Category: Classical Education

There is one thing, though, which never fails to bring real consolation to me in moments of stress, doubt, or wondering “what is it all for?” The obvious answer, for many teachers, is, of course, their students and the relationships they build with them over the years. This is true of myself as well, but recently my thoughts have dwelt on the everyday interactions, the words my students say, the things they notice, and the things they speak surreptitiously to each other in the back of class when they think, foolishly, that I cannot hear them.

The goal of students’ education is not perfection, nor is it merely practical skills and good grades. The goal is not even getting an amazing job or getting into the right college. The goal is for students to appreciate what is true, good, and beautiful in the subjects they learn, so they can see what is true, good, and beautiful in their lives.

Excellent classical education requires both high quality curriculum and good teaching. Hillsdale's K-12 Program Guide supplies the curriculum, and now, Tried and True: A Primer on Sound Pedagogy can help teachers develop their technique and refine their craft.

Envision classroom discussions beaming with student involvement, where curious minds are posing thoughtful questions and attentive peers respond with their own hypotheses, solutions, ideas, and extension questions. How do you build a classroom culture that facilitates this level of engagement and willingness to inquire authentically and share ideas courageously?

In our world of teachers and students, a special community exists within which we all seek to pursue knowledge and strong moral character, but what ought I to give to my students to help them reach those goals?  

Pedagogy and classroom management are necessary, but they are always in service of a higher thing. That higher thing—cultivating within students the wonder and love of learning—ought always to come first. That, then, must also be the end of the education of the teacher when they themselves are students.

We have to learn how to be students, and my favorite book on that subject is Study is Hard Work, by William Armstrong. Except for its title, the book is a welcoming introduction to the habits and skills that make someone a learner.

Today there is confusion about the role of the teacher. It stems from a larger confusion about the role of education in the life of the student. The unfortunate truth is that education is seen primarily as a kind of job training, reducing students to receptacles for information and teachers to its delivery system.

Teachers should be free to use their natural and developed gifts to teach a robust curriculum in science, literature, mathematics, the arts, history, physical education and civics. This is the kind of schooling experience that students deserve, parents desire and society demands. -Dr. Dan Coupland