Convocation Address Essay

As part of his attempts to survive the horrors of the camp, Faludy (a university professor) gave mini-lectures in the barracks at night on a variety of subjects. Some of the fellow prisoners eagerly joined in others declined. Faludy notes, Those who died . . . ere always the men who had been most determined to survive, those who had concentrated on nothing but food, sleep and heart . . . I was reluctant to admit the obvious that delighting in a good poem or discussing Platos Socratic dialogue could somehow arm the spirit to the point that it could prevent the bodys collapse. He concludes his name and address with this realization Our whole fragile tradition of art and thought is neither an amusement nor a yoke.For those who steep themselves in it, it provides both a suck up and a goal for surpassing all the wild ideologies that have blown up at our feet in this century like landmines . . All we have to guide us in this present is the accumulated thought and experience of those w ho have lived before us. This convocation address has had a significant impact on my view of education. Most people agree that there is potentially something noble about teaching, yet Faludy proves it. I am reminded of fill critic Roger Eberts assessment of the film Life is Beautiful in which Ebert argues that since Jewish prisoner Guido is a clown, comedy becomes his weapon. Faludy was an educator. Education was his weapon. As it is for us all.