1 September 2025

There are basic things that need to be a constituent part of any education system. People need to be taught how to read and write, count and calculate. These are basic skills without which we would not be able to deepen our understanding of the world.

Throughout our formal education, it is to be hoped that we learn some facts and figures, an historical timeline, an awareness of the contours of our nation and the five continents of the world. What we remember will be unique to each person.

But there are three things  which are crucial for our intellectual development beyond school and university. The first is curiosity. We need to be inducted into our world and good teachers are able to open up the world in such a way that stimulates us to ask questions and pursue answers.

The second is attentiveness. In many ways this is the most important quality which is nurtured in educational practice. It can be done regardless of the subject being studied. It is the ability to stick with a problem, explore an idea without giving up, embrace the detail with patience and understanding.

The third is imagination. An education which doesn’t stimulate the imagination and take students into a new world has failed. For it is the imagination which enables us to make connections between diverse things and create new  ideas for the benefit of humanity.

Curiosity leads us into places of wonder. Attentiveness is a prelude to prayer. Imagination opens us up to a new world. They all have a religious dimension.  The transcendent God inspires us to wonder.  Prayer leads us into the absent God’s presence. Imagination opens us up to the Kingdom of Heaven.