{"id":2374470,"date":"2024-11-29T13:44:56","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T18:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/parents-across-america-are-flocking-to-classical-education\/"},"modified":"2024-11-29T13:48:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T18:48:57","slug":"parents-across-america-are-flocking-to-classical-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/parents-across-america-are-flocking-to-classical-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents Across America Are Flocking To Classical Education"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fparents-across-america-are-flocking-to-classical-education%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2374470&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the rapid growth of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/limbaugh-the-lefts-systemic-exploitation-of-race\/\" title=\"LIMBAUGH: The Left\u2019s Systemic Exploitation Of Race\">classical education<\/a>\u2063 schools across the \u2062United \u200dStates, highlighting a rising interest from \u200dparents \u200din traditional curricula that\u200b includes classical literature, Latin, and the arts. \u2062Despite the \u200cbelief among some intellectuals that few parents would prefer\u200b this educational approach, enrollment numbers contradict this assumption.\u2064 For instance, Valor Education in Texas has seen its \u200cnetwork expand\u200d to five\u2063 schools since 2018, boasting over 4,200 enrolled students\u2064 and 5,500 on waitlists.<\/p>\n<p>Another example is the Alberta Classical Academy in \u2063Calgary, which opened in 2022 and quickly exceeded its enrollment expectations, now\u200c having\u200d 1,300\u200c students. Both\u200c schools emphasize a rigorous curriculum, with\u200c required readings from classic authors and an\u2064 emphasis on subjects like Latin and fine arts.<\/p>\n<p>The article notes that parents are\u2064 increasingly turning away from public schools that adopt a more \u2062progressive educational philosophy. Rather than defending classical education from criticisms of being outdated or\u2062 irrelevant, \u200dproponents argue that parents have made their\u200c preferences \u200bclear through their choices in schooling.\u200d This \u2062shift reflects a broader rejection of leftist educational theories that dismiss \u200ctraditional curricula,\u200c advocating \u2062instead for a rigorous and historically grounded education. the rise in\u2063 classical education is portrayed as a response to a perceived inadequacy in modern\u200b educational\u2064 methods, focusing on the enduring value of the Western\u200d canon and its teachings.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The growth of classical education schools is astonishing. The numbers keep rising; there is no sign that the movement is beginning to plateau. Schools open, networks are created, charters are authorized, and kids fill the seats. One would think that as more spaces are available the (supposedly) small number of parents who favor the classical way would be satisfied and demand would diminish. <\/p>\n<p>How many Americans want their children to study Latin, read the Old and New Testaments, and appreciate the High Art of the Renaissance? Couldn&rsquo;t be too many, say intellectuals and educators on the left. Those enlightened practitioners can&rsquo;t help assuming that a classical curriculum should turn people off, given the half-century of multiculturalist criticism of Western civilization and American exceptionalism, but apparently the long campaign to kill respect for the old lineage hasn&rsquo;t succeeded.<\/p>\n<p>A prime example: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.valoreducation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Valor Education<\/a> is a network of five schools in Texas. The first one opened in Austin in 2018, a charter school squarely in the classical mode. Two years later, school leaders saw enough local interest to open another school in Austin, then in 2022 a school in Kyle, and in 2023 schools in Leander and San Antonio. The numbers now: 4,200 enrolled in the five campuses and 5,500 on the waitlists.<\/p>\n<p>Part of the attraction of Valor campuses is the free tuition, to be sure, but public schools are free too. Valor doesn&rsquo;t screen students for background or ability, so anyone can apply and have an equal chance of admission. The real draw, however, is the curriculum, which is certainly not geared to a no-child-left-behind attitude that ends up lowering standards so that, indeed, no child is left behind. <\/p>\n<p>Valor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.valoreducation.org\/classical-curriculum\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">speaks<\/a> forthrightly of Great Books. It requires students to memorize poetry, learn Latin, and study the fine arts. In 8th grade, students read <em>Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass<\/em>, <em>Tom Sawyer<\/em>, and <em>The Merchant of Venice<\/em>. Two years before, they read William Shakespeare&rsquo;s <em>Julius Caesar<\/em>. In 12th grade, it&rsquo;s Dante and Fyodor Dostoevsky.<\/p>\n<p>Another example is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalacademy.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alberta Classical Academy<\/a> in Calgary, which was authorized as a charter school in January 2022 and started in August of that year. Caylan Ford, one of the founders, says that they had to pass out fliers, circulate at the Calgary Stampede, and reach out to local churches in order to recruit because the idea of a charter classical school was unknown in the region. The building could handle 280 kids, and in the spring Ford worried that they wouldn&rsquo;t reach nearly that number.<\/p>\n<p>But on day one, 294 students had signed up, many of them Nigerian Christians worried about safety and wokeness in the public schools. In its second year, a campus opened in Edmonton and enrollment <em>tripled<\/em>, with 2,000 kids on the waitlist. This year, Alberta Classical has 1,300 students. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalacademy.ca\/curriculum-overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">curriculum<\/a> shows the same rigorous classical focus as Valor. Mandatory Latin begins in 5th grade, there&rsquo;s an Ancient Greek Club and a Mandarin Club, and 9th grade <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalacademy.ca\/great-books-list\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">readings<\/a> include Shakespeare, George Orwell, and Marcus Aurelius. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The readings are daunting, especially in an age of screen-induced aliteracy, but it&rsquo;s exactly what thousands of parents want for their kids. If we showed the Valor and Alberta curricula to a public school instructor not long out of ed school and well-trained in leftist dogmas, that teacher would shake her head in disbelief. <\/p>\n<p>To ask kids to memorize classic poems and speeches is to turn youths into automata, she believes. Rote memorization has no place in active learning, she&rsquo;s been told. And Great Books are <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">wholly age-inappropriate &#038;mdash<\/a>; few kids can handle them. The list is too dead-white-male, Eurocentric, and obsolete. Why sink kids into writings with no relevance to contemporary affairs and 21st-century identities?<\/p>\n<h2>Parents Have Voted with their Feet<\/h2>\n<p>It&rsquo;s a tiresome response that has prevailed in orthodox education spaces for 50 years. Conservatives and traditionalist liberals, however, have struggled to refute it. I have sat in many education meetings and witnessed a few dissenters, myself included, attempt a reply and persuade nobody. <\/p>\n<p>But times have changed. We no longer have to argue against the leftist outlook in order to justify Valor education and other classical initiatives. The parents do that for us. They have voted with their feet. To educators who object to the conservative thrust of classical education, we can say, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t criticize us &mdash; blame the parents.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>We are in a happy situation, a stronger one that followed the inauguration of charter schools and Washington-led efforts such as No Child Left Behind. Classical education isn&rsquo;t a logistical innovation or a testing regime. It&rsquo;s a positive vision of the past, challenging and rigorous, but constructive and inspiring.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s a sad feeling for the educators, though, and not just because of the loss of students. The reason for the loss cannot be ignored; the departure is an indictment of leftist theories of learning. Classical schools treasure precisely what leftist principles reject: old books and Great Books, Western Civilization, memorization, religion, dead languages, high art. <\/p>\n<p>During the so-called Canon Wars of the 1980s and early 1990s, multiculturalists believe that they had defeated Western Civ for good. Multiculturalism conquered schools of education and district offices, and it eradicated Western Civ courses from general education requirements at colleges across the country, tarring traditions such as the Great American Novel as racially, sexually, and politically suspect.<\/p>\n<h2>Trend in Colleges Too<\/h2>\n<p>Now, to the left&rsquo;s dismay, Western Civ is back. Valor and Alberta are two of many extraordinary success stories.<\/p>\n<p>What is likewise becoming clear is the trend at classical colleges with a forthright conservative orientation. <a href=\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Cardinal Newman Society<\/a> has a small network of colleges that it recommends because they adhere strictly to Catholic identity and Catholic tradition. It grants a gold rating, for instance, only if a school never gives honors or tenders speaking invitations to individuals who question Catholic moral teaching. It <a href=\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/general-education-at-catholic-colleges-and-universities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">praises<\/a> the old general education model that set &ldquo;classical works and the ideas that shaped Western civilization and Christianity&rdquo; at the center of the curriculum.<\/p>\n<p>Schools in the network &mdash; Ave Maria in Florida, Belmont Abbey in North Carolina, Benedictine in Kansas, Franciscan in Ohio, Christendom in Virginia, Thomas Aquinas in California and Massachusetts, University of Mary in North Dakota, University of St. Thomas in Texas, and Walsh University in Ohio &mdash; have seen <a href=\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Press-Release-A-Growing-Light-in-the-Darkness-10-25-24c.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">record<\/a> entering classes and total enrollment. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Every shift of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nevada-sheriff-announces-run-to-challenge-democrat-governor-sisolak\/\" title=\"Nevada Sheriff Announces Run To Challenge Democrat Governor Sisolak\">public school children<\/a> to classical schools erodes the authority of progressive schooling. Traditionalists are still vastly outnumbered by progressives, but their popularity among a growing population of parents gives them confidence.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Mark Bauerlein is emeritus professor at Emory University and an editor at First Things magazine.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Classical education schools are rapidly expanding, with no signs of slowing down<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1221,"featured_media":2374471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/8970061367_5848da9f39_k-e1732715488876.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[45887,34783,45886,23335,5007],"class_list":["post-2374470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-alternative-schooling","tag-classical-education","tag-educational-trends","tag-homeschooling","tag-parents"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/8970061367_5848da9f39_k-e1732715488876.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2374470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2374470"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2374470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2374474,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2374470\/revisions\/2374474"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2374471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2374470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2374470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2374470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}