I will argue that education can be both genuinely and thoroughly Classical and at the same time prepare students to be leaders and innovators in the 21st century. I will argue that many of the 21st Century skills being enumerated by progressive educators are the same skills a Classical education is best equipped to offer. I will also maintain that so long as we maintain a Christian Classical commitment to truth, beauty and goodness, and ultimately to God, we should allow ourselves to employ 21st century pedagogical methods where appropriate. Students need the best training they can get to solve 21st century problems, but even more so they need the orientation of the soul towards the Good that Classical education provides.
Sean Riley
Sean A. Riley earned his Ph.D in philosophy from Baylor University in 2011. He chairs the history department, teaches AP European History and two philosophy courses, coaches football, tennis, and the Ethics Bowl team, and serves as a dorm dad at The Stony Brook School on Long Island. He has also led summer travel courses to Greece, Turkey, and China. Prior to teaching at The Stony Brook School, he taught courses at Baylor University, McLennan Community College, and Live Oak Classical School in Waco, Texas. Sean is the author of Recovering the Saints from Modern Moral Theory, available on Kindle. He lives in Stony Brook with his wife, Emily, and his four children, Aidan, Liam, Honora, and Quinn.