Commentary: The Defenders of Classical Education Are Destroying It

Annie Abrams and Roosevelt Montás The Atlantic Mar 15, 2023 Excerpt:  In recent months, those of us who care about the humanist tradition in education have watched with dismay as right-wing politicians clear space for what they dubiously call “traditional education,” often linking their efforts to the cause of liberal education and the teaching of the Western canon. March 07, 2023 1 min read

Annie Abrams and Roosevelt Montás
The Atlantic

Excerpt:  In recent months, those of us who care about the humanist tradition in education have watched with dismay as right-wing politicians clear space for what they dubiously call “traditional education,” often linking their efforts to the cause of liberal education and the teaching of the Western canon.

But the right-wing approach to liberal education and the Western tradition is as skewed as the notion among some academics that teaching the classics is tantamount to promoting white supremacy and European domination. In the presumption that the Western canon represents a single perspective, and in other surprising ways, elements of the radical right and the radical left seem to agree. And they are wrong.  


Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.


Also in National Free Speech News & Commentary

After punishing people for Charlie Kirk comments, colleges are paying steep settlements
After punishing people for Charlie Kirk comments, colleges are paying steep settlements

Graham Piro  July 16, 2026 1 min read

Violating the First Amendment will cost you. Universities and other public institutions are learning this lesson the hard way as the dust settles on a series of lawsuits brought by university faculty and staff who were punished for their comments about Charlie Kirk’s murder last September.

Read More
Inside An Elite University’s Campaign To Bring Conservatives to Campus
Inside An Elite University’s Campaign To Bring Conservatives to Campus

Vince Bielski July 16, 2026 1 min read

If Johns Hopkins University wanted to signal its seriousness about creating an alternative to the left-leaning orthodoxy that permeates higher education, it couldn’t have done better than the recent hire of economist Peter Arcidiacono.

Read More
House Republicans Advance Legislation to Formally Dismantle ED
House Republicans Advance Legislation to Formally Dismantle ED

Jessica Blake July 16, 2026 1 min read

House Republicans have now formally backed President Donald Trump in fulfilling his campaign promise to dismantle the Department of Education, voting Wednesday to advance 10 bills that would codify the White House’s efforts to disperse numerous education programs and offices to other federal agencies.

Read More