As a new school year begins, a new cycle of competitive exams, resume-building activities and school applications also begins. These are the capstones to childhood as an endless career fair. Starting in kindergarten, we run to get into the rat race. Perhaps this year it would be instructive to spend some time reflecting on the sins of St. Augustine's youth.
The lesson may have some value for the educational meritocracy we live in today, particularly considering last year's "Varsity Blues" scandal that saw parents paying bribes to get their students into elite schools. St. Augustine offers a lesson from the meritocracy of the late Roman empire. He offers students, teachers and parents a call to conversion that can help reorder how we think about education and the purpose of career success.
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