Some academics might consider sport mainly as popular culture, or a mere social fad; others might see it as an unwelcome demand on students’ time, better dedicated to the study, scholarship and life of the mind with which classical education is most concerned. Those of a different view would say that so far as pursuit of Truth, Goodness and Beauty are concerned, there are few fields of human activity combining all three more harmoniously than sport. In Plato’s “Republic,” Socrates explains that a good education combines the harmonization of athletics and the liberal arts. He argues that the human being “who makes the finest mixture of gymnastics with music and brings them to his soul in the most proper measure is the one of whom we would most correctly say that he is perfectly and well harmonized” (412a). So, does the inclusion of competitive athletics in a classical education harmonize the human soul? Does the immense popularity of sport in the modern world reflect in some way the human attraction to Truth, or to the transcendent? Are there ways in which competitive sport tests acquired knowledge and otherwise soundly forms the human person? Does participation in competitive sport develop the listening and comprehension skills, as well as the practical and competitive intelligence of students to enhance their preparation for the world beyond secondary school? Is there as much to be learned and acquired of virtue on the playing field as in the library, as much sound formation under the lead of a skilled coach as under a master scholar? And finally, what will now become of the connection between scholarship and sport, as collegiate athletics become increasingly professionalized?

The ChatGPT era has provoked angst in the education community, leading some to question whether the student essay should be abandoned in favor of other pedagogies. As educators wrestle with the implications of AI, we would do well to start with the raison d’être of education and the place of writing therein. The panelists will discuss the purpose of student writing, the challenges presented by ChatGPT, and solutions to those challenges.

The West is suffering from a crisis of confidence and leadership. A symptom and cause of this malaise is the demoralization of our education systems. The incipient return of classical education to Western classrooms promises to restore morale and morality to Western societies. Mr. Abbott’s talk will reflect on the consolation and counsel that the Great Books have offered him throughout his leadership career and make the case for classical education as the means to cultivate the leaders that the world needs.

Our old stories have been remembered, retold, refined in different guises for thousands of years. For that very reason, what we consider Fairy Tales, although at first glance fanciful and absurd, contain patterns of attention, of harmony and disharmony, what Pythagoras called the Music of the Spheres. For being remembered and retold, they hold a key to what is important to us as humans. We will explore these patterns of consciousness, how stories frame and underlie our experiences with rhythm, how they shape us and our children by attention and care.

Social media is having a devastating effect on the emotional and mental health of America’s youth, especially teenage girls, as social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has demonstrated. Social media thrives on the superficiality of unexamined opinions and accusations—or first impressions. This is the very phenomenon Jane Austen warns against. “We have all a better guide in ourselves,” Austen teaches, “if we would attend to it, than any other person(s) can be.” Sheehan will explore Austen’s advice about coming to know – and trust – ourselves, and how this might be an antidote to some of the problems of our time, including and especially for the Girls of Gen Z.

To say that the classical education movement is growing is an understatement. In the past couple of years, it has exploded across the country as more and more families are attracted to the human formation it offers and more and more teachers have sought a home in a school that promises Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. With this influx, comes a new wave of challenges such as digital distractions, mental health issues, burgeoning emphasis on standardized testing, inadequate resources and personnel to name a few. These challenges pervade the hallowed halls of our academic sanctuaries causing unrest for students, teachers, and administrators in the discharge of their daily responsibilities. The goal of this speech is to remind us all that as torchbearers of the classical tradition, during these tough times, our hearts must beat ceaselessly to the harmonies of humaneness, for it is through mercy that we transcend the confines of mere instruction to forge enduring connections with the sacred souls entrusted to us. May mercy lead us all to a place of victory where the fruits of our service to humanity translates to raising a new generation of leaders who will impact the next generation.

Classical Education engages students in conversations about the subjects and questions fundamental to the pursuit of knowledge for every human being, through the consideration of the great works of literature, history, and philosophy that form our common understanding of the world. The content of these conversations is often complex, perplexing, even troubling, and sometimes complicated by the challenge of events in the world beyond the academy. The purpose of this panel is to discuss how to engage classical education students in challenging subjects through the study and discussion of the great books and classical texts.

What is the value of a liberal education? Traditionally characterized by a rigorous engagement with the classics of Western thought and literature, this approach to education is all but extinct in American universities, replaced by flexible distribution requirements and ever-narrower academic specialization. Many academics attack the very idea of a Western canon as chauvinistic, while the general public increasingly doubts the value of the humanities. In this keynote, Dominican-born American academic Roosevelt Montás tells the story of how a liberal education transformed his life, and offers an intimate account of the relevance of the Great Books today, especially to members of historically marginalized communities.

Many 21st-century teachers view themselves primarily as technicians: they are professional educators who have been trained with a set of skills that, when correctly employed, will produce the desired outcomes. In this seminar, however, I argue that teachers should view themselves primarily as intellectuals, not as technicians. Teachers are master learners whose primary job is to model a life of learning for their students and to lead students on a path of learning that they also are traveling. In addition to examining the conceptual differences between these two paradigms, I also will consider some practical applications of this understanding of teachers as intellectual guides. I will focus in particular on how teachers conceive of their purpose, how they interact with students in and out of the classroom, and what teachers and administrators alike understand to be excellent teaching and worthwhile professional development..

Drawing from his award-winning book from Princeton University Press, Professor Porwancher’s lecture debunks a string of myths about the origins of this founding father to arrive at a startling conclusion: Hamilton, in all likelihood, was born and raised Jewish. For more than two centuries, his youth in the Caribbean has remained shrouded in mystery. Hamilton himself wanted it that way, and most biographers have simply assumed he had a Christian boyhood. With a detective’s persistence and a historian’s rigor, Dr. Porwancher upends that assumption and revolutionizes our understanding of an American icon.

A talk about how the Great Conversation brought about liberation to all of us.

The classical education movement has made great strides towards reconnecting knowledge and virtue in K-12 education. In higher education, however, virtue pedagogy has either been entirely absent, or it has been tied to specific professional or vocational training. In this talk, I will explain the potential I see in higher education by looking at general, liberal education that focuses on the study of classic texts as one of the most promising contexts for virtue pedagogy in young adults, and how it differs from, but is related to, virtue pedagogy in the K-12 grades.

The reading and study of “Great Books” are at the heart of a strong classical education curriculum but what qualifies a book as a “Great book?” There is a crisis of confidence in education across the United States that often makes it difficult for us to agree on what constitutes a “Great Book.” So, what are the characteristics of a “Great Book?” To earn the status of a “Great Book,” what must a text teach us about the human condition, its virtues, vices, beauty, wisdom, character, what the great questions are for a human being, and the place of the human in our political communities, in the world, the universe, our own communities?