Amid growing claims that schools indoctrinate students, ‘classical education’—which teaches kids to think critically and master old books—is making a comeback.
What’s old is new again. These academies should pay Randi Weingarten and the teachers unions a marketing fee. Years of school closures, masking, and politicized instruction have destroyed public schools. Parents with means will vote with their wallets, but disadvantaged kids will remain trapped under the soft bigotry of low expectations and incompetent teachers. All in the name of equity and progress!
Great article. It made my day!! I pray that “classical education” continues to make a comeback and more and more parents have the chance to get their kids this education.
I graduated high school in 1965 - St. Joseph’s Preparatory High School, known as The Prep. I studied Latin for 4 years, Greek for 3 years, English and Math for 4 years. 1,500 eighth graders from all over the Philadelphia area took an entrance exam and needed their teacher’s recommendation to apply. Only 250 or so were admitted and even fewer graduated. Standards were rigorous, the competition for grades was intense but friendly, and we learned to think critically (without the term being bandied about) from Jesuit priests and scholastics who are among the most educated in the world themselves. No chaos as found in local city high schools was tolerated and none was evident. It was a bit heavy on the religious part for my current taste, but I didn’t have that problem with The Prep at the time. That education taught me how to analyze, to understand and to solve problems. It gave me a vocabulary and taught me how to write. It gave me perspective and a foundation that grounds me while forming opinions. Invaluable! All thanks to The Prep and its old fashioned way of actually teaching, not indoctrinating young minds.
While I understand the limitations in visiting a school local to the reporter, it would have been nice to highlight how this curriculum works out for a working class population able to attend one of the charter schools listed. Otherwise, I demand the Free Press cover the fight for school choice nationwide so us working class stiffs can help bridge the financial gap of these $20-36K/year Ivy League prep institutions.
TFP repeat after me: Not everyone who reads the Free Press TGIFs in Vale. Not everyone who reads the Free Press vacations in Bora Bora. Not everyone who reads the Free Press can afford $20 cocktails.
This is so beautiful and heart warming. I am encouraged. I was on the board of governors for a classical academy and both my daughters had access to this curriculum. It set them on a path of loving beauty truth and goodness that continues to this day.
It seems that "progressive" education was just retrograde garbage all along...
Well, there is now a generation of union educated morons perfectly primed to vote for whichever monkey offers them free stuff.
Hopefully these schools will teach their students a healthy dose of disdain for their erstwhile "peers" in the diversity, equity and inclusion concentration camps that are America's public schools...
The "classical" education is what we should expect as the standard in a free and civilized society. The question to ask is "what happened to our country" that expectations are so low.
It is not only great for students but also for teachers. I absolutely loved the discussions I had with my students. It was challenging, respectful, reasoned, engaging, really I just can’t say enough about how wonderful it was. If you don’t have a classical school in your town just start one. We started one by being a cooperative for a few years then expanded to become a school over the course of a few years. There are also many classical opportunities for homeschoolers as well.
Just a note: Inly the original Hillsdale K-12 schoo is mentioned here, but Hillsdale has an incredible network of Classical K-12 Public Charter schools across the country as well as a few affiliated (Member) Private Christian Classical Academies. And their membership continues to grow. Hillsdale does not financially benefit from their member schools and instead provides free curriculum, classical training for teachers, Head of school training and support, as well as Board training and support.
As President of a start-up Hillsdale Member Classical Christian Academy outside of Pittsburgh named Penn Woods Classical Academy, I can say Hillsdale has provided exceptional guidance and support! We are extremely grateful for all that Hillsdale has provided us to make our dream a reality.
Aside from the K-12 Initiative of Hillsdale College, the Society for Classical Learning, led by Eric Cook, and the Circe Institute, led by Andrew Kern, are important organizations to follow!!!!
I went to a wretched comprehensive in the UK 1969-1976, but I was still taught Latin, Shakespeare, the Brontes and Hardy. Having that grounding I went on learning, discovering Homer, Dante, Milton, Dickens, Trollope, Smollett and Gaskell for myself. And that wasn't even my field of work. A proper education gives you the tools, and the desire, to keep on learning. These kids will have a huge advantage.
Wow -- teaching the students how to think rather than telling them exactly what they should be thinking. What a concept!
It kind of reminds me of the old saying -- "give a man (or in this case, a student) a fish and he eats today; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime".
I love classical schools and the classical education for so, so many reasons. The uniforms eliminate having to choose what to wear every day, eliminate the distinction between the 'rich' kids and the scholarship kids, separates what is done at school to what is done after school, and demonstrates that one is not a brand nor does the external define and identify. The deep exploration of the ideas, the historic events, and cultural movements which shaped Western Society will at least give young burgeoning citizen-humans a scaffolding to observe and interpret their lives and their world, whether to they ultimately accept or advance or reject Modern Times. The banishment of phones and Chrome books in favor of reading physical books, in my opinion, will lead to burnishing concentration, taking notes with pencil and paper will enhance learning, and hand written in class exams in a Blue Book will eliminate the shadow of AI. Public schools have become chaotic and disruptive, teachers are stretched to the limit, the curriculum is no longer about expecting hard work and rewarding excellence, the libraries are political battle grounds, and there is more focus on mental health and 'right thinking' about identity than about the mental and more development of our youth.
Not to be overly critical but one of my pet peeves was violated in paragraph two of this article. When writing about classic education, which purportedly avoids political correctness, please avoid terms like BCE. Its BC! BCE and its counterpart, CE, snuck into our lexicon so that non-Christians wouldn't be offended. It is PC on its face and counter to the article's point.
Woohoo! Learning to think instead of what to think. I especially want to be a fly on the wall in on the class studying diverse social contract philosophers like Rousseau, Locke, Hobbes (what about Montesquieu!)
What’s old is new again. These academies should pay Randi Weingarten and the teachers unions a marketing fee. Years of school closures, masking, and politicized instruction have destroyed public schools. Parents with means will vote with their wallets, but disadvantaged kids will remain trapped under the soft bigotry of low expectations and incompetent teachers. All in the name of equity and progress!
Great article. It made my day!! I pray that “classical education” continues to make a comeback and more and more parents have the chance to get their kids this education.
I graduated high school in 1965 - St. Joseph’s Preparatory High School, known as The Prep. I studied Latin for 4 years, Greek for 3 years, English and Math for 4 years. 1,500 eighth graders from all over the Philadelphia area took an entrance exam and needed their teacher’s recommendation to apply. Only 250 or so were admitted and even fewer graduated. Standards were rigorous, the competition for grades was intense but friendly, and we learned to think critically (without the term being bandied about) from Jesuit priests and scholastics who are among the most educated in the world themselves. No chaos as found in local city high schools was tolerated and none was evident. It was a bit heavy on the religious part for my current taste, but I didn’t have that problem with The Prep at the time. That education taught me how to analyze, to understand and to solve problems. It gave me a vocabulary and taught me how to write. It gave me perspective and a foundation that grounds me while forming opinions. Invaluable! All thanks to The Prep and its old fashioned way of actually teaching, not indoctrinating young minds.
While I understand the limitations in visiting a school local to the reporter, it would have been nice to highlight how this curriculum works out for a working class population able to attend one of the charter schools listed. Otherwise, I demand the Free Press cover the fight for school choice nationwide so us working class stiffs can help bridge the financial gap of these $20-36K/year Ivy League prep institutions.
TFP repeat after me: Not everyone who reads the Free Press TGIFs in Vale. Not everyone who reads the Free Press vacations in Bora Bora. Not everyone who reads the Free Press can afford $20 cocktails.
This is so beautiful and heart warming. I am encouraged. I was on the board of governors for a classical academy and both my daughters had access to this curriculum. It set them on a path of loving beauty truth and goodness that continues to this day.
It seems that "progressive" education was just retrograde garbage all along...
Well, there is now a generation of union educated morons perfectly primed to vote for whichever monkey offers them free stuff.
Hopefully these schools will teach their students a healthy dose of disdain for their erstwhile "peers" in the diversity, equity and inclusion concentration camps that are America's public schools...
Write these institutions into your wills.
The "classical" education is what we should expect as the standard in a free and civilized society. The question to ask is "what happened to our country" that expectations are so low.
It is not only great for students but also for teachers. I absolutely loved the discussions I had with my students. It was challenging, respectful, reasoned, engaging, really I just can’t say enough about how wonderful it was. If you don’t have a classical school in your town just start one. We started one by being a cooperative for a few years then expanded to become a school over the course of a few years. There are also many classical opportunities for homeschoolers as well.
Just a note: Inly the original Hillsdale K-12 schoo is mentioned here, but Hillsdale has an incredible network of Classical K-12 Public Charter schools across the country as well as a few affiliated (Member) Private Christian Classical Academies. And their membership continues to grow. Hillsdale does not financially benefit from their member schools and instead provides free curriculum, classical training for teachers, Head of school training and support, as well as Board training and support.
As President of a start-up Hillsdale Member Classical Christian Academy outside of Pittsburgh named Penn Woods Classical Academy, I can say Hillsdale has provided exceptional guidance and support! We are extremely grateful for all that Hillsdale has provided us to make our dream a reality.
Aside from the K-12 Initiative of Hillsdale College, the Society for Classical Learning, led by Eric Cook, and the Circe Institute, led by Andrew Kern, are important organizations to follow!!!!
I went to a wretched comprehensive in the UK 1969-1976, but I was still taught Latin, Shakespeare, the Brontes and Hardy. Having that grounding I went on learning, discovering Homer, Dante, Milton, Dickens, Trollope, Smollett and Gaskell for myself. And that wasn't even my field of work. A proper education gives you the tools, and the desire, to keep on learning. These kids will have a huge advantage.
Wow -- teaching the students how to think rather than telling them exactly what they should be thinking. What a concept!
It kind of reminds me of the old saying -- "give a man (or in this case, a student) a fish and he eats today; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime".
I love classical schools and the classical education for so, so many reasons. The uniforms eliminate having to choose what to wear every day, eliminate the distinction between the 'rich' kids and the scholarship kids, separates what is done at school to what is done after school, and demonstrates that one is not a brand nor does the external define and identify. The deep exploration of the ideas, the historic events, and cultural movements which shaped Western Society will at least give young burgeoning citizen-humans a scaffolding to observe and interpret their lives and their world, whether to they ultimately accept or advance or reject Modern Times. The banishment of phones and Chrome books in favor of reading physical books, in my opinion, will lead to burnishing concentration, taking notes with pencil and paper will enhance learning, and hand written in class exams in a Blue Book will eliminate the shadow of AI. Public schools have become chaotic and disruptive, teachers are stretched to the limit, the curriculum is no longer about expecting hard work and rewarding excellence, the libraries are political battle grounds, and there is more focus on mental health and 'right thinking' about identity than about the mental and more development of our youth.
Not to be overly critical but one of my pet peeves was violated in paragraph two of this article. When writing about classic education, which purportedly avoids political correctness, please avoid terms like BCE. Its BC! BCE and its counterpart, CE, snuck into our lexicon so that non-Christians wouldn't be offended. It is PC on its face and counter to the article's point.
Woohoo! Learning to think instead of what to think. I especially want to be a fly on the wall in on the class studying diverse social contract philosophers like Rousseau, Locke, Hobbes (what about Montesquieu!)
What wonderful institutions! And how much more effective they would be if this type of education started at home.