Do We Really Need the Classics?: The Weekly Mentor

by Oliver DeMille

“Oh, no, you’re one of THOSE!” the man groaned.

“One of what?” I asked.

“One of those people who thinks classics are important in modern education,” he said. “I deal with people like you all the time. It’s really frustrating.”

The man, seated next to me at the airport, went on to tell me he is the Head of Admissions at a university in California. “What people need is jobs. That’s all modern education is about,” he continued. “Anything else is a total waste of time.”

I smiled and tried to be diplomatic. “As long as your students and parents are clear about your focus and the goals of your university, I think that’s great. People who want something different can look at other schools or become successful entrepreneurs.”

He shook his head, and I could tell he wasn’t going to let it go. “No, it’s not just our school. It’s all schools. Or at least it should be. The only path to success in the modern economy is to get a job. We have accounting majors, engineering majors, and we train teachers, nurses, doctors and attorneys. Also we have a business school. This is the only path to success nowadays.”

I laughed. “You have a really strong opinion, and I think that’s great. I just have a different view, and the statistics bear it out. Do you want to hear another view, or should we just agree to disagree?”

He smiled, and chilled out a little. “I do get intense about this,” he said. “It’s just that we’ve reached a point where the arts, humanities, history and all those things don’t prepare people for anything except flipping burgers.”

I shook my head, and his face hardened. “I really do disagree with you,” he said. “The only path to success right now is a solid degree in a sensible field that gets a person a good job!”

I nodded. “I see you really feel strongly about this. I just have one question. If what you say is true, why isn’t it working?”

“What do you mean?”

Failure to Launch

“Well, in the past three years, for example, over fifty percent of college graduates couldn’t get jobs and had to move back home with their parents.[i] In 2011, the number was reportedly 85%.[ii] And the large majority of them majored in the fields you just listed.”

“Well, that’s just the bad economy,” he said.

“Most experts disagree,” I responded. “They cite long-term structural changes in our economy—like technological shifts and increased globalization—as the cause of these changes. And these realities aren’t going to change anytime in the next few decades.

“The same problem is hurting many professional school graduates as well,” I continued. “For example, since 2009 over a third of law school graduates aren’t able to get a job, while the average law school graduate owes between $100,000 and $150,000 in student loans.”[iii]

Time noted that “applications to law school are expected to hit a 30-year low this year — down as much as 38% from 2010.”[iv]

“This trend has created a new label, Boomerang Kids, for those who leave home, successfully finish college, and simply can’t get a job to use their career training.[v] Like I said, most experts suggest that this is not just a short-term effect of the recession but a long-term trend that that will probably last for decades ahead.”[vi]

I could tell he’d heard this before, and that he didn’t have an answer for it. He sighed, nodded, and looked a little frustrated.

“On the other hand,” I continued, “the wealthy still put their children and youth in elite elementary and prep schools that emphasize classics, and they send their young adults to colleges, universities, and majors that do the same. They must know something about what really works.”

“Well, it’s easy for them,” he retorted. “They don’t have to compete in the market.”

“That’s just not true,” I was still smiling. “Perhaps they don’t have to compete for jobs, but many if not most of them eventually help run businesses that have to compete in the global market—and the competition is even harder there than in the U.S. job market. And, as their wealthy parents know, the classics are a key part of what prepares them for this competition.”

He sat back in his chair and just looked at me. “Well,” he eventually said, “most people don’t have to deal with that. They just really need a job so they can pay their bills and raise their families.”

“That’s true,” I nodded. “And thank goodness schools like yours help so many people get good job training. The sad part is that after you’ve trained them, so many of them can’t get a job in the current economy.”

He nodded. We were both happy to agree on something. “The reason the economy is bad is because too many of our leaders just don’t get it sometimes,” I continued.

He nodded again.

Back to the Future

“And the main cause of this is that too many of them haven’t closely studied history and the classics and don’t understand the cycles, trends and principles which govern the ups and downs of the economic cycle.”

The agreement was gone. He looked at me with distaste. “And you think that getting all today’s kids to read the classics would fix this?” He asked.

“Absolutely,” I said.

He looked at me in surprise, so I continued.  “Just get every college-age person today to read and understand Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson and you’ll drastically improve the future of the economy.

“And the same thing would happen in politics if every young person today would read and really internalize The Law by Frederic Bastiat. These two books alone would change everything. They really would.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t say anything.

“Hey,” I said, “I’m not knocking what you do. I think all education has its place. I just think having great educational opportunities in many fields is best. We need great training for accountants, engineers and nurses, and also great learning opportunities for leaders through history and the great classics. Why wouldn’t we want both?”

He nodded grudgingly. “I guess I can see the merit in that. But still, most people need the more practical jobs.”

“I agree with you. But even those people will be better citizens and even better accountants and engineers if they read history and other great books. That’s what your school’s required liberal arts classes are all about, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Don’t you think the regular people deserve the same opportunity to get a leadership education that children of the elites do?” I asked.

The man smiled. “This has been an interesting conversation,” he said.

“Oh, you are one of THOSE,” I said slowly.

He actually laughed. “Maybe I am,” he pondered. “Maybe I am.”

“I’ve got a book you should read,” I told him. “Will you read it if I send it to you?”

“Yes,” he said. “You’ve made some good points. I will read it.”

“Do you have a card?”

He did.

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Oliver DeMille is the co-founder of the Center for Social Leadership, and a co-creator of TJEd. He is the NY Times Bestselling co-author of LeaderShift, and author of A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the 21st Century, The Coming Aristocracy: Education & the Future of Freedom, and FreedomShift: 3 Choices to Reclaim America’s Destiny.

Oliver is dedicated to promoting freedom through Leadership Education. He and his wife Rachel are raising their eight children in Cedar City, Utah.