What is Freemasonry? That is a question which is frequently asked. Here are my thoughts on the topic, and how they relate to Masonic Education. Remember, these are MY thoughts. As noted on the Home Page, these are strictly my thoughts. They are not the opinion of the Grand Lodge of Iowa; they are not the thoughts of Freemasonry in general. As noted, nobody speaks for Freemasonry. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. These are mine.
By the way, HERE is a link to the Education Presentation from the 2007 Grand Master's Area Meetings. It describes some of these same things with a slightly different emphasis.
Freemasonry refers to two different but related things.
The first of those is a philosophy, an ancient philosophy that would have been familiar to Aristotle and Plato, although they would have certainly had a different name for it. It is the philosophy that values self examination, learning, and self improvement through study and introspection, as well as the exercise of morality and charity. Modern Freemasons would refer to this as "a search for light" or a search for understanding.
The second is the fraternity which promotes and sponsors that philosophy. The fraternity provides a framework through which an INDIVIDUAL may seek personal improvement, personal learning, both through individual study and also through the support and leadership of the organization. As an organization, the Fraternity of Freemasonry provides a structured approach to that study. It also provides the additional benefits of brotherhood, through which the efforts of one can be amplified through the efforts of many. Since it is an organization, it has a history, a structure, a form of self government, and specific rules of behavior, both codified and uncodified. This organization is what most people think of when they think of Freemasonry. The earliest written material for Masonry is the Regius or Halliwell Manuscript. You can read that HERE.
Much of what is thought of as Masonic research it actually research on the history and goals of the organization. This includes a detailed series of dates and actions. This is reflected in much of Masonic Education. It is largely an education of what the fraternal organization is and what it has done. While these are certainly interesting, and can provide a basis for understanding the fraternity, it falls far short of explaining the whole story.
All of this should help you understand why I believe that the key to Freemasonry is EDUCATION. That is what the fraternity is all about.
There is a lot to education. It has many facets. A little mnemonic I learned at work the other day has a lot of relevance here. It is "LEAP", which stands for "Learn", "Explain", "Ask", and "Practice". Of course education is about learning. That is self evident. But often we get lost in the formalism of it, and forget that learning is the basis. That is where it starts. In order to learn, things must often be explained to us. If they were obvious, there wouldn't be much to the learning process, would there? Also, We often find that when we explain something to someone else, we end up understanding it better ourselves. That is because, if you don't really understand something, you have a really hard time explaining it. (Perhaps this is why so many Freemasons have trouble talking about the fraternity with others. They don't really understand it themselves. They obviously were not educated.) Asking a question is often the best way to learn something. Why spend a lot of time researching something that the man next to you already knows and can answer right away if asked. Then you spend all that research time looking up something that the next guy doesn't already know. Asking a question is not expressing ignorance, it is expressing a desire to learn and to understand. Finally, practice what you learn. That works for ritual. In fact, repetition is the only way to learn ritual. Well, practicing what you learn helps you to learn more than ritual. It helps you become what you learn. And if much of what we are supposed to be learning in Freemasonry is how to improve ourselves, then we had better become what we learn. So there you have it, LEAP. Learn, explain, ask, and practice. I'm sure you've heard the expression, "Look before you leap." Well, that is good advice, too. But just make sure to take the leap after you've taken a good look to see which way you should jump.