THANK YOU, Haley, for highlighting this conversation about classical education. I'm so appalled by how it's being co-opted by ideology, as seen by the backlash to Dr. Hooten Wilson.
Thank you for drawing attention to the need for classical education and Dr.Hooten Wilson's work. We have been using a classical education framework as homeschoolers and I am incredibly grateful for all the richness it has provided. I recently wrote a piece 'The great forgetting' https://schooloftheunconformed.substack.com/p/the-great-forgetting
which focuses on how the loss of memory is leading to a decline of our cultural heritage. Mainstream schools have dropped the practice of memorization during the mid 20th century to the detriment of language, knowledge, and tradition. Classical education is one of the avenues that still upholds these values. Thanks again:)
I got my 4 year old daughter the Curious Christmas trail this Christmas as she had loved the first book. A memory I’ll always treasure is reading her that story on Christmas Day and her increasing excitement, as she figured out the mystery and waited for the mice to find the missing sister. I loved getting to see that anticipation build in her; I felt like I was seeing my own childhood playing out in her. Thanks for these delightful books Haley. (For some unknown reason she called them the “Mice on Dice” books!)
So glad you highlighted classical education and the horrible ways it gets dragged into the political arena by extremists on both sides of the aisle. I studied the Great Books and have taught them, and am a better human being for it. Currently looking at a homeschooling classical co-op for my kiddos and hoping it will turn out well. Biggest worry right now with glancing at text books is what you’ve described in your post; a narrowing of the canon (and a sanitizing of church/American history) that doesn’t give my children the full picture of human experience, both the beautiful and the sinful/broken
Oh, and thirdly, if I were to speak to Mr. Freeman, I would have to ask him to please define that word “woke” so I might have some possible understanding of what a “woke outburst” is, exactly? I wonder if there aren’t a whole lot of people who throw the word “woke” around like so much confetti, without knowing its definition, even as they so freely apply it to those they would merely like to silence with the use of such a politically charged, and ultimately demeaning, label.
First of all, the vilification of classical education in general, and great books programs in particular, is not a new phenomenon in the least. Among the best classical education programs that was new in the late 20th century was led by the great educator, Dr. John Senior, at the University of Kansas and I was fortunate to be a student in the program. The program, and the professors who taught it, were more and more reviled by “ideologues” as the years went on until the program was forced to end.
That was such a shame because among the things the program encouraged and taught all of us young impressionable college students was (horror of horrors!) memorizing and reciting poetry, learning and singing classical music selections as well as a variety of well-loved American folk songs, and even learning better to identify constellations on wonderful evening outings to (of all things!) gaze at the stars lighting up the velvety night sky. There was even an annual dance where the young ladies dressed in formal gowns and the young men (even if they did have shoulder-length or longer hair in those days) wore tuxedos and everybody gathered in a ballroom to (no, not disco) yes, waltz around the floor together in pairs as orchestral music filled the air. Imagine that for a minute, and likely, you will understand a bit of the wonder we experienced in that little world, which exuded an abundance of truth, beauty and goodness.
So sadly, everything old is now new again, it seems.
Secondly, though, I think there may be a bit of information missing from your posted commentary?
You wrote, “The response from to Dr. Hooten Wilson’s expansion of the canon of great texts to include figures like Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois and historically celebrated women such as St. Hildegard of Bingen, Héloïse d’Argenteuil, Marie de France, St. Catherine of Siena, and Christine de Pizan is telling.”
Wondering if you may have intended to include something (a name?) between the words “from” and “to” in your commentary? Asking only to gain clarity on what you may have intended to include there (perhaps it was Matthew Freeman’s name?). Whatever it was, thank you for sharing this important commentary!
I think there's definitely a lot of confusion and misuse of the term "classical." I agree that liberal arts might be a better term to use. But ugh. Why can't we have nice things?!
THANK YOU, Haley, for highlighting this conversation about classical education. I'm so appalled by how it's being co-opted by ideology, as seen by the backlash to Dr. Hooten Wilson.
She is such a gift to classical education and the absurdity of seeing her as some kind of dangerous specter of wokeism is just mind boggling.
I was just coming on to say this! I agree with Haley wholeheartedly.
Thank you for drawing attention to the need for classical education and Dr.Hooten Wilson's work. We have been using a classical education framework as homeschoolers and I am incredibly grateful for all the richness it has provided. I recently wrote a piece 'The great forgetting' https://schooloftheunconformed.substack.com/p/the-great-forgetting
which focuses on how the loss of memory is leading to a decline of our cultural heritage. Mainstream schools have dropped the practice of memorization during the mid 20th century to the detriment of language, knowledge, and tradition. Classical education is one of the avenues that still upholds these values. Thanks again:)
One of my favorite things about the classical Catholic school my kids attended in TX was memory work. Weekly poem memorization! A dream!
I got my 4 year old daughter the Curious Christmas trail this Christmas as she had loved the first book. A memory I’ll always treasure is reading her that story on Christmas Day and her increasing excitement, as she figured out the mystery and waited for the mice to find the missing sister. I loved getting to see that anticipation build in her; I felt like I was seeing my own childhood playing out in her. Thanks for these delightful books Haley. (For some unknown reason she called them the “Mice on Dice” books!)
This makes me SO happy! Thank you, Megan!
So glad you highlighted classical education and the horrible ways it gets dragged into the political arena by extremists on both sides of the aisle. I studied the Great Books and have taught them, and am a better human being for it. Currently looking at a homeschooling classical co-op for my kiddos and hoping it will turn out well. Biggest worry right now with glancing at text books is what you’ve described in your post; a narrowing of the canon (and a sanitizing of church/American history) that doesn’t give my children the full picture of human experience, both the beautiful and the sinful/broken
100% with you. I have the exact same concerns. And I also come from a Great Books background (Baylor).
And thank you for introducing the link with all the Easter books! I had never heard about the Internet Archive before. What a wonderful resource!
Oh, and thirdly, if I were to speak to Mr. Freeman, I would have to ask him to please define that word “woke” so I might have some possible understanding of what a “woke outburst” is, exactly? I wonder if there aren’t a whole lot of people who throw the word “woke” around like so much confetti, without knowing its definition, even as they so freely apply it to those they would merely like to silence with the use of such a politically charged, and ultimately demeaning, label.
First of all, the vilification of classical education in general, and great books programs in particular, is not a new phenomenon in the least. Among the best classical education programs that was new in the late 20th century was led by the great educator, Dr. John Senior, at the University of Kansas and I was fortunate to be a student in the program. The program, and the professors who taught it, were more and more reviled by “ideologues” as the years went on until the program was forced to end.
That was such a shame because among the things the program encouraged and taught all of us young impressionable college students was (horror of horrors!) memorizing and reciting poetry, learning and singing classical music selections as well as a variety of well-loved American folk songs, and even learning better to identify constellations on wonderful evening outings to (of all things!) gaze at the stars lighting up the velvety night sky. There was even an annual dance where the young ladies dressed in formal gowns and the young men (even if they did have shoulder-length or longer hair in those days) wore tuxedos and everybody gathered in a ballroom to (no, not disco) yes, waltz around the floor together in pairs as orchestral music filled the air. Imagine that for a minute, and likely, you will understand a bit of the wonder we experienced in that little world, which exuded an abundance of truth, beauty and goodness.
So sadly, everything old is now new again, it seems.
Secondly, though, I think there may be a bit of information missing from your posted commentary?
You wrote, “The response from to Dr. Hooten Wilson’s expansion of the canon of great texts to include figures like Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois and historically celebrated women such as St. Hildegard of Bingen, Héloïse d’Argenteuil, Marie de France, St. Catherine of Siena, and Christine de Pizan is telling.”
Wondering if you may have intended to include something (a name?) between the words “from” and “to” in your commentary? Asking only to gain clarity on what you may have intended to include there (perhaps it was Matthew Freeman’s name?). Whatever it was, thank you for sharing this important commentary!
I think there's definitely a lot of confusion and misuse of the term "classical." I agree that liberal arts might be a better term to use. But ugh. Why can't we have nice things?!