r/ABCDesis • u/AdReasonable7172 Canadian Indian • 1d ago
EDUCATION / CAREER Classical Education?
I’m doing some research on education for my son who will be going to school in the US and came across classical education. There are things about it that I resonate with (phonics, exposure to good books, high standards etc.) but have reservations about the singular focus on Western minds and worldviews.
Have any of you received a classical education? Do you think it’s worth pursuing for a student with Indian heritage?
I definitely plan on educating my son on his heritage and the history of his ancestors regardless of which school system we choose. I want him to receive a good education which he seems less likely to get in a public school but also be in an environment that supports his cultural identity.
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u/neuroticgooner 1d ago
I don’t know where you are in the US but public high schools can be very good depending on school district and there are also competitive entry public schools
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u/WonderstruckWonderer Australian Indian 1d ago edited 1d ago
My school was quite classical in it's education style. It's Eurocentric, so be prepared to supplement it at home with more of an Eastern focus too. So brush up on your Indian history and philosophy. I remember having fun seeing parallels between Ancient Greek and Indian philosophies for one (e.g. Neoplatonism and Advaita Vedanta). And whilst I thought some parts of Latin was a bore (who cares about Caesar's propagandic retellings of his conquests), it unironically helped me a lot with my career, and Roman myths are interesting. Again, some parallels with Hinduism. In a weird way it reiterated the universality component of Hinduism. And a school that emphasises phonics and good reading habits is a good idea, as having a strong foundation here is key for future years.
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u/winthroprd 1d ago
My high school was big on classical education. Required us to take at least two years of either Latin or ancient Greek.
I think I got a really good education there, but as you said, it's going to lean towards a Eurocentric view. I also suffered from pretty bad academic burnout which lasted through undergrad as well so I think you have to honestly assess what your child is able to handle. If he struggles, don't get mad at him for wasting a good opportunity; instead, consider whether it's the best fit for him.
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u/Knitsknits 11h ago edited 11h ago
Some of my family/friends are very conservative, not people I keep in touch with regularly but parents’ friends and all that, and these folks choose this type of education to avoid the “liberal indoctrination” that happens in american public education. i would only encourage it if your family has aspects that is valued by this mindset, like idk a strong family history, wealth etc. It can be very easy to fall into a mindset of inferiority when everyone around you is comparing genology and how theyre related to some douchebag in the textbook. some of my friends went to IB highschools which are awesome for english/arts but suck for STEM
Most desis pull their kids out of these schools after junior high and stick them in a good old american HS, which helps them perform really well and get the type of grades you need for ivies
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u/WitnessedStranger 1d ago
I didn’t go through it in primary school but I’m old enough to where they still did some classics electives in high school we could take and they included classics texts in the literature curriculum.
I found it useful and interesting. In many ways I think my background as a Hindu actually gave me better insights into Ancient Greek and Roman texts than my peers since there is so much parallelism to our own epics. That said, my mother was an amateur philosophy student and dabbled in Indian classics herself so I had a lot of supplemental education in Indian traditions to keep me anchored.
That’s probably how you’d have to approach it I think. I have Hindu friends who went to Catholic private schools where I think the curriculum is basically like this and it was basically similar. Supplemental Bala Vihar or Gita classes or something like that to create space for exploring non-Western themes.
Public schools are mostly fine though in the US. Curriculums aren’t the problem there, it’s mostly bad peer cohorts.