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Lesson
of the Maya?
Education only for the elite is a path to ruin
Greetings!
As much as we love Green Bay, and maybe to keep that and even more important
affections strong as ever, Cyndie and I made a promise to each other when
we first came to UWGB: Every winter we would spend a week together, away
from phones and e-mail, and in a warm place.
We always pick the week in which our wedding anniversary falls, and early
March found us at a resort in the Yucatan of Mexico. Great sunshine, great
beaches, great people, great food, a great culture.
The day spent at the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza got me to thinking,
though, about American public higher education. Analyzing when we ought
to be relaxing is an occupational hazard for us academics, along with
the habit of believing others need to know what we are thinking. I cannot
resist that latter temptation, so here goes.
Chichen Itza was once a booming metropolis, one of countless city-states
that comprised a widespread and advanced civilization that would have
crossed, today, the boundaries of four nations. Walking the paths among
the massive buildings of this once proud but then abandoned city, I, and
all who visit, cannot help wondering what happened.
Asking “Where did the Maya go?” is the wrong question, though,
for the Maya continue to live in the Yucatan; indeed, we were able to
spend some time among these modern descendents.
The better question is: What happened to the ancient Mayan culture? The
philosophy, the advanced knowledge of astronomy, of medicine, of engineering,
of agriculture, of their environment? Why is it that the Maya of today
speak the same language as those who built the great cities, but the ability
to read the literature left by their Mayan ancestors had to be discovered
by “outside” researchers?
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Our many snapshots from a recent Yucatan vacation included
several from the great Castillo pyramid and the lost city of Chichen Itza.
Visiting the ruins is a moving experience, and I found my mind wandering
to ponder that classic academic question, "What if?" What if the
ancient Maya had emphasized education for all and not just for the ruling
class? It is likely, it can be argued, they would have achieved even greater
heights. |
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