Humanities 101

I just came across this article and thought to myself "What a fine idea."

In sum, UBC offers an eight-month crash-course in the liberal arts and social sciences (including English, Philosophy, Art, History, etc.) to the underprivileged from Vancouver's toughest neighbourhood. Apparently it's a smashing success, with 80% of the students graduating each year despite all of the pressures of living well below the poverty line.

We usually think of ministering the stomach and the soul of the poor, with food banks, soup kitchens, and evangelism, but not to the mind. Humanities 101 is a good corrective of this oversight. I wonder why Toronto or Hamilton doesn't run such a program...