In Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar, James Bach is explicit in his views that school is not as significant and mandatory as education (Bach 3). He differentiates school from education and encourages “at risk” kids to look at him (Bach 2) not just as a high school dropout, but as a high school dropout who, contrary to belief, is successful and works at the well known company: Apple (Bach 1). To him, school is merely a setting structured for inflexible tests and restrictions to passions and interests (Bach).
Through this lens of Bach’s, it is evident that Rene Descartes’ “Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking Truth in the Sciences” both supports and challenges Bach’s belief that school doesn’t designate our future. In the beginning of the paper, Descartes states that he was “ardently desirous of instruction” (Descartes 2) and therefore, studied and relied on letters as his primary source for “a clear and certain knowledge of all that is useful in life” (Descartes 2). A few lines further into the paper; however, Descartes realized that through studying at “one of the most celebrated schools” (Descartes 2), he only stumbled across “doubts and errors” (Descartes 3), resulting in his change in opinion on relying on study to gain knowledge (Descartes 3). Here, it is clear that Descartes supported Bach’s argument.
Although Descartes realized that his studying in school no longer advanced him in learning (Descartes 2), he still continued his studies on the remaining brink of hope he had in school that the “languages taught in… [the studies of the schools were] necessary to the understanding of the writings of the ancients” (Descartes 3), challenging Bach’s argument. Descartes still had hope in the effect of his studies towards his learning but Bach only found enrolling in school any longer to be a waste of his time (Bach 2).
Bach also states in his book that “[k]nowledge is part of my education” (Bach) which, according to John Locke’s “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” is not innate but acquired since it is something you are continuously building on (Locke 2). Knowledge that brings improvement is what Bach considers education (Bach) and Locke states that it is through experience that “all our knowledge is founded, and from there it ultimately derives itself” (Locke 4). The experience and traveling of Descartes’ after he “abandoned the study of letters” (Descartes 4) are all part of his “knowledge,” according to both Bach and Locke, especially since it has allowed him to “secure [his] improvement” (Descartes 5).
I agree with Jenny Chou when she says how Bach and Descartes share similar views on school. Bach had shared his view on school as being not important and that school is not necessary for education (Bach). Just like him Descartes says that even though he went to “one of the most celebrated schools” (Descartes 2) at the end he had more “doubts and errors” (Descartes 3). So basically they both agree that school isn’t necessary because in some way or form it distracts you. Like Bach had said, “I believe it was interfering with my education”(Bach) and also how Descartes says about education leading to doubts and errors show that for both school had a negative impact on them, but their messages were still very different. Bach said school wasn’t necessary, but Descartes didn’t say that instead he still agrees that school is important because he still continued school even after realizing it was creating doubts for him.
Also I disagree with Jenny when she states that Descartes had hope that he would still learn from going to school and Bach just thought it was a waste (Bach). I disagree because I think Bach dropped out of school because school was “tearing him down” (Bach) and he even said that “there are schools that would have been good for me, I never found one” (Bach). So from this I think if Bach had found that school that was right for him than even if he didn’t learn much he still would have continued school just like Descartes did. Maybe Descartes just got lucky because for him it might have been his type of school and that’s why he ended up staying in school.