As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, more accessible, and more integrated into daily life, parents understandably ask: Why is classical education the best education for my child in a world that is now--and will be even more so--heavily influenced by AI?.
The answer is not found in chasing technology, but in cultivating what technology cannot replicate—wisdom, virtue, discernment, and the capacity for human judgment. This is precisely what classical education was designed to form. We want students to come up with their own ideas. If we allow students too much access to AI, we are essentially stripping away their knowledge economy or intellectual capital. At the end of the day, the mind is the ultimate property and we must cultivate the individual mind.
The goal of education is to acquire knowledge, which leads to creation. Kolby Atchinson wrote, “Classical education is not at its core about academic rigor, but about the formation of a particular type of person.” Interestingly, we have moved from Plato warning that writing would weaken memory—implying he might have opposed the invention of the pencil as a “new technology”—to a world where students can rely on AI to do the thinking and even the creating for them.
Classical education does more than prepare students for a job — it forms the human mind. Tracy Lee Simmons argues passionately that this tradition isn’t just about acquiring technical skills; it is about shaping one’s intellect and character through disciplined study and the pursuit of wisdom. In Climbing Parnassus, he reminds us that, “The hard, precipitous path of classical education ideally led not to knowledge alone, but to the cultivation of mind and spirit.” Classical education teaches students to think clearly, read closely, and reason soundly — foundational skills that remain vital even as technology and the tools for accessing information change.
In John Adams Academy, Leading a Revolution in Education, by Dr. Dean Forman, highlights the connection between classical education and the development of the mind, “We think the classics show the origins of many of society’s most serious difficulties. We think that the spirit they represent and the habit of mind they teach are more necessary today than ever before.”
In a world where artificial intelligence can deliver facts at the tap of a finger, the real challenge becomes not remembering those facts, but understanding, evaluating, and morally interpreting them. Classical education uniquely equips students to do exactly that. It helps them develop intellectual disciplines that enable them to judge what is true, beautiful, and good — rather than simply what is expedient or popular.
Moreover, classical education nurtures deeply human capacities that no machine can replicate. As Dr. Christopher Perrin has argued, AI might process data, but it cannot imagine, wonder, love, or choose virtue. Classical learning cultivates these qualities through engagement with great books, Socratic dialogue, moral reasoning, logic, rhetoric, and the steady pursuit of virtue. In doing so, it forms the inner life — something that mere algorithms cannot create or sustain.
Students trained in this way become independent thinkers, not passive consumers of information. Oliver DeMille, in A Thomas Jefferson Education, emphasizes that true education isn’t about efficiency or standardization. Real education is about wrestling with ideas, studying original sources, asking deep questions, and receiving individualized mentorship. In an age of information overload — where content is cheap and abundant — those who will truly lead are not the ones who can recite data, but those who can analyze, synthesize, and lead with insight.
Character formation is also central to classical education. Unlike modern models that emphasize technical proficiency above all, classical education deliberately trains moral courage and virtue. Simmons describes its goal as forming “noble souls”: people who act wisely and courageously even in the face of cultural or technological disruption. Today’s parents know that children must navigate a world in which AI can shape public opinion, manipulate information, and personalize persuasion. Classical education offers moral foundations — a stable core to help students stay grounded even in digital storms.
Perhaps most importantly, classical education prepares young people to lead, not just follow trends. While AI may transform or even eliminate many careers, it cannot govern communities, empathize deeply, negotiate peace, create soulful beauty, uphold justice, or imagine a better future. The leaders of tomorrow will need historical consciousness, articulate reasoning, strong character, and intellectual resilience — all of which classical learning cultivates.
This vision of human formation, not just utility, resonates deeply with the words of Frederick Douglass, who understood education as a form of true liberation. He said, “Education means emancipation. It means light and liberty. It means the uplifting of the soul of man into the glorious light of truth, the light only by which men can be free.” Douglass’s insight underlines that education is not merely a tool for economic advancement — it is essential to freedom itself.
We’re not only living in a time where AI has become a concern, but we’re also living in a time where respectful debate and rhetoric is lacking. There is incredible division in our nation, and yet we have a tremendous example in William Sanders Scarborough. In The Autobiography of William Sanders Scarborough: An American Journey From Slavery to Scholarship, the story of Scarborough is especially compelling. Scarborough overcame the barriers of his time to become one of the nation’s foremost classical scholars. His life demonstrates the transformative power of classical education, which cultivates not just knowledge, but intellectual discipline, moral judgment, and resilience. Scarborough reflects on the value of rigorous education, noting that the study of Greek and Latin provided “that strengthening and disciplining of the mind which enables the student … to master any business to which he may turn his attention.” Scarborough’s mastery of the classics, and his subsequent prominence as a professor and president at Wilberforce University, reveal how classical learning can elevate individuals beyond societal constraints and open doors historically closed to marginalized communities.
Scarborough’s achievements underscore a broader truth: classical education is a powerful equalizer. It equips students with the intellectual tools to think critically, the moral formation to act wisely, and the courage to navigate barriers. Scarborough’s life offers a model for how education can transform potential into achievement. His rise to prominence in classical scholarship demonstrates that access to a classical education is a vehicle for empowerment, leadership, and the cultivation of human excellence. In celebrating his story, we are reminded that classical education not only imparts knowledge but also shapes the character and vision necessary to overcome and make meaningful contributions to society.
In a rapidly changing world, classical education remains the most future-proof education we can offer. It does not try to compete with machines. Instead, it forms the kinds of human beings who can use technology wisely, lead courageously, and preserve the principles of liberty and virtue that define our nation.
Parents who choose classical education are giving their children exactly what AI cannot provide: a cultivated mind, a virtuous heart, and the ability to think, choose, and lead with wisdom.
