MM#371--Happy Thanksgiving 2024

Transcript

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Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life.

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Now here's your host, david Kaiser.

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Hello, I am David, and happy Thanksgiving 2024 to everyone listening Now.

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In the past we have done shows focusing on Thanksgiving traditions, such as the reading from the two canons of, and great the two canons and great editorials of American journalism, at least over the last 50 years for me.

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You can check that out on Mojo Minute 65.

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We'll put a link in the show notes.

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And then in Mojo Minute 182, we took you on a trip back in history to our first US President, george Washington, and his Thanksgiving proclamation of 1789.

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And in the last year's Happy Thanksgiving Post we actually dispelled the myth that the first actual Thanksgiving took place in St Augustine, florida, st Augustine, st Augustine, however you want to say it and that took place in 1565, not the widely believed Plymouth, Massachusetts 1621 Thanksgiving.

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Yes, I know, florida was not a state.

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Then I get that.

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It wasn't part of the United States until 1845, and it actually gained statehood in 1845, rather, but by 1822, it was being merged into the United States for all intents and purposes.

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So you can check out that podcast too, because, in addition to that little nugget of wisdom, we also in that podcast we set the record straight and challenged the popular narratives around Thanksgiving with the incredible tale of Squanto rather not Tonto Tonto, that's the companion to the Lone Ranger, my bad the incredible tale of Squanto, who was the Catholic Indian who saved the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock.

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So again, that podcast is a doozy and we'll put a link for all these three podcasts in the show notes.

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But for today's podcast we're going to have a little fun.

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We're going to not take ourselves so seriously.

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We're going to read a Facebook post with a connection between the Pilgrims, thanksgiving and the Department of Education.

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So this ought to be fun.

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And so with that let's get ready to roll.

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So I'm going to read the Facebook post in full so you get a full context of what we're breaking down here, and then we're going to go through it line by line to see what is true and what is not true.

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So with that, let's go to the reading of this Facebook post, and it came up in my Facebook feed so I just wanted to share it and thought we'd have a little fun with it and have a little lighthearted moment here on this Thanksgiving holiday.

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Here's the Facebook post the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts in 1620.

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Within 20 years they were building grammar schools where boys went to learn Latin and Greek and read the ancient classics in their original languages, beginning at eight years old.

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They completed this education between 14 and 16, at which point they entered Harvard, yale and other universities, which the colonists also started graduating at 18 or 20.

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This was all before the year 1700, while building homes and towns, growing crops and defending against Indian attacks, they were building a civilization from scratch.

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We never needed the Department of Education.

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So clearly this is against the Department of Education, a federal Department of Education rather.

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But I thought it would be good to just go through line by line and see if all this is true.

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Do we think it's true?

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You can never believe what you read on the Internet or in social media, and so, as one of our greatest presidents in the 20th century, ronald Reagan, always reminded us trust but verify, trust but verify, but verify, trust but verify.

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So let's have some fun with this Facebook post on this Thanksgiving day.

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Now, going to the first statement did the pilgrims land in Massachusetts in 1620?

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Well, check, yes, they did.

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That is very simple and Greek.

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Is that true?

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And especially, beginning at eight years old?

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So, going to the research in fact, yes, that is true.

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The Boston Latin School, originally named the Latin Grammar School was established on April 23rd 1635, making it the oldest public school in America and the oldest existing school in the United States.

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So it actually wasn't 20 years, it was rather 15 years Now.

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The curriculum of the school center did center on the classics.

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It had a strong focus for Latin, greek and the humanities.

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The founders of the Boston Latin School shared the ancient Greek belief that only good things are the goods of the soul.

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School's emphasis on the classical education was designed to prepare students for life.

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Some key aspects of their curriculum which we thought pertained was there was a Latin proficiency.

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Students were expected to read the works of Cicero and Virgil in their original Latin and their language skills.

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They had to write and speak properly in Latin, in both verse and prose.

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It was, in fact, a priority, and initially the school devoted seven years to the study of the classics.

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Wow, imagine if we just devoted a year to the study of the classics, what would happen Now.

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It's worth noting that while the school did prepare many students for college, the majority of the graduates did not pursue higher education, as most businesses and professions at the time did not require college training.

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Okay, very good, moving on to the next statement from our infamous Facebook post.

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They completed this education between the years 14 and 16 years old, at which point they entered Harvard, yale and other universities, which the year 1700.

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Well, as the great Lee Corso says on College Football Game Day, not so fast, my friend.

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What Our research indicates?

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Not all of the graduates of the Boston Latin School went to college.

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Like we said before, despite the school's strong focus on college preparation and an impressive record of college matriculation in recent years, historically this was not always the case In the early days of school, the bottom last in school, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries, most graduates did not pursue higher education.

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This was primarily because of two reasons.

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Like we said before, many businesses and professions at the time frankly did not require college training, and the school's rigorous curriculum prepared students well for various career paths even without the formal education, and we would have to agree with this.

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As my mother is just one example, her public school education of all places in the state of West Virginia in the 1950s and ending in 1965 was still on par with what most colleges are putting out in their students' quality some 25 years ago.

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So once we get into the mid-1960s, in urban cities and then throughout the rest of the country.

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Do we then see a failure of public school education?

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For a whole host of reasons.

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We won't get into that today.

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Now, going back to our Facebook post that last part, they completed the education between 14 and 16, at which point they entered Harvard, yale and the universities which the colonists also started graduating at years 18 through 20.

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And this was all before the year 1700.

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Well all before 1700 is the problematic statement there?

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Because they said they went to Yale, harvard and other universities and just doing a simple Google search, here are the 10 oldest universities founded in the United States, listed chronologically.

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Harvard University was founded in 1636 in Cambridge, massachusetts.

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Now it's widely recognized as the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.

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Okay, great.

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Now the College of William and Mary was not established until 1693 in Williamsburg, virginia.

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It's the oldest university in the American South and the first to receive a royal charter in the United States and the American South and the first to receive a royal charter in the United States.

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And then St John's College, founded in 1696, which has campuses in Annapolis, maryland and Santa Fe, new Mexico certainly not part of the United States at the time, actually part of Mexico.

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And then Yale, which was referenced in the Facebook post, was established in 1701 in New Haven, connecticut.

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Originally founded as the Collegiate School, it was renamed Yale in 1718.

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So for the Facebook post to say, everything happened before 1700, or at least by 1700, yale was not even founded or established until 1701.

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Yes, I know we're nitpicking, but you got to be accurate on these statements.

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Just to round this out, the fifth through the 10th oldest universities.

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Fifth is the University of Penn, founded in 1740 in Philadelphia, pennsylvania.

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Moravian College, established in 1742 in Bethlehem, pennsylvania.

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University of Delaware, founded in 1743 in Newark, delaware.

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By the way, our current president went to the University of Delaware and attended that inaugural year of 1743.

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Holy smokes, holy smokes indeed.

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Princeton university, uh, was established in 1746 in princeton, new jersey, and washington.

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And lee, number nine, founded in 1749 in lexington, virginia.

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And rounding out the top 10 of oldest universities found in the United States, columbia University, established in 1754 in New York City, originally founded as King's College it's the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York and certainly these colonial colleges played a crucial role in shaping our early American higher education and continue to be, I guess, prestigious universities today.

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However, that is debatable.

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But, circling back, we'll keep everything politically correct today.

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So that last statement, like we said on the Facebook post, where they all attended colleges before 1700.

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So actually there was only three universities even open before 1700 and Yale was not open, like we said, until 1701.

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Yes, again, we're nitpicking, but accuracy is important when reading and researching history.

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It's always nuanced.

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We have to respect that.

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It's important to understand the nuances, as most of life and most of history is not always black and white.

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It is not always true or not true.

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It's not always good versus evil.

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There's gradiations Can't talk.

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There are gradiations to everything, most especially in all of life, to everything, most especially in all of life.

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It takes a little bit more effort, but we can get closer, much closer to the truth than most of us realize.

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Which brings us to the point of the Facebook post itself we never had a federal department of education and we never needed a federal department of education before.

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That is true.

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Now we're going to do a special podcast episode all about the federal department of education before.

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That is true.

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Now we're going to do a special podcast episode all about the federal department of education.

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For tomorrow, do we need one or not?

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But for today, like we said, we're going to keep it PC, and especially for this Thanksgiving of 2024.

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Let us conclude on a hearty moment.

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Let's take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving as we gather around our bountiful tables or, frankly, if we're just grabbing some fast food.

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It's not all about having the traditional foods, but in fact it's more important to give thanks to God for his wonderful blessings and graces.

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Today, we celebrate not only the abundance of food before us, but also the richness of our relationships and the countless blessings in our lives, and his blessing in our lives Also.

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It's a blessing to be an American, to live in America.

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Thanksgiving is a quintessential American holiday.

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To our friends and family, both present and absent, we give thanks for your love and support.

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We give thanks for your prayers and the joy that you bring to each of our lives.

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May the bonds we share continue to grow stronger with each passing year.

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May we be grateful for the comfort of our homes, the nourishment of our meals and the freedom we enjoy this 2024.

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Let us also remember those less fortunate and extend our hands in kindness and generosity.

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As we raise our glasses, let us toast to the spirit of gratitude that brings each of us together on this special day.

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May we carry this thankfulness in our hearts not just today but throughout the year to come.

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Here's to you, team Mojo, to your good health, to your happiness and the simple pleasures that make life beautiful.

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May each of our lives be filled with love and laughter and countless reasons to be thankful.

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Happy Thanksgiving to all, and may God bless each and every one of you and, most especially, keep fighting the good fight.

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Thank you for joining us.

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We hope you enjoyed this Theory to Action podcast.

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Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources.

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Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.

MM#371--Happy Thanksgiving 2024

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