February 17, 2011

Diversa sunt hominum studia


Recording also available at iPadio using this link.

Today's saying is Diversa sunt hominum studia. In English: "People's passions run in different directions."

In a previous post, I mentioned that I am opposed to anything like a "common curriculum" or "core knowledge" that everyone is supposed to acquire. That narrow-mindedness just does not fit with how I see the world of teaching and learning. The possibilities for teaching and learning are infinite, and we are in fact very lucky that different people are interested in different things. How boring the world would be if everyone studied the same things and we all had the same knowledge! Because we all study different things, our collective knowledge keeps on growing. The greater the number of things people study and learn, the wiser our society will be as a whole. Diversity benefits us all: Diversa sunt hominum studia.

In terms of Latin vocabulary, that word studium is worth careful attention. You can translate it with the English word "study, field of study," but don't forget that the Latin word has a much wider range of meaning than the English derivative. The noun is derived from the Latin verb studere, which means "to be eager, to be zealous, to desire," so a studium is not just schoolwork in Latin: it is the passion you feel that inspires you to learn more! Take a look at the Lewis & Short dictionary entry for more details.

For those of you who are fans of macrons, here is the Latin written with macrons:

DÄ«versa sunt hominum studia.



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