Great Hearts Institute

What does it mean to teach mathematics classically? For many classical educators, the answer cannot be reduced to utility, test scores, or career preparation. Mathematics is not merely a tool to be used, but a discipline worthy of wonder, contemplation, and serious intellectual formation.

In this new piece from On Classical Education, Dr. Josh Wilkerson, Dr. Albert Cheng, Sandra Schinetsky, and Dr. Jon Gregg examine how classical school leaders and teachers think math should be taught, and how those ideals compare with what students actually experience in the classroom.

Their findings point to both encouragement and challenge: classical educators value beauty, joy, wonder, and balanced pedagogy in mathematics, but there remains important work to do in teacher formation, historical understanding, and classroom practice.

Read the full article: Teaching Math Classically: How do Classical School Leaders and Teachers Think it Should be Done?
https://open.substack.com/pub/classicaled/p/teaching-math-classically-how-do?r=52duzv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

The Humanitas Institute is a new organization that has stepped forth to ignite and increase awareness of the renewal of classical education in the United States and abroad.

The Humanitas Institute is a proud sponsor of the National Symposium for Classical Education.

In a distracted age, helping students read deeply may be one of the greatest gifts we can give them.

In this conversation from the National Symposium for Classical Education, Jennifer Ramirez sits down with Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion, to discuss reading, attention, vocabulary, background knowledge, and the classroom habits that help students grow into thoughtful, attentive learners.

Their conversation is practical, encouraging, and deeply relevant for teachers, parents, and anyone who cares about the formation of students.

Watch the full interview: https://open.substack.com/pub/classicaled/p/recovering-reading-in-a-distracted?r=52duzv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Classical education is uniquely equipped to meet young men and women at one of the most important moments of their formation.

In his latest essay for ON Classical Education, Dr. Daniel Scoggin writes about the work of teaching in the upper schools, where students are asking enduring questions: Who am I? What is my purpose? What should I do?

Rather than chasing relevance through pop culture or shallow appeals, classical teachers can build trust through what is true, lasting, and deeply human: proper praise, right competition, authenticity, kindness, and predictability.

It is a compelling reflection on how teachers can help students grow in confidence, courage, friendship, and heroic hope as they prepare for life beyond graduation.

Read “A Word on Teaching in our Upper Schools” from the Great Hearts Institute’s ON Classical Education: https://classicaled.substack.com/p/a-word-on-teaching-in-our-upper-schools?r=52duzv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true

Marshall Cavendish Education is a global education solutions provider committed to nurturing the joy of teaching and learning while preparing students for the future. Thank you Marshall Cavendish Education for your sponsorship the 2026 National Symposium for Classical Education.

Classical education is often described as a “big tent,” but big tents still have tension.

In this thoughtful essay, Andrew Ellison examines the relationship between sectarian and non-sectarian classical education, arguing that both are needed, both have something to offer, and both must resist the temptation to caricature the other.

The piece makes an important distinction between non-sectarian classical education and secularist education, while also offering a direct challenge to religious classical educators: do not dismiss the meaningful work happening in public classical schools.

At its heart, this essay is a call for honesty, humility, and friendship within the broader classical education movement, not because differences do not matter, but because the shared work is too important to be weakened by needless suspicion or rivalry.

Fruitful tension? Toxic strife? Sectarian and Non-Sectarian Classical Education Andrew Ellison

Core Knowledge Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing educational excellence and equity by providing a knowledge-rich, content-focused curriculum in language arts, history, geography, science, and the arts.

Thank you, Core Knowledge, for your sponsorship of the 2026 National Symposium for Classical Education.

Leadership is not always about authority. Often, the real work begins when you are called to guide, persuade, and move a project forward without being able to command the outcome.

In “Leading with Influence,” Jerilyn Olson reflects on how leaders can build true influence through credibility, logic, empathy, timing, and contextual awareness. Drawing from Archimedes and the classical framework of rhetoric, she reminds us that lasting leadership begins with trust, wisdom, and love for those we are called to serve.

Read the full article from ON Classical Education: https://open.substack.com/pub/classicaled/p/leading-with-influence?r=52duzv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Words shape institutions.

In a thoughtful new essay, Michael S. Rose reflects on why the language we use in classical education matters. A school must be well-run, but strong ex*****on should always remain in service to something higher: the intellectual and moral formation of students.

This is a worthwhile piece on leadership, mission, and the importance of keeping the true end of classical education in view.

READ MORE: https://open.substack.com/pub/classicaled/p/on-ends-means-and-the-language-we?r=52duzv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

New on ON Classical Education: In “The Romance of Anti-Management,” Erik Twist pushes back on the false choice between mission and ex*****on in classical schools. He argues that safeguarding a school’s purpose is not opposed to strong operations, but depends on it. For leaders in classical education, this is a sharp and necessary reminder that truth, stewardship, and institutional discipline must work together. Read the full piece here: https://open.substack.com/pub/classicaled/p/the-romance-of-anti-management-against?r=52duzv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true