Live-blogging A General Idea of the College of Mirania Part 1

Okay, here's the deal: I drank way too much coffee this morning and am still bouncing off the walls. So I'm employing this extra energy in the best way I know how: live-blogging as I read William Smith's A General Idea of the College of Mirania -- a feat that can only be accomplished by taking performance enhancing stimulants.

Smith wrote this treatise on American higher education between 1752 and 1753. He devised the curriculum, the professors, the students, the location and more -- all in detail. Ben Franklin enjoyed it so much that he invited Smith down to Philadelphia to work at the College of Philadelphia.

It doesn't seem that formidable, but everyone tells me it takes ages to read. 'Live-blogging' (or Ljubljana, you decide) is a term bloggers use for writing as an event occurs, with multiple updates. It's the blogosphere version of the play-by-play. So if you're reading this as it goes, refresh every now and then and maybe there'll be an update. Here we go:

1:31 pm: Oh snap! This thing is riveting. Oh wait, three large military helicopters just did a very low flyover, shaking my house like an earthquake. I'm reading the Preface now. Smith says he's writing this "at the desire of some gentlemen of New York." Smith was trying to start a college there in the early 1750s, but it just didn't work out. Anyway, it doesn't really matter that it's for some New Yorkers, as Mirania is supposed to be a mythical place with elves, gremlins, and Eskimos.

1:50 pm: Okay, read the Prologue. Some of this was read at the first Washington College Commencement, by Charles Smith if I'm not mistaken. An account mentions that he even dropped down to one knee to increase the drama. No word on whether he used spirit-fingers. A bit melodramatic at the beginning, but really pastoral. He mentions Mirania is a "With shade and silence, far from dire alarms."

1:55 pm: Smith pitches his idea in the introductory section. "To the Gentlemen (with the money to fund this), You are all very very smart, and handsome -- did I mention handsome? Blah blah blah, the time is nearing for a decision, so please give me a charter so I don't have to tutor a bunch of brats."

2:04 pm: Here Smith gets all J.R. Tolkien, talking about a young gentleman named Evander ("who is a person of some distinction," so you better regonize) and the college he attended. Mirania "is one of the provinces of the New World, first settled by our countrymen, the English, about a century ago." Also, "In what degree of latitude it lies is of no importance. . ."

2:17 pm: Mirania needed education to keep the law from being "infringed by powerful villany." Also, the diverse cultures and their "different customs, languages and extractions . . . [might] prove fatal to government." I once read that Smith took up this cause when he was in Pennsylvania, helping to start schools for Germans so they could learn English and not be exploited by corrupt politicians who used the language barrier to filter information. Intermingling would also create a younger generation with "prejudices worn off." Mirania sounds like a place of universal education -- where everybody gets a chance. Hey, William Smith: folklorist and idealist.

2:25 pm: I'm kind of puzzled at what he's getting at here: "Life would be far too short to attain any proficiency in all the disputes and researches of this kind, which have so long puzzled the learned world, and are still as much undecided as at first."

2:30 pm: Smith: No need to tell you about how they founded the college -- just that it's perfect now and so you guys in New York should just fork over the money today because it'll be perfect by next Tuesday. Trust me.

2:32 pm: Oh, now I get the universal education thing. "With regard to learning, the Miranians divide the whole body of people into two grand classes. The first consists of those designed for the learned professions; by which they understand divinity, law, physic, and the chief offices of the state. The second class consists of those designed for the mechnic professions, and all the remaining people of the country."

2:40 pm: Smith describes the "Mechanic's School, or Academy." It has to be different than the traditional method of education because, Smith's says, teaching them things they won't understand or really use in their vocations. (Where were you when they were forcing chemistry on me in high school, Smith?) Better to teach them the things they need to be good citizens and good at their crafts.

2:46 pm: Ah-ha! I see why Franklin liked this so much: Smith credits him with the idea of the Mechanic's School. He says it's a lot like what Franklin was doing with the English Academy, and calls Franklin "ingenious." Too bad they straight-up hated each other for the rest of their lives.

Alright, the coffee buzz is gone and I am fading. I have some other work to do for the rest of the day, so we'll continue this another time. Keep an eye out for new contributor Albin Kowalewski and his magic dowsing rods later today or this week. Thanks for reading.

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