From the Kitchen Table: The Duffys - How Classical Education Can Save America

Episode Date: June 23, 2023

FOX & Friends Weekend Co-Host, Pete Hegseth joins The Kitchen Table, to discuss the benefits of classical education academies, how the public school system became woke, and why he believes the classical style of learning can save America.   Later, Sean and Rachel talk about their own experiences with pulling their kids out of public schools, and how classical education has shaped their children's lives.   Follow Sean and Rachel on Twitter: @SeanDuffyWI & @RCamposDuffy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Hey everyone, welcome to From the Kitchen Table. I'm Sean Duffy along with my co-host for the podcast, my partner in life and my wife, Rachel Campos Duffy.

It's so great to be back at the kitchen table, especially with such a good friend, Pete Hegseth. Welcome to the kitchen table. We're going to talk about something. Hey, guys. Hi, how are you? We're going to talk about something that we are all so passionate about, and that is classical education. You famously wrote the bestseller, Battle for the American Mind, uprooting of a century of miseducation, which I think has been a big part of what I think is a revolution in education. But people still come, as much as you and I talk about it on our show, through your books, through speeches, people still want to understand what is classical education. What is it and why, Pete?

It's the opposite of the education that we all receive, that 99% of Americans these days are receiving. It's the way Western civilization was educated for thousands of years. It's the marriage of Athens and Jerusalem. It's reason and faith. It's grappling with human nature, with our relationship with God. It's studying history. It's studying philosophy. It's studying actual literature.

God. It's studying history. It's studying philosophy. It's studying actual literature. It's studying, you know, individual disciplines as they were taught previously before progressives combined them all together and turned and dumbed down that subject matter, removed God, and created almost a factory-like system of widget children that come out that at first was meant to be training for the industrial revolution. Now it means in training for the training for the cultural revolution as your nation has replaced instruction. And so it is a lost art of learning that has been rediscovered in the last 40, 45 years in America and has to be very intentionally cultivated because even if you're at a Christian

school, even if you're at in a school, even if you're in a more conservative area, all the mechanisms of education have been taken over by progressives. And so they're almost antithetical to the classical view. So if you walk into a classical school, in some ways it'll look the same, but once you get into a classroom, it's entirely different than what you would see in a traditional elementary or middle school because it's training kids to the way they think at their age level, and then challenging them to do more than most schools think they could. Yeah, it's fascinating. And so you've had your kids in for a number of years. Have you seen a difference, Pete, in what stories your kids come home with, what they're learning,

how they're studying, how they're thinking? It's an amazing difference. What I relish and enjoy the most is the ability to have deeper, thoughtful conversations with nine-year-olds about periods of time in history. You know what I mean? Where they're talking about some of the subtleties and complexities of a complicated and important moment in human history that normally is reserved for maybe high school, if you even get it there. And then that same story with a 13-year-old who's being taught that at a different age level, he can synthesize more important information. And then just to watch, as long as it has to be reinforced at home too, but just to watch their faith grow. And they're young, they're still

figuring out their relationship with God. But the basics are laid at school and then reinforced at church and at home. So it's almost a big sigh of relief that I... And Rachel, we talk about this all the time on the show that my job is not to deprogram what they're learning. It's to reinforce. And then it leads to more conversations and they're fruitful and there's a depth to them that I think doesn't exist in a lot of other places. Yeah. I think that's the struggle so many parents have is that they're spending their dinner times and their free time deprogramming their kids from all the indoctrination and weird things that they're being taught. And by the way, those conversations that Pete talks about that he's having with nine-year-olds

and eight-year-olds that are deep, he's not just having them with his kids. I had one with your daughter. He had one with Margarita the other day in the green room. And I mean, she kind of blew us away. But but that's the point there. They're they're understanding, you know, not just the American Revolution and the French Revolution, but actually the difference between the two. I don't think I ever even grappled. She gave a soliloquy about that in my first book in the arena. I thought it was mind blowing that I'll make this big comparison between the American Revolution and the French Revolution, because here I am at 30 years old and I'm just sort of deeply thinking about the fundamental differences between the two. You know what I mean?

Imagine if we had learned that initially and we were actually building upon that knowledge. And it's actually a really important point. It's actually very fundamental. The differences, the outcomes for both countries was enormous because of those differences. So it's based on great books. And I thought it would be useful to just kind of, I wrote down some of the books that my kids are reading. So The Little Ones, Charlotte's Web, Pinocchio, Little House on the Prairie, which now has been deemed racist and taken out of most schools. Wizard of Oz. My kids understand Greek mythology in middle school.

They're reading Beowulf, Romeo and Juliet. You go into the high school where my high school kids are. The Iliad, The Odyssey plays like the Trojan Women. They're reading Hamlet, in america by toqueville dante's inferno paradise lost the federalist papers frederick douglas's um biography i mean such a great books is a big part of this isn't it it's a huge part of it yeah it is and and and and a huge part of what they've removed because they've determined that that was based on a white male patriarchy that established these great books and these ideas to the exclusion of everybody else. When the whole point has always been who thought deeply about meaningful things and then wrote them down or wrote beautifully about human nature and our experience. And there's wisdom in the greatness of the past.

Doesn't mean everything of the past is great or good or right. It just means we should grapple with what other people have thought about before we presumptuously say, well, whatever of the moment of now is the greatest thing ever. Think about how much time people had 200 years ago when they weren't immersed in their phones and their TVs and their commutes and their this. I mean, they're reading books. They're having conversations. They're writing things down. They're thinking deeply about it. They're having long conversations with other people in a way that our modern world doesn't

always afford. Maybe we should listen to those people because they're the same type of instincts. They have the same heart, the same soul, the same mind. And there's so much wisdom to be grappled from them. Yet we're stripping that out of most classrooms. But if you can read those books at age level and then come back to them, by the time these kids out of classical school are graduating high school, they're way beyond where their peers were even remotely walking into freshman

year. Sometimes freshman year is a, is a slowdown or a move backwards for them. And that's not a elitist statement like, oh, we're smarter. That's not the point. My kids go to a very middle-class blue-collar school. These are salt-of-the-earth people, many of which who turn wrenches and work with their hands throughout the day. But they said, I want my kids to have a beautiful education.

And that's what I love about it. What's interesting, you make that point, Pete, and it seems like when you turn wrenches, when you put a pair of boots on, you understand, it seems like more and more the value of this kind of education where the elites want the credential of the school, but not necessarily an education that should go with that kind of school. It's almost a class divide that's happening right now. But I want to ask you another question because I don't know the answer to this, but so many teachers that go through teachers' colleges at universities, they come out with a polluted mind, with an ideology. Even if you're in a school

system that says, you know what, we're not going to be woke because we're a conservative community. They're hiring teachers that have been indoctrinated in this leftism, wokeism, and those concepts are still going to bleed into the classroom. So in a classical school, are they pulling teachers out of that traditional university teacher system? Or could Pete Hegseth be at a classical school that goes, you know what, I want to get to the school. I can teach a class, you know, three times a week. you know what i want to give to the school i can teach a class you know three times a week and and i'm probably you are better than a lot of the young people that come out of a teacher's college can you bring people into the school that rachel could teach economics or could teach spanish i could teach government um have evan evan you don't have a teacher's license

what do you know about congressional. What do you know about congressional committees? What do you know? Can we bring people from the outside that are experts in a field and teach in a classical school, or do you still need a license? The answer is yes. I can't speak for every classical school in every state, but what I do know is that the premise of classical Christian education or classical Catholic is you're not relying on Uncle Sam's money. And therefore, as a result, you don't have to take the edicts that come with it. That's why there's some hesitation inside the classical movement about even vouchers, even if it's going through the parents. Eventually, they'll try to exert control over those dollars over school. So from some of the more hardcore homeschooling classical Christian groups that I hear from,

they're hesitant about, even though I think net net, it's a positive, a huge positive because it opens up an education opportunity for so many more kids. You have to. So, yes, the answer is yes, you could be hired and you'd probably get paid a fraction of what you'd be paid at a public school because these schools are lean and mean. They have budgets that they have to answer to. They're not getting taxpayer dollars, but the teachers are there because they love the lean and mean. They have budgets that they have to answer to. They're not getting taxpayer dollars. But the teachers are there because they love the form of learning.

They're invested in the mission, not because they live in a certain zip code. And so they take the pay cut and they come in with real world experience. But if you came from conventional schooling, and I've talked to teachers about this, there is a reprogramming that has to go into the philosophy of education and teaching that does happen because even good Christian educators who come through that system have a certain frame of how education works. And so there are some schools put on those seminars. The associations have different seminars and conferences you can go to, training programs to learn the art of classical educating, which is much different. the art of classical educating, which is much different. And to the last point,

even at classical Christian schools, you have to be very intentional about culture, who you're hiring, the questions you ask them about what they believe, what they're going to reinforce with kids. Because even schools like that, you get enough people with different mindsets and more conventional views on progressive education, you got a problem on your hands. Mission created. Yeah. So before we let you go, because I know you have a timeframe here, I'm seeing an explosion. So earlier this year, I had a friend that I put in contact with you and you put them in contact with a classical school. And lo and behold, I just found out this week that in Sean's hometown, a classical education,

a classical school is starting. Trinitas Classical Academy. They're starting pre-K through classical academy. They're starting, uh, you know, pre-K through second grade, they're going to add a grade every year. It's already starting. I mean, this is a tiny town in Northwestern Wisconsin, and I know that they were influenced by what they were hearing you and I talk about on, um, and through your book. And so I I'm sure you're hearing a lot more than even I'm hearing. I know my kid's school in New Jersey is exploding. They don't even have enough room for the number of people that are wanting to join this classical academy. What are you seeing? which they've never had to do before just because of size constraints.

And then when I talked to my co-author of the book, David Goodwin, who runs the Association of Classical Christian Schools, they've had multiple times over more applications and submissions to start new schools than they've ever seen before. And a part of that is COVID and the recognition. But more of it is looking around and saying, this is insane. And then a little bit of a familiarity with the fact that there's an alternative for a while. I just thought, OK, I'm stuck. So there is a renaissance going on right now that gives me a lot of hope. It's still a tiny fraction compared to those going on yellow school buses to government funded schools.

But if you want to find it, you can find it. Even if it's a homeschool alternative. Classical Conversations is an awesome homeschool network. If you add together classical conversations, they're the 15th largest consolidated school district in America. All these homeschool network families, they meet once or twice a week, and then they otherwise homeschool. So there it's out there. And listen, I don't know anything about starting a school, but almost everybody who starts a school doesn't know anything about starting a school. But you're better off working together with like minded parents trying to figure it out and just crossing your fingers as you send your kids off to be trained. Cause if not, you're going to, your kid's going to get the 1619 project. I know they're now introducing in some schools, my daddy's belly, um, about, you know, pregnant

daddy, or your kids could be reading Beowulf and little house on the Prairie. I mean, it's your choice. Is it my daddy's belly? He doesn work out? Or is it the other kind of belly? It's the belly that you see in the new emoji that you are, your favorite emoji. That I love. But listen, this is a revolution. And the way they started is people talking about it and advocating for it. And to your point, no one knows how to start a school, but there's resources available. If you want to start a school and you have some like-minded people, whether they're parents and grandparents,

you can make it happen to save your children. And if you want to save America, you have to save your kids. You have to save your family. And this is the first step in saving your family is through their education. So listen, Pete, I think you're at the tip of the spear, man. And the books you've written and the voice you give to this cause, we are grateful as fellow travelers for all the work that you've done. And you are a gem. And you're an American treasure, my friend.

Yes. Battle for the American Mind is the book. And I really, and also there's the Fox Nation special on it. Yeah, Miseducation of America. Miseducation of America. Which is great. These are all great ways to figure out why you need

classical education in your kids' and grandkids' lives. So Pete and Seth, thanks so much. You guys are the best. See you soon. Take care. Thanks, Pete. We'll have more of this conversation after this. Help turn off hesitation. Turn off doubt. Turn off fears. With your support, the

YMCA of Greater Toronto helps people turn off whatever's holding them back so they can let their potential shine, help turn on confidence and connections and possibilities. From youth shelters to job training, mental health counseling and beyond, the YMCA offers hundreds of programs that empower people to shine their brightest. See our charity's impact at ymcagta.org slash charity. Pete Hegsath was on a mission. He was seeing the problems in schools, loves his children, and was mission-driven to find a different path. And he did, and he wanted to write about it and share that story. And again, you mentioned the Fox Nation special. I don't watch a ton of Fox Nation.

You and I sat down together and watched that. Yeah, we binge watched it. It's a four-part series and we binge watched it. It was really, really good. Yeah, I mean- Stuff I didn't know. I didn't know the history of how they infiltrated our school system.

Totally. I mean, I think that is so important to understand what they did, why they did it, because it gives you all the more reason why you need to do this a different way. Again, the battle for the American mind will walk you through or the Fox Asian special. This is a long project. I think a lot of Americans think that this progressive project started with the sexual revolution in the 1960s. And oh, no, this is much deeper. The progressives were working, you know, over 100 years ago. And they were, you know, lockstep with the Marxists. And this is an absolute project. And we're just what we're seeing now are just the fruits of it.

You know, one of the things that Pete talks about in the book, and we talk a lot about on Fox and Friends is sort of the practicality behind this. So, you know, find the school before you buy your house. Right. And big mistake on our part. It was a big mistake on our part. We live a little too far away from the classical school we ended up sending our kids to. But we send them, but we send them and we make that that effort. But when Pete moved to Tennessee, he had already learned that lesson. And so he found the

school he wanted and then he found a house near it. And that is that sequencing is so important. It makes that the whole process easier when you don't have this long commute because, you know, these schools exist, but they don't always exist next to your house. And so I know at our school, you know, dozens of families who have sold their houses and are now moving closer to your house. And so I know at our school, you know, dozens of families who have sold their houses and are now moving closer to the school because that's so important to them. We did a tour of the school. One of the things that we noticed when we went into the school, when we were trying to make the decision is it just looks different. So we had gone to the public school and there was a lot of sort of, you know, whimsical artwork done by kids, you know, caterpillars and, you know, whatnot, you know, made out of bottle caps, which is nice and whatever.

You walk into my kids classical school and there are great works of art, the greatest works of art. And they're just sort of through osmosis taking in the beauty the the classical beauty of of that art um they fly american flags and there's no lgbtq plus flags flags flying um they you know they're uniting them under um the american flag and under the idea and the values of of of christianity which is what we wanted, for our kids. But again, I think when I looked at the curriculum, when I looked at the great books, their school also teaches Latin. And a lot of people go, well, why would you need Latin? This is the 21st century. Well, studying Latin improves mental discipline. It indirectly improves your English vocabulary.

It opens the door to all this classical literature. And obviously people who study Latin actually, we know, do better on the ACT and ACT scores. So there's a lot of benefits to that. Not every classical school teaches Latin. In Pete's kids' school, they don't. But in our kids, they do. And obviously for us as Catholics, we have liturgical reasons why Latin makes sense as well. It's because our kids go to mass every Friday, they have confession, and they also have benediction and adoration.

You know, there's a social contract that we have with our government and with the school system. It's that we pay taxes usually on our property and we give that money and it goes mostly to the school system and they're supposed to educate our children. And education has, the word education, I think has changed from education to indoctrination. It was teach us math, teach us science, teach us English, expand the brains and the minds of these young kids in this school system. And if you look at it now, it truly is, it is about critical race theory. It is about transgenderism, which again, this is at a younger and younger age. Yeah, they introduced the gender bread man. Many, many, many schools will do that.

I was just reading an article where a nine-year-old came home in Boston and asked their parents, what does bisexual mean? A nine-year-old. We have a nine-year-old ourselves. It's mind-blowing that these are the concepts. They're talking about sex with children. But here's what- Why?

It's just so infuriating. And this is a little bit newer. But the concept that has been in the school system for the last 20 years is global warming, climate change. And it's not just one year. This is the sciences. It's not one year. It's every year. They talk about climate change and global warming and the world's going to end and all these different things that these kids have to do to save the planet.

That's what science is, by the way, for the public schools. It's all global warming. And so what happens is kids become really stressed out. I mean, if you think you're going to die because the planet's going to implode, one, you're going to be an activist to save yourself and your planet and your family. But also you live with a lot of anxiety. Greta Thunberg five years ago gave a speech where she said the planet was going to end. This is the young European climate activist that now everyone, the one who said, you should be ashamed of yourselves, you know, and at the UN speech, this famous girl. Five years ago, this speech was given that the world was going to end five years ago. It was yesterday was the anniversary of the five years.

The world should have ended and we're in. We're doing pretty well. I think she took down that tweet. I know what she said. She goes, how dare you? How dare you? How dare you ruin our world? But that's a perfect example, Sean, of what science is like in public and also private schools.

example, Sean, of what science is like in public and also private schools. Our kids were getting a lot of global warming indoctrination instead of studying as our- In a Catholic school. In a Catholic school. Not classical. Yeah. And this is what I did. There's two other important sort of practical points that I want. So a lot of parents think, well, they're not in public school. I'm safe. No, most private schools, Catholic and otherwise, have been infected by the progressive indoctrination that the teachers are getting from the teachers' colleges. So just because your kid goes to a Catholic school doesn't mean they didn't go through the UW-Wisconsin-Madison Teachers College, right, and get all that indoctrination. And as you said, Sean, it just seeps into the curriculum.

So you might not see that topic on your kid's syllabus, if you will, if you're even lucky enough to get one. But it will be seeped in. The other thing is people will say, well, I can't afford it. That's right. I want to talk about that too. Go ahead. No, no, you go ahead. Cause you've always been such an advocate. So I look, so we had to move to New Jersey from Wisconsin because of your job. I've talked about

that a lot, but there is a lot of really expensive elite private schools that are in New Jersey. There's a lot of them and they cost more than college costs. I think some of these prep schools cost like 60 grand a year, $60,000 a year. I'm looking to the school that we send our kids and it's what Pete said. These are middle class families that want a different future for their children. They want their children to be educated. that want a different future for their children. They want their children to be educated. And so the cost- Can I just say something?

Most of, I think a lot of people, a lot of the new people that are coming to school, to be fair, are just trying to escape the sex talks at the private school, at the public schools. You're right. And so they're sending them there, but they're getting the bonus of this beautiful classical education.

Go ahead. So the cost is not outrageous. No. The cost is actually fairly reasonable. And so in our school system, Father Daniel at Our Lady of Mount Carmel will say to anyone who comes in, if you want to go,

and they're concerned about the price, he's like, listen, we will make this work for your family. We'll help. We will help out. I don't want price to be the issue that your child doesn't come. If this is right for you and your family and your child, we're going to make it work. We're going to figure out a way. And there are organizations that are popping up like Hope and

Education here in New Jersey, an organization that will help- Give scholarships. That will give scholarships to families who need help getting into better schools, like Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Dutton. Now, I will just say, if you have a lot of kids, so if you're sending six kids to this school and then you have one in college, it can feel like it's expensive for so many. If you got a couple of kids, two, three kids- It's the best investment. It is the best investment and the sacrifice that we make to send our kids. I don't regret the dollars that I send to the school. Never.

On the 15th of the month I send my payment in, I don't regret it at all. It's well worth it. And so think about your finances. Think about what resources you have that are available to you, whether it's, again, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters that you might have that want to help contribute. Or what can you cut back on? But there's mean, there's a, but there's a lot of grandparents out there who are, you know, are hearing what's happening in the schools. I mean,

if you're a grandparent, you're probably more shocked because you haven't been through the slow boil that, you know, you and I have, have been, you know, in the, in the last few, few decades of seeing our kids go to school and whatnot, but grandparents are petrified. Well, you know, you can do something instead of saving, you know, you know, giving your kids an inheritance or your grandkids an inheritance, invest in them right now. Invest in them. And you're also investing in America, right? You're doubling investment. I just, you mentioned the, this classical school that started in Hayward, Wisconsin, our friend, Amy Dykeman. She's a couple of years older than me. She started in Hayward, Wisconsin, our friend Amy Dyckman.

She's a couple years older than me. She went to Hayward High School, raised her family there. And she was like, listen, I want something different for our Hayward Christian community. And she mentioned this like three years ago. And she started to do research and try to get parents of like mind together and miraculously this school is starting and they're gonna is it is it is it pre-k through third grade i think fourth grade i think through fourth let me see i and then every no it's through second grade and then every year they're gonna add so people understand they

gotta start they gotta start small do it right, get your bearings. But she did it. But listen, they're making it. Hayward is not a rich area. They're making it reasonably cost. They got to cover it. I mean, they got to make this thing go, but also making it affordable for all families to be able to make a sacrifice and send their kids there. And that's what's so beautiful about this movement is about a community. This is not about, again, rich elites sending

their children to college prep schools. It's about getting children into a classical education and being smart about it. He said these schools are lean and mean, right? They're strict with their dollars because there's not a lot of them and they're mission driven. right? They're strict with their dollars because there's not a lot of them and they're mission driven. They're focused on the curriculum and on the academics and not on all the fluff and all the other stuff. And again, we've done a couple of podcasts on this. And as you mentioned, you and Pete talk about this a lot because it is so serious. This is such a big deal that if you don't get a good education for your child and they get garbage in you get garbage out and the the rewiring that happens the deprogramming that happens at the home if you're lucky enough to deprogram it's not enough no because they got

your kids for eight hours and you know they will get them And again, we we give so much to our children. They're our lives. Right. We give we give I mean, an amazing amount of our life and resources to our children. You can't make a choice to then give that to these crazy leftists that want to destroy our kids. And by the way, I think a lot of people are like, well, they're not going to get my kid or it's not that bad in my school. And so I don't really it is bad in every school system. I don't care. You can be in Texas, you can be in Florida, you can be in a conservative community in Wisconsin. They're going after your kids. They're getting your kids, whether you know it or not. We'll have more of this conversation after this. Some things require a lot of work to grow, like plants, hair, babies, or your savings. But when you run a business, you already have enough on your plate. Scotiabank's Right Size Savings for Business account can help you grow your savings with ease. For a limited time, open a new account and earn up to 4.65% interest for the first six months.

Before you know it, your savings will grow without you even noticing. Ooh, which reminds me, I need a haircut. Conditions apply. Ends December 15th. Rate is annual, calculated daily, and will vary based on account balance. Visit scotiabank.com slash right sizesavings for full details. And the proof is in the pudding. I mean, I know so many good, you know, conservative Christian parents who are like, my kids are using pronouns now on their signature. They're, you know, they are, you know, they're not going to church anymore.

They're, you know, it just, it happens. You can't, you can't avoid it. Can I talk about some of the beautiful things that have happened? So I, we were, I was giving the kids a bath. I saw them kind of rough housing in the bath. I'm like, what's going on in here? And the little ones, I mean, think about it. They're in, you know, third and first grade and like, oh, we're playing the French revolution. And Patrick is Louis the 16th. And, you know, I mean, these things happen all the time. The conversations that we have with our kids, I picked up a Greek mythology book thinking I was sort of going to teach them something different. My kids knew every God there was. I mean,

they understand Greek mythology. They're learning things. One of them now is reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Again, books that are now getting banned. These are American classics. Little House on the Prairie. Can you believe Little House on the Prairie is now not being taught in school? Something that, I mean, is so intertwined with who we are as Americans in terms of children's literature.

Also, you know, as I mentioned a lot of the books earlier, but, you know, it's amazing what they've taken out of the curriculum in public schools. Can I tell you a story from this morning? Yeah. So our kids are in a little horse,

they go get to ride horses for a week, a little horse camp, right? Yeah, Pete's kids are in two. Kids are in yeah so our kids are in a little horse they go get right horses for a week little horse camp right kids are in one in our kids so this morning i drove our seven-year-old and her nine-year-old to horse camp which they're wildly excited about this is um they have a couple days left but on the way in the car my little seven-year-old was asking me about communism and why is there communism which by the way way, he said communism and China. Right. And I said, well, and why don't he's like, why don't people fight back? And I'm like, well, people don't fight back because they don't have guns. Why don't they have guns? Because the communists took the guns away. Well, why is there communism? I'm like,

because the communists have a really good lie and people love the lie that they tell and people believe it. And then it happens and- They can't get out. They can't get out, right. By the way, I can barely answer one question before the next question is coming, right? I don't know if he's listening to the answers I'm giving him. And then my nine-year-old steps in and says, well, they do lie. Because Napoleon actually told Catholics or Christians that to go to heaven, you actually have to follow the will of your ruler.

That's how you get to heaven, which is, I think that's a little abbreviation of what, I don't know that I got that right, but she was telling me that Napoleon was basically telling people because they're such faithful people in France that you actually have to follow your rule, Napoleon, to get to heaven, which I didn't know anything about Napoleon when I went to school. And she's big on Napoleon right now right now she must say yeah they're saying these are the conversations that we're having in the car the 20-minute car ride to go ride horses in the morning right and and i'll tell you too like the the the way everything is is so beautifully laid out um it starts sequentially so. So the whole school is studying sort of Western

civilization from the beginning forward. So they all started with Egypt, then they moved to the Greeks, and then they moved to Rome. And then they're studying English history, and then to the French Revolution, and then the American there. They're already having them understand the history of the world. And, and it's alive for them. Like they're excited to come home and tell us stories and so how they're teaching them. It's not like boring. They're like alive with all of this excitement of the stories. They understand the stories. Of world history. So again, we are huge proponents.

By the way, they're studying poetry. They're studying the great pieces of art they had to replicate. Let me give you a couple of examples. They did Starry Night. So you might get that in public school where maybe they show them what Starry Night is and they have to do their version of Starry Night and paint it. But then they did that when they were in studying the Renaissance period, they had Michelangelo. And so the art teacher had them put their tape, their paper to the bottom of their desk and they laid on the ground and painted their painting upside down like Michelangelo. and painted their painting upside down like Michelangelo.

These children will never forget that Michelangelo did the Sistine Chapel, you know, laying on his back in that position. And they know what the Sistine Chapel paintings look like. These are the things that are lost. Your kids are being, if your kids are in public school, it's not just what they're getting. The transgenderism, the time wasted on CRT, the time wasted on oppression and all this stuff that they're doing. It's also what they're not getting because so much time is wasted on that.

And so just a little bit about Sean and Rachel. And by the way, those are second, third graders doing this. That's right. And back in Wisconsin, we did send our kids to Catholic schools. Very mediocre Catholic schools. Well, there was one that was excellent that we sent the kids to when we first got to Walsall. Oh, yeah. What town was that?

Rothschild? No. Rothschild. Rothschild. In Rothschild. That was great. Amazing. It was basically a classical school.

It was a classical school. That was for a couple of years. And then we came up and we sent them to a different school. And then also one went to public school. And we're so excited about the school we have in New Jersey here because it shows how lacking the school was throughout many of the kids' education. And so we're new to this. We're two years in to this classical school.

We're jealous ourselves of the education our kids are getting. This is not like we have been part of a movement for 15 years. This is new for us. So we've done this through our kids. This is a new experience for us. And we've seen the benefit over the last two years of the expansion of our kids' minds in this two year.

And so here's the next step. So we sent in the college experience, we had our first daughter went to the university of Chicago. She was accepted and that's an elite school. We were a little impressed with her, maybe even with ourselves a little bit shocked, but she got in, she did well,

but she will tell you it wasn't till her final years that she realized that she wasn't getting a class that you know she she understood she could form her own curriculum at University of Chicago and get some of these she started taking Thomas Aquinas and and some other classes but there there was no sequencing there was you know sort of a hodgepodge grab bag you could kind of take whatever core there was no core curriculum. And then finally, by the third child, we said, and we had this famous podcast with that we had with Victor Davis Hanson, where we asked him, where would you send?

And he gave us a list of, you know, five to six, seven different schools. We are in our third child. We said, we're going to help you pay for your education, but you, but we will only help if it is from this, this list, because we're not going to pay some university to indoctrinate you or take our money and doctrine of the people. We're tired of giving our money to people that hate us and hate our values. And so she chose the university of Dallas and at the university of Dallas, she is getting that same core curriculum, classical education. She's being taught just as she was when she went to her last year of high school at the School of New Jersey in the Socratic method in a small sort of discussion group form, studying the great classics in Western history. And now she has decided that she is going to major in classical education and she's going to remain at the University of Dallas to get her master's in that

because she is so convinced that this is the right. She's so excited about school. She loves school. She loves what she's studying. Yeah. And you know what? The mission is an enlightened mind. Yes. And you see after one year, she came back and I'm not getting pronouns. I'm not getting CRT. I'm not getting, you know. You're getting interesting discussions. Really fascinating discussions with her.

And we were at an event last night and I didn't know she was going to be there. And I saw her and I mean, it's growing up so well. I couldn't be more proud of our little Lucia and again, we're making better choices as a little bit older parent. I think this is, I bought, I was, I read part of Tocqueville in college and the kids are talking about Tocqueville. So a couple of days ago, I ordered the first two volumes. I think I'm saying that, right? I ordered Tocqueville and I'm like, I'm going to sit down and start reading this again. I started reading it, but I think for, for us all, and again, if you don't have, uh, one of these classical educations, um, we can start now. Right. And I didn't have that.

You can learn along with, you don't have to just be jealous of your kids' education. Hillsdale has a program like that. I think that a curriculum for, you know, if you listen to this podcast school, you know what, I want to, I want to learn more about this particular, I want to learn what I didn't learn, what I was supposed to learn, what I paid to learn, but didn't learn. You can do it now. And I think Hillsdale has a curriculum. Their teachers brought them back a great, uh, at the end of the year, each of their teachers gave a reading list of just some of it required, but some of it's just, if you want to read and, you know, we've been reading, you know, some of the year, each of their teachers gave a reading list of just some of it required,

but some of it's just if you want to read and, you know, we've been reading, you know, some of the classics with them. I know right now we're almost done with the secret garden, but other kids love, which the kids love, but they're reading others. And I think that's the beauty of it is watching your kids brains actually open up and the kinds of questions you got in the car this morning. That's not a one-off. Those are the kind of questions we get all the time. They're learning, they're understanding history, they're understanding their place in history, and they're asking the right questions. And that's what a classical education does. It opens their minds, gives them a foundation. And as Pete said, it's rediscovering the way we used to be taught prior to the 1960s. So just if you want to dip your toe in the water,

our daughter came to this classical school as a senior and was horrified that we moved her. She went there as a senior. We moved to New Jersey in her last year of high school. She loved that last year. And that set her up to go to University of Dallas. We had a kindergartner. So from kindergarten to senior year, we moved them all to this school. So no matter where your child is in education, you can actually take the plunge. Yeah, it's not too late. It's not too late.

Just because your child is in eighth or ninth grade. Go online. Look for classical schools near you. If you're moving at any point in the future, look and try to find a place that's near a classical school and take the plunge. And your kids will thank you later or your grandkids will thank you later that you did this for them in their education.

Yeah, if you're a grandparent and you're seeing your, your grandkids and a mediocre private school or a terrible public school, you know, have that conversation with your kids and offer to help them. Cause it is, you know, when you go from not paying tuition to paying tuition,

it's, it's a bite, you know, it hurts. Well, listen, Rachel, Rachel sold me that we're going to go to public school and we came to New

Jersey. And then she did a little switcheroo and all of a sudden I'm paying. I, listen, Rachel, Rachel sold me that we're going to go to public school and we came to New Jersey. And then she did a little switcheroo. And all of a sudden I'm paying. I thought I thought I thought I could do it. I thought we could do it. And then I went and toured the schools and I realized we're not going to. Yeah, everything. I went into the public schools.

I did my research. I was told that they're raising they're they're raising them to be global citizens. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. They had a tiny American flag flying in front of the office. They had a giant LGBTQ flag. And I thought, you can't unite these kids under the LGBTQ flag. You have to unite them under the American flag.

So go and visit the schools. Ask for the curriculum. Say, I want that reading. If you're going to send them to public school, at least get the information. What is the reading list for the second graders? What are they learning? Are you teaching them sex ed? What is happening? I want to see the curriculum for the history class, et cetera, et cetera. have that conversation with your adult children. Offer to help them make this transition. I can tell you from our own kids' experience, it's worth it. Your family will be better.

You will be better for it. And I think as Sean says, it's the only way to save America. And also, by the way, get Pete's book because it gives you the why and there's also resources in there of where to find these classical schools. That's right. And if you're asking why are we doing this podcast right now? Well, it's June. And so you still have time to make a decision and a choice

for the fall for your child. We found our school a couple of weeks before, maybe a week before school started. We decided like five days before school started to send them there. It was the crazy decision we ever made. And it was so classical schools, save your children, save your country. Check it out if you have one near you. And if not, maybe you want to think about homeschooling. That would have been hard for us, but there's great resources and tools that make homeschooling easy. But get your kids out of the public schools. Pete just sent a text thanking us for having him on the show.

And he said that this podcast gives him hope. He says, otherwise it feels like we're staring into the abyss. So yes, this is the hope for America. I feel really hopeful about that. Listen, and we are, I'm usually a pessimist, but this does give me hope. Listen, I want to thank you all for joining us on our podcast um we appreciate it um if you like our podcast you can rate review subscribe wherever you get your podcasts you can go to foxnewspodcast.com uh you can get us there and hopefully you will subscribe to this podcast we would love that rachel i listen uh this is one of my favorite subjects and just so excited to share with people what-

What we found. What we discovered. We don't want to keep it to ourselves. We want to share it with the world. We're sharing the good news. All right. Thanks, everybody. Bye-bye.

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