Anchored by the Classic Learning Test

What does it mean to be happy? Is modern society only concerned with the superficial trappings of happiness? Dr. Jennifer Frey, professor of philosophy at the University of South Carolina and former collegiate professor in Humanities at the University of Chicago, joins Jeremy in a discussion on why the social sciences' attempts at quantifying happiness misses the mark, and the ways in which Plato and Aristotle's conceptions of human flourishing have much to offer the modern world.  Dr. Frey also discusses the opportunities that are lost when education sidelines the fundamental questions of human existence in favor of strict skills development. She also touches on philosophy's role within a higher education system increasingly focused on vocational training. Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Jennifer Frey @jennfreyVirtue, Happiness, and the Meaning of LifePodcast: Sacred and Profane Love

As the daughter of immigrants and herself an Oxford student, Katharine Birbalsingh entered a program in which she encouraged inner-city students onto a path toward Oxford themselves. In that role, she found her love for teaching and was eventually asked to speak at the Conservative Party conference (where her speech gained more views than the UK's prime minister at the time). Her ideas on education received backlash, and she was forced to exit her teaching position. Today, she is the founder and headmistress of the Michaela Community School in London, an exceptionally successful free school (similar to a U.S. charter school) which is used as a model for schools around the world. In this episode, she discusses with Jeremy Tate why she stood up to promote academic values that run counter to identity politics in education.  Ms. Birbalsingh was recently made Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen for her services to education. Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Katharine Birbalsingh @Miss_SnuffyMichaela Community SchoolBattle Hymn of the Tiger Teachers: The Michaela WayThe Power of Culture: The Michaela WayE.D. Hirsch: The Schools We Need And Why We Don't Have Them

What underpins a worthwhile college education? This is the question that the What Will They Learn? College Rankings, published by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), seeks to answer. Dr. Michael Poliakoff, president of ACTA, joins Jeremy in a discussion on why a new college guide was needed: the failure of many colleges to provide a rigorous core curriculum, as well as the intellectual diversity needed for the free exchange of ideas. He also discusses the the ways in which campus speech regulation and self-censorship stand to harm liberal democracy. Send questions and comments to anchored@cltexam.comHost Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Michael Poliakoff @PoliakoffACTAACTA's What Will They Learn? college rankingsPhiladelphia Statement on Civil Discourse and Strengthening of Liberal Democracy

Anika Prather, professor in the Classics department at Howard University and founder of The Living Water School, joins Jeremy to discuss the journey that led her to become an advocate of classical education. Dr. Prather details her time at St. John's College and how that experience led her to shift her educational research focus to the history of classical education within the African-American community. She also describes the academic pushback which followed that decision and recounts the inspiration she gained from such seminal minds as W.E.B. Du Bois and Frederick Douglass. Send questions or comments to anchored@cltexam.comHost Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Anika Prather @AnikaFreeindeedClassic Learning in Black History Essay SeriesLiving in the Constellation of the Canon: The Lived Experiences of African-American Students Reading Great Books LiteratureThe Living Water SchoolNew CLT Partner CollegesGrove City College CLT Administration

Corey DeAngelis, Director of School Choice at the Reason Foundation, joins Jeremy to discuss the key issues at stake in the growing school choice movement. He provides insight into the pandemic's significance for the expansion of educational options while elaborating on the benefit of education dollars funding students over systems. He also discusses the incentive system at play in the current political debate on school choice. You won't want to miss his discussion on the School Choice Hypocrisy Map! Send questions or comments to anchored@cltexam.comHost Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Corey DeAngelis @DeAngelisCoreySchool Choice Myths: Setting the Record Straight on Education FreedomPennsylvania Must Fund Students, Not School Districts—Corey's Most Recent Op-EdEFI's School Choice Hypocrisy Map

Jessica Hooten Wilson, Louise Cowan Scholar in Residence at the University of Dallas, joins Jeremy to discuss cancel culture's impact on the influential author Flannery O'Connor (as well as on literature in general) and elaborates on her work in preparing O’Connor’s unfinished novel Why Do the Heathen Rage? for publication. Additionally, Prof. Hooten Wilson discusses challenges faced in the classroom, to include confronting students' "idol of use." Make sure to catch her personal book recommendations too! Send comments or questions about this episode to anchored@cltexam.com.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Jessica Hooten Wilson @HootenWilsonHow Flannery O'Connor Fought Racism in First Things—Hooten Wilson's response to The New Yorker article How Racist Was Flannery O'Connor?Why Do the Heathen Rage?

Recently, The Princeton Review ranked the University of Dallas (UD) highly in its index of student happiness. President Thomas Hibbs joins Jeremy to discuss why UD students are among America’s happiest college students—and it has nothing to do with gourmet cafeterias or rock climbing walls. Dr. Hibbs also explores the implications of eroding trust in America’s institutions during a time of continued civil unrest and discusses the things colleges can do to counter continued social alienation, to include a renewed focus on the act of teaching. Send comments or questions about this episode to anchored@cltexam.com.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest President Thomas Hibbs  @UofDallasPrinceton Review Rankings: Happiest StudentsPrinceton Review Rankings: Professors Get High MarksDr. Hibbs' Dallas Morning News Op-Ed: Isolated Angry, and Destructive—The America We Can't Have When We EmergeFun Fact! University of Dallas has its own Italian winery: Due Santi Wines

Influential scholar and Princeton University professor Robert P. George joins Jeremy for a discussion on the consequences of society’s abandonment of liberal arts education, the deeper streams of thought that informed the American Founding and what that means for building unity (to include discussion of the upcoming E Pluribus Unum lecture series jointly sponsored by AEI and the University of Dallas). He also provides an inside look at his famous friendship with Cornel West and how conversations on texts important to their intellectual journeys led to an enduring relationship that models civil discourse today. Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Prof. Robert P. George @McCormickProfE Pluribus Unum Lecture Series (AEI and University of Dallas)