A Miami-Dade public school is betting on classical education — finally | Opinion

My love of Socrates, Plato and Cicero came later in life. Maybe had I been the product of classical education, I wouldn’t have spent college semesters frantically trying to digest the Cliff’s Notes of Plato’s “The Republic” or Machiavelli’s “The Prince.”

In Miami-Dade County, students trying to cram in the Cliff’s Notes of Greek philosophers may become a thing of the past, if the classical education model takes off. Miami-Dade County Public schools are beginning to adopt classical education at a local K-5.

I think this is a great shift in the curriculum and more schools should join this movement.

As the Miami Herald reported, the county has partnered with the University of Florida’s Hamilton School of Classical and Civic Education to design the curriculum and train teachers at Village Green Elementary School in southwest Miami-Dade. The classical program is available in a kindergarten and first-grade classroom, with plans for expansion.

The goal is to compete with the classical education charter schools that are popping up in the community.

Miami-Dade schools superintendent Jose Dotres told the Herald, “We have to be very competitive. We are in a world of choice.” He’s right. School choice is growing in Florida, and it’s forcing public schools to become more innovative with their curriculum to retain and recruit students.

Some think classical education is a fad, but I beg to differ. Fads were things like high schools being built without walls in the name of “open education” — my high school was a victim of this. Initially, it didn’t even have desks or chairs. Fortunately, by the time I got to high school, fake walls had erected and classrooms were furnished appropriately.

By contrast, classical education is a return to values and civic teachings that serve as a foundation for students to understand America’s founding principles. The classical curriculum emphasizes civics, logic and virtue — requiring students to critically think about big ideas. That’s something that can be lost when teachers are having to teach from a standardized textbook.

For those who worry about educational standards, fear not. Miami-Dade isn’t abandoning state academic standards. Classical education provides students the tools to learn how to think, not just memorize — setting them up for success in college and beyond.

Critics point to a partisan agenda, worrying that assigning Aristotle or Plato is somehow a gateway to white nationalism or conservative indoctrination. That seems a little over the top.

As a conservative who not only fully supports classical education, but has spent time teaching Socrates and Plato, at no time did I use it as a bully pulpit to endorse or peddle white nationalist ideas.

Foundations of Western thought being taught in the classroom isn’t political — it’s rooted in history. America’s founding didn’t happen in a vacuum. Our Founding Fathers read the classics — philosophers such as John Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau — and drew from ancient Rome and Greece.

The virtues being extolled in the classroom of Village Green Elementary — as well as charter schools it’s competing with — are universal values that will strengthen the community. Students should understand the roots of American democracy. It’s good for civil society to educate and raise informed citizens, and that begins in the classroom.

I applaud the county’s response to competition from charter schools and recognizing that excellence and tradition are part of public education — not enemies of it. The county is elevating the academic experience and giving parents a choice.

Currently, True North, a Miami-Dade classical education charter school, has waitlists of potential students. The district has an opportunity to give families an option now, by expanding the classical education offering at other public schools.

Classical education isn’t about politics — it’s preparing students to think clearly, reason and become better citizens. Miami-Dade is choosing intellectual depth and civic literacy — a welcome shift for families who want to see their children have access to education that is more than glorified test prep.

Not every student will fall in love with Cicero or Plato, but every student deserves the opportunity to learn about the great thinkers and the ideas that shaped the nation and community they live in — without the barrier of a waitlist or having to win a lottery.

Mary Anna Mancuso is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. Her email: mmancuso@miamiherald.com