Blog Response: Arithmetic of the Medieval Universities

     “The Greeks were concerned with the education of free men as future citizens. Plato, whose plan was a theoretical one probably never put into actual practice but nevertheless reflecting the spirit and ideal of his period, conceived of such education as the sole occupation of the first thirty-five years of a man's life… Only then would a man be equipped to take his rightful place as a useful member of society” (Shrader, 1967, pp. 264). This statement portrays that how education is taken seriously by Greeks. For me, who has been going through the curriculum for nearly 20 years, it is tremendous to focus 35 years on education. At the same time, I fully agree with Plato’s thoughts and opinion on education. While in the curriculum, I personally feel that education is endless, and life is a series of learning. I would also define a teacher as a lifelong learner. Also, I think that teacher is like an agent of agency that guides students to become a useful member of society. This is the quote that made me feel the importance of the role of a teacher as much as the importance of education. “Logistic was practical and utilitarian, a study for children and slaves; logic was a liberal art, a study for free men” (Shrader, 1967, pp. 266). In the part of “A study for”, it was found that the characteristics of learners were classified according to the characteristics of learning. In the Middle Ages, it seems that there were invisible barriers to learning, which I think could lead to social injustice issue. Even though we should pursue equality and equity in the education field, but I think it is a difficult problem as it does not seem to guaranteed even in the modern era. “The Hindu Arabic number system was introduced; zero became a familiar concept in a hitherto zeroless world; through translation into Latin from Arabic and Syriac, the ancient Greek mathematical writings were made available to the medieval world” (Shrader, 1967, pp. 267). This seems interesting to me as it shows how much cultural and linguistic exchanges between countries have contributed to the development of mathematics, especially arithmetical learning.