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Teaching Specialization in the Classics
The Classical Education Certificate introduces educators and parents to the content, theory, and practice of classical education.
A 2024 market analysis found that 667,521 students in the United States were educated in 1,551 classical schools in 2023-24, in addition to home schools, microschools, and co-ops — up from 1,287 classical schools in 2019-20.
In addition to documenting a 4.8% annual growth rate in the number of classical schools between 2019-20 and 2023-24, the analysis projected that in 2035, over 1,400,000 students in the United States will be educated in 2,575 classical schools, in addition to home schools and other educational settings.
The burgeoning classical education field is varied and includes public charter schools, private schools, and different forms of home-based education. Some of these independent schools and home schools are faith-based, while others are non-sectarian.
The Classical Education Certificate is designed to help individuals flourish as educators in any of these settings. Whether you are considering a career in education, currently work as a staff member at a school, are educating your children at home, or are simply curious about classical education, the Classical Education Certificate can help you meet your personal and professional goals.
The Classical Education Certificate includes five eight-week courses that may be taken in any order. Courses are delivered in hybrid format which includes two hours of reading per week, along with a weekly one-hour virtual seminar discussion (Monday, 7:00-8:00 PM).
When: 1/5/26 – 3/9/26, with no session on 1/19 (MLK Day) or 2/16 (Presidents Day)
Description:In the twenty-four centuries since the trial and death of Socrates, educators have looked to the Greek philosopher as a model and have found inspiration in his method of questioning, as well as in his search for wisdom — a search so ardent that he was willing to accept death for it.
In this course, students will read the speech that Socrates delivered at his trial as well as two dialogues in which he demonstrated his method. Students will also encounter contemporary examples of Socratic education and learn how to teach Socratic seminars.
Learning Outcomes:By the end of this course, participants will understand the centrality of Socrates’ legacy in classical education, grow in appreciation of Socrates’ thought, educational method, and personal integrity, and learn how to apply his method in contemporary educational settings.
Instructor: Jeff ZieglerLocation: TeamsTime: Mondays 7PM-8PM (24 CE credits)Cost: $399
When: 3/16/26 – 5/11/26, with no session on 4/6 (Easter Monday)Description:Classical education is as concerned with the enchantment of the imagination as it is with the development of reasoning skills. Greek and Roman literature is replete with myths, with epic tales of love and war, and with tragedies and comedies that have moved readers for millennia.
In this course, students will encounter great myths and the most famous Greek drama (Oedipus), as well as portions of the epics of Homer and Virgil. Students will also learn how to make these great works come alive for the next generation.
Learning Outcomes:By the end of this course, participants will understand the importance of myths, epics, and drama in classical education, grow in appreciation of the works of Homer, Virgil, and Sophocles, and consider how to bring great works of the imagination to life in contemporary educational settings.
When: 5/18/26 – 7/20/26, with no session on 5/25 (Memorial Day)
Description:The Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle observed that all human beings wish to be happy. He wrote that good habits, or virtues, can help human beings flourish and attain the happiness they desire.
In this course, students will encounter writings on happiness and virtue by Aristotle, the Roman statesman and scholar Cicero, and other thinkers of the classical era. Students will also learn from contemporary writings that bridge the gap between the classical tradition and character education today.
Learning Outcomes:By the end of this course, participants will understand the importance of good habits, or virtues, in classical education, grow in understanding of the writings of Aristotle and Cicero on virtue and human flourishing, and consider how to apply this legacy in contemporary educational settings.
When: 7/27/26 – 9/21/26, with no session on 9/7 (Labor Day)
Description:John Henry Newman, a nineteenth-century English proponent of classical education, saw learning as symphonic, with each discipline, like a musical instrument, adding richness and depth to the others. Consider a tree: geometry tells us about the tree’s shape, biology tells us about the systems that sustain the tree’s life, chemistry tells us about the tree’s chemical components, and the fine arts proclaim the tree’s beauty. Newman believed that as we grow in appreciation of the symphonic nature of reality, our intellects are cultivated and flourish like a garden.
For two millennia, writers in the classical tradition have seen the liberal arts as pathways to this flourishing garden. Education in the liberal arts transpires, in part, through what is called the “great conversation” between classical authors, more recent writers, and people today. A young Frederick Douglass, for example, read a book of speeches by Cicero and others that fostered in him a yearning for freedom. Douglass’s autobiographical Narrative, in turn, moves and inspires readers today.
In this course, students will encounter classical writings on the liberal arts and the great conversation, and in doing so explore practical ways to cultivate the gardens of their own students’ minds.
Learning Outcomes:By the end of this course, participants will understand the rich heritage of the liberal arts in the history of classical education, grow in understanding of how the liberal arts enhance learning by encouraging a variety of perspectives, and learn how to bring this liberating vision to bear in contemporary educational settings.
When: 9/28/26 – 11/9/26, with no session on 11/2
Description:The founders of many classical schools in the United States have found inspiration in Dorothy Sayers, a twentieth-century English author who sought to revive classical primary and secondary education. Sayers believed that “the sole true end of education is simply this: to teach men how to learn for themselves.”
In this course, students will reflect on Sayers’s “Lost Tools of Learning” and deepen their knowledge of the wealth of resources available to the contemporary classical educators who have followed in her wake. In doing so, students will learn the nuts and bolts fostering classical education in contemporary settings.
Learning Outcomes:By the end of this course, participants will understand the importance of Dorothy Sayers in contemporary classical education, learn about the wealth of resources available to contemporary classical educators, and learn how to bring Sayers’s vision to bear in varied educational settings.
Jeff Ziegler is dean of academics at Pinnacle Classical Academy, a tuition-free public charter school in Shelby, N.C., and has worked as a teacher and administrator in classical charter schools for over two decades. He is also a member of the part-time faculty of Belmont Abbey College’s Master of Arts in Classical and Liberal Education program. Ziegler received his bachelor’s degree in classics from Princeton University and his master’s degree from the International Theological Institute in Austria.
