that comes as a result of teaching others! It is also up to the teacher to select the proper material for executing this type of experience. Hopefully we will see a shift in using the traditional, fact-oriented textbooks to utilizing works with a few more guts to them, such as Socrates, Augustine, and Gould. It is this type of material that really promotes the thinking process, that stimulates the student to examine and question. Is that not a significant chunk of the learning process?

At last we come to the role of the student, which is the most significant. For if the the student does not want to learn, nothing will be accomplished. First of all, a basic desire to learn, even just a generic curiosity, must be present for the purpose of appeasement. From there, extending outward, are the different levels of interaction and motivation. What this basically says is that everyone has different learning styles, and different reasons for learning, which stem back to the importance of the teacher. It is the student's job, however, to be open-minded. Keeping the lines of thought clear and open will result in a purer form of knowledge, and individualized interpretations will be much more prevalent. Not only is the initial learning an important aspect of the student's duties, but the student must keep up this learning for the rest of his or her life.

Where this all leads is to the reason that this type of learning is important, which keeps in mind the roles of all involved with the education while relating them to Augustine's and Plato's theories. The focal points of education periodically shift, and they seem to come in a sort of wave-like fashion. The first wave was that of normal, everyday, yet primitive knowledge: how to hunt, start fire, communicate, etc. The second wave, that which we consider to be "traditional education," is the type where there is a core curriculum of general studies that all students must go through. This is the fact-oriented education. However, even though it is so gradual that we are barely aware of it, we are slowly slipping from the second wave to something new. This third wave is one of self-knowledge.

Self-knowledge, or basic insight into oneself, is much easier to attain than most people think, because it is one of those aspects of knowledge which we know, but do not ever remember learning. We use this self-knowledge every day to form questions and opinions, and it is this which makes us who we are. Yet there is so much more which we have not yet accessed; this is where this type of open-minded education comes into play. It is this sort of learning which leads us to discover -- or remember -- many aspects of this self-knowledge reserve. As Augustine says, in the memory "also are all the skills required through the liberal arts which have not been forgotten" (187). It is there that the "truth" resides, and the liberal arts education strives to somehow reach this truth. Granted, arriving at the "truth"is probably unattainable for humans, but one of our goals in life is to try. This type of examination- (or question-) based learning, in its quest for finding the "truth," will often lead to other individual truths along the way. Beliefs about politics, society, and God are a few examples of these truths that may be remembered while dealing with the open-minded education. For just as the "truth" is there, these beliefs are there, too. We just need the type of education that will allow us the questioning of self-knowledge to lead us there, and this is where the new educational paradigm should be directed.

As the tide of this third wave slowly rolls along, we need to switch our focus on education so that while we should still specialize, we will receive as broad an education as possible. This will allow us to rmember a wider variety of those ideas which we already possess. Also, focusing more on self-knowledge does not mean we should completely disregard fact-based education, for this is still very important; we still need these general skills. But only in learning and remembering more about ourselves can we put this knowledge to good use.

The applications of self-knowledge are endless. This is one of those things that we learn that we can put forth to keep the remembrance coming, in a sort of domino effect. Once we learn to examine ourselves, we can -- and will -- examine anything and everything. We should do this; the learning should not stop. The most inconceivable aspect of this theory is not a part of the theory itself, but rather that of a condition of the theory: These remembrances of the mind have no conceivable limit, and we have not yet even begun to tap into them. We have no notion of what the human mind is capable of accomplishing. Therefore we need an educational system that is based more on the learning of remembrance, so that we may continue to improve ourselves and the world around us. Who knows we we can make the fourth wave of education out to be?

* The source referred to in this paper is an edition of St. Augustine's Confessions.