Register for Livestream Sessions to Cultivate Wonder From Home
Great Hearts Institute February 12, 2025 -
Select sessions from the National Symposium for Classical Education will be available via livestream, allowing you to engage from the comfort of your home or office. While nothing compares to being there in person, this free option ensures you won’t miss out on valuable insights and inspiring discussions led by some of the most dynamic voices in classical education.
This service is presented by the Great Hearts Institute and available to you at no charge, but you must register for the livestream in order to gain access to these sessions.
Livestream sessions include:
Gratitude and the Modern Condition with Matthew B. Crawford
February 19, 2025 @ 6:00PM
People who focus on technology often want to control everything logically. This attitude can make it harder to feel grateful, since gratitude involves accepting what comes to us instead of trying to reshape the world to our own desires. Gratitude often brings a sense of wonder, which is our conference topic. I’ll explore how this push and pull between gratitude and technology shows up in different parts of our culture, and why it matters for living a full life.
Shakespeare and the Classics with Sir Jonathan Bate
February 20, 2025 @ 8:30AM
Shakespeare is at the heart of the classical tradition. Why? Because of his strong classical education. In grammar school, he learned Latin, studied rhetoric, and read famous ancient writers. This training shaped his imagination and helped make him a great playwright. In fact, thirteen of his forty plays take place in ancient settings, and all use methods he learned in school. Despite Ben Jonson’s claim that Shakespeare had “small Latin,” we can see he depended on Latin. Without it, Shakespeare wouldn’t have become who he was—and without Shakespeare, we might not have today’s thriving interest in classical education.
The Enterprise of Learning as Wonder toward Wisdom with David Diener
February 20, 2025 @ 10:30AM
Philosophy, throughout the liberal arts tradition, is said to start with wonder and aim for wisdom. If we think of philosophy in its broad, traditional sense, this journey from wonder to wisdom can guide how we understand all learning. In this seminar, we’ll explore what it means to have a sense of wonder and how to nurture it in our students. We’ll also look at aiming all learning toward wisdom and fostering a love of wisdom in our students. Seeing learning as a journey from wonder to wisdom offers valuable insights for classical educators as we help our students grow into flourishing, wise, and virtuous people.
Ballet, the Soul, and Society with Lincoln Jones and Hannah Barr
February 20, 2025 @ 11:45AM
We often overlook how much our bodies can teach our souls. Simply smiling or standing up straight can change how we feel right away. In fact, ballet partly began in the 15th century to create “physical nobility,” at a time when people believed the body reflected the soul.
Feasting in the Land of Faërie: The Role of Enchantment in Education with Junius Johnson
February 20, 2025 @ 12:45PM
Humans are unique among creatures because we dream and try to make those dreams come true. But where do dreams come from, and how can we keep our ability to dream alive? They spring from the heart, especially in young hearts full of wonder. Our job as human beings is to protect and nurture that wonder, like a source of youthful energy for the heart. That means education should focus on wonder—showing it, encouraging it, and taking care of it. Together, we’ll look at how wonder and imagination shape both culture and our inner lives.
Teaching the Tradition: The Perils and Opportunities of a Looser Canon with Jessica Hooten Wilson, Heidi White, Mark Bauerlein, and Anika Prather
February 20, 2025 @ 2:00PM
Classical education relies on a “canon” of important books, core texts, and key ideas. But how does this canon change over time? How should Classical schools think about their tradition when choosing which books to teach? Should we protect a fixed list of classics, or should we be open to adding new works? Join us as we discuss how to decide which books deserve a place in the canon.
Witness and Wonder with Jessica Hooten Wilson
February 21, 2025 @ 8:30AM
In his search for justice, Socrates wonders how to teach the next generation to love what is truly beautiful. As educators, we must point to something higher than ourselves—like the survivors at the end of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, who carry on the great tradition. “Witness begets witness,” writes Carolyn Forche. If we want our students to live for more than their own pleasure—to be, as Montaigne says, people who know how to die well—we must show them what is worth loving, so they can become witnesses to it themselves.
Forever Young: Jane Austen at 250 with Colleen Sheehan, Sir Jonathan Bate, and Inger S.B. Brodey
February 21, 2025 @ 10:30AM
This panel discussion will explore what accounts for the evergreen fascination with the novels of Jane Austen, her insight into human virtue and vice, her narrative genius, and the enduring wisdom of her expansive capacity for social observation.
Freedom to Wonder with Anika Prather
February 21, 2025 @ 11:45AM
Based on DuBois’ essay on Galileo, this talk is about how Classical Education gives EVERY child the freedom to WONDER and like Galileo the freedom to wonder can inspire every student, no matter their backgrounds to make amazing discoveries.
And there is still time to join us in “Cultivating Wonder” at the Misson Palms Hotel in Tempe, Arizona for the National Symposium for Classical Education. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in an enriching experience with some of the brightest minds in classical education. REGISTER NOW and be part of the in-person conversation shaping the future of classical education.
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