I saw a sign in Chicago today for a "Children's University," and that stimulated me to look up the word "university." It's etymology is from the Latin word universitas, meaning "the while, a corporate body." The definitions all revolve around "an institution of higher learning. I wonder how it evolved. Is there a more general definition for "university" such that a children's university would be correct?

"Children's University" sounds like an oxymoron to me, something like "Post Doctoral Kindergarten," but googling "Children's University" I got 16,500 hits, including the following:


Kent Children's University

Birmingham Children's Universty (Under Construction)

Children's University of Hull

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jerry thomas,

Sounds perfectly fine to me. We homeschool our kids; I would describe our curriculum as 8 years of kindergarten followed by 8 years of graduate school.

There's a fad here for calling schools "colleges". In some cases children as young as seven can be attending a "college".

I know that Americans often refer to their colleges as schools; this is the reverse.

The government also has a plan in which some schools that are failing to provide an acceptable level of education for their kids are closed and are set up under a new name. They are given extra funding direct from the government, experienced teachers and administrators are drafted in, and better eqipment is provided. The new school includes the word "Academy" in its name.

Neveu- sounds like a great set-up!

Arnie - we have schools that are in bad shape, too. I like the sounds of that Academy program.