The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home

by Susan Wise Bauer

Public schools, which have the impossible task of teaching children of many different faiths, must proclaim neutrality. We don’t deal in matters of faith, the teachers explain. We’re neutral. Think about this for a minute. Arguing for the presence of God is generally considered “biased.” Assuming his absence is usually called “neutral.” Yet both are statements of faith; both color the teacher’s approach to any subject; both make a fundamental assumption about the nature of men and women. To call this neutrality is intellectually dishonest. Education cannot be neutral when it comes to faith: it is either supportive or destructive. The topic of education is humanity, its accomplishments, its discoveries, its savage treatment of its own kind, its willingness to endure self-sacrifice. And you cannot learn—or teach—about humanity without considering God.