Elsewhere this week: Education and Democracy
Two essays on homeschooling and on classical education
Everyone has very strong feelings about education and about democracy—and for good reason! Both are, at the risk of stating the obvious, very important. I have two essays out this week on the two of these together that draw on my experiences as a homeschooling mother and (until recently) an academic in the field of Classics.
First, “The (Home)school of Democracy” for Providence magazine. I reviewed a new book on homeschooling, which moves beyond the nuts and bolts, so this review provided a good opportunity to talk about ways in which homeschooling can do something good not just for the family, but for our democracy. I’m not saying homeschooling is THE only way to achieve these aims. But I am saying that this is one outcome of homeschooling that is valuable for our society as a whole and we should talk about it more.
Second, “Drafting Socrates into the Culture Wars?” for Law & Liberty. I know a lot of people now associate classical education with the right, but in this piece, I do what historians do best: complicate the picture. I use Emma Green’s excellent piece on classical education in the New Yorker back in March as the starting point.
One thing that has deeply bothered me about cultural discussions of late: some things that I think most of us would classify as undeniably good and, really, essential for human flourishing are now being coded as “right” or “left.” That is what I am trying to do in this essay on classical education—show why this kind of thinking is problematic.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this: any other topics where you have noticed this happening and would like to (respectfully) push back?
Dr. Williams : Thanks for writing & Happy Mother’s Day.
In Christ,
John G.