I think it is a shame we don't have some kind of structure in society that a person can take a type of sabbatical at 30, 35 or 40 to read these books.
Even respecting St. John's to the degree I do, I don't know if that is the path I would want my 18 year old kid to take. It seems to me that a person needs a decent amount of life experience to contextualize the importance of what is contained in the classics.
Otherwise, it seems like it would mostly be memorization for test taking purposes that is quickly put to the back of the mind.
Outside of quizzes in Greek classes, there really aren't that many tests to take. The emphasis is on participation in seminar-type classes, projects, and many, many papers. The one place I recall memorization coming into the picture was with Euclid, and that really depended upon the tutor's style (mine was a closed-book, hit the chalkboard and prove proposition I.47 kind of guy, while other cohorts had an easier time).
As a good test-taker, I found it more difficult than the lecture/test paradigm. One could not slack off for a while and then bang through a test — you had to be "on" every day.
St. John's offers an "adult" Master's program which is really pretty cool. That said, it can't replace going through the program as a young person. Re: contextualizing, one can return to the texts throughout life and reflect upon how one's understanding has changed with experience.
I think it is a shame we don't have some kind of structure in society that a person can take a type of sabbatical at 30, 35 or 40 to read these books.
Even respecting St. John's to the degree I do, I don't know if that is the path I would want my 18 year old kid to take. It seems to me that a person needs a decent amount of life experience to contextualize the importance of what is contained in the classics.
Otherwise, it seems like it would mostly be memorization for test taking purposes that is quickly put to the back of the mind.