Education: Plato on Rhapsodes

Below is a passage from Plato's Ion that lifted me from my chair this evening:

Indeed I have often envied you rhapsodes, Ion, for your art. For it is fitting to your art for you to be always conspicuous and to appear as beautiful as possible, but at the same time it is necessary [for you] to rub with other poets (in both numbers and quality) as well and especially with Homer, the best and most divine of the poets, and to learn his thought thoroughly, not only his words; such is an occupation to be envied. For the good rhapsode would not arise, if he should not be present with the words of the poet. For the rhapsode it is necessary to be an interpreter of the thought of the poet for his audience; and to do this well without having known that which the poet says is impossible. And so all these things are worthy to be envied.

Καὶ μὴν πολλάκις γε ἐζήλωσα ὑμᾶς τοὺς ῥαψῳδοὺς, ὦ Ἴων, τῆς τέχνης· τὸ γὰρ ἅμα μὲν τὸ σῶμα κεκοσμῆσθαι ἀεὶ πρέπον ὑμῶν εἶναι τῇ τέχνῃ καὶ ὡς καλλίστοις φαίνεσθαι, ἅμα δὲ ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι ἔν τε ἄλλοις ποιηταῖς διατρίβειν πολλοῖς καὶ ἀγαθοῖς καὶ δὴ καὶ μάλιστα ἐν Ὁμήρω, τῷ ἀρίστῳ καὶ θειοτάτῳ τῶν ποιητῶν, καὶ τὴν τούτου διάνοιαν ἐκμανθάνειν, μὴ μόνον τὰ ἔπη, ζηλωτόν ἐστιν. οὐ γὰρ ἄν γένοιτό ποτε ἀγαθὸς ῥαψῳδός, εἰ μὴ συνείη τὰ λεγόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ. τὸν γὰρ ῥαψῳδὸν ἑρμηνέα δεῖ τοῦ ποιητοῦ τῆς διανοίας γίγνεσθαι τοῖς ἀκούουσι· τοῦτο δὲ καλῶς ποιεῖν μὴ γιγνώσκοντα ὅ τι λέγει ὁ ποιητὴς ἀδύνατον. ταῦτα οὖν πάντα ἄξια ζηλοῦσθαι.

Notice the subtle combination of exhortation and inquiry in Plato's compliment of rhapsodes. Yes, he's slapping Ion on the back: "Boy, you rhapsodes have it all! Temporal fame and a real understanding of poetry!" But this passage also begins a dialogue of inquiry: "You do really understand poetry, right?" And as I thought about this passage during translation, I began applying the passage to my own profession. In fact, I think Plato (er, Socrates) offers us a sound pair of pedagogical principles: Know the material and interpret it for your audience. Plato asserts that the latter cannot exist without the former. In a time when heavy emphasis has been placed upon teaching methods, to the extent that teachers now earn degrees in education without ever learning a particular discipline, I think we need to hear these words more than most. To simply repeat words without comprehension is dangerous, and I wonder whether that is exactly what our schools are doing.