Ben Sasse has always been honest, but facing a terminal diagnosis he has been unplugged. Last night, in exactly 13 seconds, he explained the real reason compulsory education ever started in America.
Catholics, consider this when making choices about education for your children.
"My parents are fallible goofballs like anyone else. But there is something a bit different about the conversations at my dinner table—and something magical and rare about the people leading them."
Artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships, and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate or even simulate, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational, and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom. #MagnificaHumanitas
You may be persuaded that public education is not enough. You may be persuaded that your child needs something more than job training, digital worksheets, ideological formation, and test preparation. You may be persuaded that your child needs a classical Christian education—a liberal education, a humane education, an education ordered toward truth, goodness, beauty, wisdom, and virtue.
But then Monday morning arrives. The bills still have to be paid. The younger children still need attention. The teenager still needs accountability. The parents still have work, church, family, meals, appointments, and obligations.
And the question becomes very practical: What now?
The first step is to begin with the end in mind. Don’t begin with the curriculum or course catalog. Do not begin with the schedule. Do not begin with the fear that your child is behind. Do not begin with the panic that someone else’s family seems to be doing everything better. Begin with the end in mind.
What kind of student are you trying to form? Or better still, what kind of human being are you trying to form?
Here’s the answer: A student who can read carefully. A student who can write clearly. A student who can reason soundly. A student who can speak truthfully and persuasively. A student who knows the Scriptures, understands the great tradition, and can engage the world without being absorbed by it. A student who can love what is lovely, discern what is vicious or false, resist what is degrading, and pursue what is noble. That is the end we have in mind.
What a joy to give the 2026 commencement address at the Veritas school of Richmond. Veritas is widely regarded as one of the top classical Christian schools in the country. The head of school, Keith Nix, is a driving force of the classical Christian education movement.
Just posted: My latest TED talk. I look at technology from the perspective of human ultrasociality -- deep needs for community and communion. From that view, you can see how social media, edtech, and especially AI block human flourishing
https://t.co/htYeTCCIYo
This account has picked up more than 10,000 followers in less than 24 hours, insane. It is now the fastest growing account on X.
Two years ago the president of the Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, said CLT is “the most hopeful and disruptive development in American education.”
Tomorrow, on a very special edition of "The Anchored Podcast":
Jeremy Tate sits down with Ben Sasse, former US Senator and Emeritus President of the University of Florida, and also Keith Nix, Head of School at Veritas School in Richmond, VA.
Together they discuss the future of education, Sasse's experience in the political arena, as well as Sasse's cancer diagnosis, family, faith and courage.
Filled with charm, heart, and humor, this conversation offers a vision of hope and encouragement
Subscribe to the official Classic Learning Test YouTube channel, home of "The Anchored Podcast", for this unique and moving conversation.
Essential viewing for educators, policy makers, and anyone interested in preserving Western culture.
Link in comments.
Now live on "The Anchored Podcast":
Ben Sasse, former U.S. Senator and Emeritus President of the University of Florida, discusses education, liberal arts, formation, and courage in the face of his cancer diagnosis with Veritas School Headmaster Keith Nix and Classic Learning Test founder Jeremy Tate.
As entertaining as it is insightful, this conversation is full of outrageous stories, zany interjections, and profound observations on life, death, and what it means to be a fully formed human being.
Check it out on the Classic Learning Test YouTube channel, the official home of "The Anchored Podcast", and don't forget to subscribe!
Link to the full episode posted in comments!
@BenSasse@wkeithnix@JeremyTate41