“That Would Be Undemocratic”: Individuality and Educational Differentiation in C. S. Lewis’s “Screwtape Proposes a Toast” (1961)

Abstract

This essay surveys C. S. Lewis’s statement and critique of British education as found in “Screwtape Proposes a Toast” (Lewis, 1961) and other works within his oeuvre. In this short story, Lewis elaborates on the state of education in postwar English society through the eyes of his protagonist: a demon. In distilling Lewis’s Christian philosophy of education, the essay explores individuality, differentiation, and various correlated themes in juxtaposition to extant literature on twentieth-century educational reform. Having the educational impact of Christian tenets as the common denominator, the essay concludes with individuality and differentiation standing at the core of Christian education.