This talk will examine the etymological origins of the Declaration of Independence, providing a lexical analysis of the text as well as a detailed explanation of the Latinate vocabulary and word choice expressed in the document. The session will also include materials on teaching a lesson on this topic (geared toward middle and high school aged students).

How does constitutional law fit within a classical curriculum? High School Law Review invites students to grapple with Supreme Court cases through close reading, structured debate, and publication in school-based law reviews. This workshop will demonstrate how the program works in a school setting and how it reinforces the classical emphasis on logic, rhetoric, and dialectic. We will also consider the importance of rewarding students’ investment in these values, through network and state-wide reviews that recognize top student work. Together we’ll explore how legal study sharpens critical thinking, nurtures civic literacy, and models respectful disagreement—equipping students to pursue truth with rigor and humility.

The classical vision for education believes actual Truth, Goodness, and Beauty exist outside the desires and formulations of the individual self. It believes this triad is real and timeless and waiting to shape – not be shaped by – the individual and community. This sets up a tension with an American literary tradition with a poet like Walt Whitman at its core – a poet who aptheosizes the individual, poetic voice in an attempt to speak for the people as a whole. American literature (and history and values) wrestles with the competing tensions, eventually producing a character like Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby- the logical end of the unbounded American self. This workshop will spend half the time laying out the tension in American history and literature and the other half discussing what this means for classical educators rooted in a metaphysically realist version of the self instead of a nominalist one. How do we stay faithful to actual Truth, Goodness, and Beauty and the tradition passed on to us by the great thinkers and writers and artists in the midst of a cultural tradition at odds with some of these premises? The discussion should be lively and well worth an occasion celebrating the 250th anniversary of our noble nation’s founding.

As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, it is timely to revisit the intellectual roots of the American experiment, especially the crucial but often misunderstood role of Latin and classical learning in shaping the Founding Fathers’ vision for the nation. This talk will first illuminate how deeply the founders engaged with Latin, not merely as an academic exercise, but as a living tradition that informed their thinking, provided a common vocabulary, and connected them to the virtues and civic ideals of the ancient world. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Adams mastered Latin and read the great Roman historians, orators, and poets in the original language. For these men, classical education was a wellspring of wisdom, shaping their understanding of liberty, governance, and citizenship. The second part of the talk challenges prevailing justifications for Latin in American classical schools. It is common to hear that Latin sharpens test scores, boosts verbal SAT results, and reinforces English grammar. Yet while these outcomes may be real, they risk reducing Latin study to mere utilitarian benefit. Instead, this presentation draws on the example of the Founders, urging educators and school leaders to seek higher aims: formation in virtue, cultivation of eloquence, and participation in a tradition that binds the American project to enduring questions of justice and human flourishing. By examining both the historical reality and aspirational legacy of the Founders’ classical education, attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how Latin can inspire purpose in today’s students, i.e. not only as a tool for academic success, but as a key ingredient in nurturing thoughtful, articulate citizens ready to steward the American experiment into its next century.

Teaching institutions within a classical education setting is important because it connects deep text-based learning to civic literacy, preparing students to become responsible citizens who understand the foundations of society and government. Classical education emphasizes knowledge for its own sake, critical thinking skills, and moral virtue, all of which are essential in guiding young people to appreciate the role of being people of good character so they can lead meaningful, flourishing lives. By studying the traditions that underpin institutions, students not only develop strong analytical abilities but also cultivate ethical perspectives that prepare them for self-governance and thoughtful participation in civic life. This session will engage participants in learning how to implement pedagogy that embeds an understanding of institutions in a text-based approach to learning civics.

The 250th Anniversary of America’s Founding is an especially fitting time to study those writers who influenced the founders. Second only to Montesquieu, John Locke was one of the most cited political thinkers at the American Constitutional Convention, and his thought continues to hold a central place in debates over America’s liberal political tradition and intellectual culture. His Second Treatise of Civil Government is a particularly suitable text for seminar students at the secondary level, and its treatment would mark a significant contribution to their understanding of the founding. This workshop will consist of a brief introduction to how to lead students through the Treatise. Then, for the bulk of our time, we will discuss one or two short selections to give teachers a foundation for leading a seminar on Locke with their students. Participants will experience a discussion under the leadership of a master teacher who has led hundreds of students through Locke’s classic work. Further, each participant will receive a complimentary copy of Cana Academy’s comprehensive guide, Leading a Seminar on Locke’s Second Treatise of Civil Government.

Join poet and teacher Betsy K. Brown in exploring two American sonnets, one classic and one new. Brown will lead several activities that can be replicated in the classroom and will focus on the question, what do these two sonnets teach us about being an American?

Logic is not a boutique class for the precocious; it is the operating system of a life aimed at wisdom. The aim of teaching logic is not partisan victory, religious gatekeeping, or clever one-liners, but the formation of students who can confidently pursue what is true, good, and beautiful — and then live accordingly. Situated within the liberal arts and a life of virtue, this talk places logic inside a rightly ordered love: grammar gives language, logic tests it, and rhetoric carries sound judgment to others. Answers are often arguments in disguise; and information is never benign; it comes with premises, relevance claims, and assumptions. Teachers signal premises every time they respond to a “why;” question with “because,” and students must learn to evaluate those reasons for truth and clarity. We will recover the three acts of the mind — simple apprehension, judgment, and inference — and show how inductive and deductive patterns move learners from words to concepts to things to ideas, and finally toward truth. The session confronts three damaging confusions: first, mistaking a stand-alone logic course for a sufficient cure-all (logic is necessary but not sufficient); second, grading primarily for recall while neglecting reasoning; and third, tolerating curricular silos that sever method from content. The payoff is not merely sharper essays; it is moral and intellectual courage. Students who trust their ability to reason become adults who can weigh evidence, resist manipulation, pursue justice wisely, with disciplined minds. Drawing on the classical witnesses from Hugh of St. Victor and Rhabanus Maurus, this talk offers both mandate and method. Attendees will leave with a shared vocabulary, practical exercises, and a plan to model logical thinking so that students become like their teachers—in this case, thinkers who seek truth with humility and skill.

One of the greatest achievements of the American experiment was the development of a distinctly American fine arts tradition. As Walt Whitman observed in 1855, “The Americans of all nations at any time upon the earth have probably the fullest poetical nature. The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem.” Yet the arts rarely feature in our history, literature, and humane letters courses except to illustrate ideas. This workshop will lead participants to encounter poetry, painting, and classical music not as a thing to be understood but as beauty to be experienced, thereby equipping teachers to facilitate such experiences in their own classrooms. Drawing on the poetry of Whitman, the painting of Eakins, and the music of Copeland, the art encountered will center on a predominant theme of the American arts tradition: the celebration of the common man.

Nick Hutchison teaches Shakespeare in Drama Schools and Colleges across the Globe (and indeed at the Globe in London), and brings new life to what can be a dry and off-putting exercise. In this lively, interactive workshop he will look at ways of teaching the plays which will inspire, enlighten and enthuse students in ways far removed from conventional approaches to Shakespeare, and encourage them to find their own journeys into these wonderful plays.

Students flourish when they are invited to share in the responsibility of their own learning journey. In this session, participants will explore pedagogical practices that support students in carrying the intellectual and emotional weight of learning, while sparking wonder that sustains their effort. Through examples, discussion, and reflection, we will consider how teachers can cultivate classroom cultures where rigor and joy work together to form resilient, curious learners.

Franklin’s Autobiography is multilayered. Franklin was a genius but he did not simply write for geniuses or even potential geniuses. He wrote also for the common man and without condescension. The challenge of reading and teaching Franklin is to do justice to both sides of Franklin’s teaching.