The Humanitas Forum

Think Clearly About Classical Education

If you’re exploring classical education, you likely have real questions. Is it rigorous? Is it relevant? Is it truly formative?

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Learn from Trusted Voices in Classical Education

These scholars and school leaders bring years of experience to the questions families are asking today.



What Does Athens Have to Do with Abuja?
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What Does Athens Have to Do with Abuja?

July 22, 2026

Karen J. Elliott


What Does Athens Have to Do with Abuja?

Classical Christian education in Africa is not a cultural import or a luxury reserved for the materially secure. It is a humane education that equips students to think, speak, serve, and flourish within their own communities.

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What's in a Word?
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What's in a Word?

July 14, 2026

Dr. Christopher Perrin


What's in a Word?

What does it mean to be human? The history of two ancient words points us both upward toward wonder and transcendence and downward toward the earth beneath our feet—a vision of human nature that can help education form children who are fully alive to both.

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The Lost Practice of Reading
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The Lost Practice of Reading

July 10, 2026

Humanitas


The Lost Practice of Reading

We have a problem with reading in the 21st century. When we discuss reading as a society, we are not merely talking about a pastime disappearing such as kids no longer collecting baseball cards or playing marbles, we are talking about the loss of access to the treasures of wisdom from our shared tradition. We are—without fully understanding the ins and outs of the reality—lamenting the loss of reading as a loss of virtue in our culture.

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Poetry Is for You
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Poetry Is for You

July 08, 2026

Christine Perrin


Poetry Is for You

Poetry is humanity's essential inheritance—a discipline that awakens us to full awareness and connects us across time. Beyond aesthetic pleasure, poems serve as witnesses to history, preserve meaning through crisis, and transform our relationship with language itself. Through memorization and embodied engagement, poetry provides shared vocabulary for naming experience, reminds us of our fellowship with others living and dead, and rescues us from "Life in Death"—the state of having a heartbeat without being fully alive. Rather than decorative, poetry is fundamental: it teaches us that beauty and truth cannot be separated, that metaphor is our primary way of knowing, and that language is material rather than merely functional. By living with poems, we gain precise tools for recognizing and naming the particular moments that comprise our days.

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Why the Study of Music Can Be far More than We Imagine
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Why the Study of Music Can Be far More than We Imagine

July 08, 2026

Greg Wilbur


Why the Study of Music Can Be far More than We Imagine

Modern music education focuses narrowly on instrumental performance, composer biographies, and concert-hall repertoire from the past 300 years—treating music as extracurricular refinement or a tool for boosting test scores. Classical and medieval thinkers from Pythagoras to Augustine understood music differently: not as content to memorize but as a fundamental mode of thinking essential for all students. Boethius codified this vision through three categories of music: musica instrumentalis (heard music and its study), musica humana (the harmony of body and soul—rightly ordered loves and relationships), and musica mundana (the ordered cosmos revealing God's attributes). Like studying Euclid transforms geometric thinking rather than merely teaching formulas, true musical study develops ways of perceiving reality—understanding truth, goodness, and beauty in relationship, time, and motion. Music education should cultivate this comprehensive vision rather than reduce music to pragmatic utility or aesthetic appreciation.

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Friction, Fire, and the Forgotten Education of the Hands
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Friction, Fire, and the Forgotten Education of the Hands

July 08, 2026

Christopher Hall


Friction, Fire, and the Forgotten Education of the Hands

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From Factories to Flourishing
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From Factories to Flourishing

July 08, 2026

Dr. Andrew Selby


From Factories to Flourishing

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From Knowledge to Wisdom: Reclaiming the Scientific Human
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From Knowledge to Wisdom: Reclaiming the Scientific Human

July 08, 2026

John D. Mays


From Knowledge to Wisdom: Reclaiming the Scientific Human

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On Becoming a Deep Person
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On Becoming a Deep Person

July 08, 2026

Dr. Andrew Selby


On Becoming a Deep Person

Dr. Andrew Selby reflects on the kind of “deep people” who bring wisdom, stability, and calm during times of crisis, arguing that true depth comes from the combination of knowledge, understanding, and practiced wisdom. He explains how classical Christian education, through great teachers, the study of Scripture and Great Books, and thoughtful discussion, helps cultivate students into thoughtful leaders who can guide others in an unstable world.

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“Classical education introduces students into a tradition of inquiry that explores the enduring human questions in deep and beautiful ways.”

Dr. Brian Williams

“Classical education introduces students into a tradition of inquiry that explores the enduring human questions in deep and beautiful ways.” image

Stay Oriented

Occasional stories, reflections, and resources to support your exploration of classical education.