If you do a quick Google search for the term ‘Classical
Education’ you will be flooded with links to various forums, curriculum
companies, and blogs giving advice on how to best practice the system. The
modern classical education movement, an educational method rooted in the
traditions of the medieval university system, is enjoying a resurgence of
popularity today. It bills itself as an answer to the crisis in which the
public education system finds itself.
I am something of a unicorn in the public
education system. I am a state certified teacher who teaches classically. I don’t
teach to our state test (I don’t even mention it until the day before they take
it, and they still do amazing). My students read great works of literature, we
have Socratic seminars, memorize and recite poetry, engage in debate and public
forums, and learn about things like logical syllogisms and ancient rhetoric.
What’s more, I even teach in a public classical school! And yet, in my own
sphere, the majority of my colleagues, administrators, superintendents, and
board members are ignorant of or hostile to the aims of classical education
(for those wondering how this can be, I work in a public charter school owned
by a parent company. The CEO of our company has a classical vision, but that
doesn’t mean that everyone in the company shares this, and in fact, many don’t).
In
professional teaching circles there is a doubling down against methods of
teaching or ideas about education that go against whatever passes for the
professional consensus, and there is a reluctance to admit that education needs
to change at a fundamental level. If you ask most public school professional
educators today what classical education is you'll most likely get blank
stares. If you do get a reaction, it is likely to be hostile, ill-informed, or
both. In the minds of many state certified teachers, classical education is associated
with rote-memorization (a Bad thing), teaching out of textbooks, and learning
that is derived primarily from the works and ideas of white, European,
Christian men (another Bad thing).
However, many normal people (read, not
professional teachers) have lost confidence in this ‘Traditional’ model of
education (educational methods developed in the 1970’s). According to a Gallup poll, in 1973 nearly 60%
of the American people had a great deal of confidence in the American education
system, while less than 10% had little confidence. As the years have gone on
there has been a dramatic shift in people’s perception of American education.
The percentage of people who have high confidence in our education system has
suffered steady decline, while the number of people who have low confidence in
our system has continued to rise.
(Gallup poll) (Jack Schneider/Gallup)
Because of
this loss of confidence, many educational alternatives have been developed and
sought. This can be seen in the rise of the charter school movement, the
increase in private schools, and the boom of the home school community. In
recent years the alternative education movement has tended to turn more and
more to the past – seeking better teaching methods and increased educational
quality in the Classical Education movement.
The world of education is in crisis – even if it is only a crisis in confidence. This blog is my letter to the professional educational community. It’s time to start teaching students how to think logically and critically, and not how to test. It’s time to stop focusing so much on what is relevant or useful and focus on what is timeless and valuable. It’s time to stop trying to create good citizens and start working together with families and communities to create good individuals. Modern public education is philosophically opposed in its methods and curriculum to these goals, and yet many individual teachers understand that the goal of education is to help immature people become good and decent human beings. Traditional education can’t do that. It’s time to give classical a try.
