Crazy Horse vs. Homer: The Absence of Classics
in the History of American Education

Jarrod W. Lux (St. Henry District High School)

Until the 1960’s, Classics played a major role in high schools and universities.  But the mindset among educators and classicists has changed, and Classics has been thrown by the wayside in a time in which it is needed most.  This paper, therefore, will demonstrate the contributions and the relevance of Classics in the study of the history of American education by reflecting upon several issues in education which the Greeks and Romans have already tackled.  These issues include the definition of education, proper curriculum, and public vs. private education. 

Modern scholars, such as Perkinson in his Imperfect Panacea, are dumbfounded as to why Americans put so much faith in education to solve society’s problems but are unable to agree on a definition for education.  The debate on what authentic education is, however, does not begin in the 21^st century but rather with the Greeks.  True paideia among the Greeks always emphasized morality and character first, regardless of whether it was Pericles teaching mousikê, Plato promoting philosophy, Isocrates advertising rhetoric, or Cicero praising the liberal arts.   Unknown to Perkinson, this “mysterious” faith in education is bound up with an ancient pedagogy that emphasizes character instruction. 

Cicero, in his De Oratore, expanded the curriculum of the rhetor to include the liberal arts and philosophy.  His emphasis on writing and speaking proficiency in each of the areas of his new curriculum would leave the modern adolescent student groping aimlessly for linguistic standards in social studies and science classes because “proper grammar, intelligent vocabulary, and argumentative style are only for English classes.”  Instead of correcting the attitude, modern educators choose to lower standards, enforce more multiple-choice tests, and place more requirements on students. 

Modern scholars, such as Urban in his American Education: A History, argue that uncompromising Christians and rich, white folk moving to the suburbs cause the decay of public schools.  Would it shock these scholars to learn that pagan parents home-schooled and paid out large sums of money to private schools for similar reasons Americans do now?  Before there were any Christian schools, Quintilian took up the debate on private vs. public education reflecting on the mala in public schools, the pros and cons of small class size, and the incompatibility of home-schooling.  His resolutions are practical in any age. 

Future teachers of America, however, are rarely given an opportunity to learn such things.  In my own History of American Education class, I am currently learning more about education among the Native Americans than about the educational influences of the Greeks and Romans.  While studying the educational system of the Native Americans is important, equally significant is the classical heritage that can demonstrate a continuity of thought from past to present on the process of learning.  Something must be done or else teachers will continue to learn the ways of Crazy Horse but never the grandeur and sophistication of Cicero, the didactic methodology of Isocrates, or the pedagogical insights of Quintilian.