> They are claiming that the mesorah is to be just as educated today as we were 100 years ago, 250 years ago and 1,000 years ago. None of those periods included a secular studies curriculum for the masses of bochorim. It did include a highly rigorous Biblical and Talmudical curriculum.
I am not sure about 1,000 years ago, but 100 years ago most of my zeides and some bobbies were educated at the level of their times and were involved in technical businesses and trades.
Volozhin yeshiva had 400 students, this was not universal.
Still, the bigger point is that Jews were not less educated that others and probably more, given our tradition of learning.
I agree that life-long learning is the ideal, and I don’t see how knowing sciences is worse for your life-long learning than working hard cleaning after the cows and horses.