The Battle Hymn of the Refugee Teacher
The explosive growth of classical education is luring teachers from traditional district schools—and reminding them why they became teachers in the first place
The explosive growth of classical education is luring teachers from traditional district schools—and reminding them why they became teachers in the first place
The Battle Hymn of the Refugee Teacher
Education Next • Annika Hernandez
Something hopeful is happening beneath the headlines about teacher burnout: many educators are not giving up on teaching, but searching for schools where intellectual seriousness, moral formation, and love of learning still shape the work. This piece traces why classical education is becoming that refuge—and why its growth may signal not only a new home for teachers, but a deeper renewal in American education.
Classical school graduates reflect on who they’ve become and how their education formed them in mind, character, and a lifelong love of learning.
In Sarah’s words, her teachers taught her “how to know what’s right and how to do what’s right.” That is what we mean when we say a classical education prepares young people for real life.
One day at a classical school changed the course of her life.
In seventh grade, Sarah spent a single day shadowing at Jackson Hole Classical Academy. She says she learned more that day than in the seven years of school before it.
What followed was an education in great books, Latin, and poetry learned by heart, including Rudyard Kipling's "If-" Years later, when Sarah arrived at West Point to train as an Army officer, she found that same poem on the walls of the barracks.
Today, Sarah is a West Point graduate preparing to lead a platoon of soldiers. Her story shows what classical education is for: forming young people who know what's right, do what's right, and give of themselves in service to others.