Classical Education: Don't Let This Happen to You...Oh no, I forgot to think!

You'd think classical educators (parents and formal teachers) would be among the last to commit this mistake, but perhaps this yet another mistake. Because classical texts are so difficult to decode in the first place, we think our work is done if our kids can read the Great Books, understand basically what they mean, and do well enough in the challenging work assigned to them. But it is surprisingly easy for all of us to be swept up in the work of this education (Latin nouns to decline, etc.) that we forget to think and we forget to ask our children to think, too.

Oh no, you might say. I'm not ready. I'm just getting through Aeschylus, and want to be through Zeno before I...

Well, there's no time like today. It's not enough to work through the texts. Our kids need practice thinking through why they believe what they do, and they need to practice thinking, considering other viewpoints, and really grappling to understand why they believe what they do, where are their gray areas, and what they might reconsider.

We've recently as a family been watching and debating the issues of Michael Sandel's Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do course at Harvard. It was last available on the Internet 3 years ago and its replaying with free videos on Youtube.com, Discussion guides, and Discussions forums (haven't tried the latter). The content is for older children and preview it to see if it might be appropriate for you. Sandel presents some extreme cases to get participants to reflect on what they believe and why.

Last night, we had a spirited discussion at home as Brock put our son in the 'hot seat' having to answer some of the discussion guide questions such as:

1. Is it unjust for the government to require people to wear seatbelts and not engage in self-endangering activities?
2. Should the government legalize narcotics?
3. Should there be a minimum wage?

We're on Lecture 3 out of 12, and Sandel discussed the viewpoint of Libertarianism and Robert Nozick. We've just finished Jeremy Bentham and Utilitarianism and John Stuart Mill's view of liberty and higher and lower good. A surprisingly wide discussion of topics arose from this film, rights of individuals and statism, the definition of good in a pluralistic society, economics, and political differences.

I think it's especially important to connect classical ideas with contemporary challenges and its programs like this that help bridge the gap

So whether you're a lifelong or newly minted student of classical education, don't forget to think!



Artist: Roy Lichtenstein