Dateline: June 13, in the Year of our Lord 2022.
Tomorrow, a book project I’ve been working on for over a decade, will be released– Battle for the American Mind, Uprooting a Century of Miseducation, from Harper Collins. I coauthored it with Pete Hegseth, who carries the story in the first person and contributes much along the way. Some of you may have seen it on FOX News last night. It was the subject of a 1 hour special. For the moment, it’s rising on the top selling lists. I am grateful and hopeful that our country, our culture, and our people will benefit.
This is the story of how the book came about.
In 2008, I released a booklet called “Discover Classical Christian Education.” It has been a popular marketing piece for CC (Classical Christian) schools. After reading “Discover”, people asked me “what book should I read?” Of course, Douglas Wilson’s “Recovering The Lost Tools of Learning” and “The Case for Classical Christian Education” were both staples at the time. And Classical Academic Press had a few titles. But, people kept asking for a book that told the story of classical Christian education, why it was important, and how it worked. They wanted something they could use to help their friends understand.
I realized that the full story of the intentional Progressive takeover of American education, their efforts to extinguish the Western Christian Paideia, and the impact that had on America was untold.
Simply put, people think of classical Christian education as one peculiar type of Christian education. But, most people see it like an 8-year-old sees a 1935 Duesenberg: “That’s a funny looking car– kind of cool though.”
Until the whole story is told, most people don’t realize how broadly important this story is. Underneath a simple classroom narrative lies the direction of our culture, our nation, and our churches. If we don’t step up, our efforts in politics, evangelism, activism, or even voting will be for not.
My preface to the book explains the story of my research and the inquiry from Pete Hegseth that led to his cooperation on the book. The book has 3 parts. The first part “The 16,000 Hour War”, situates the takeover of education by the progressives as they replaced the Western Christian Paideia with a cultural Marxist paideia. The second part, “The Unauthorized History of American education” tells the amazing story of how and why the progressives did it. The final part, “A Solution as Big as the Problem”-- the longest part of the three. It begins by describing the 4 battlements of classical Christian education that have been undermined by the Progressives. It goes on to explain how classical Christian education works to cultivate citizens and Christians who can change the course of our current culture.
It’s important to note that this book and the promotion from FOX is appreciated because it provides a platform. As I wrote in my entry on FOX Friend or Foe, we at the ACCS are thankful to get the word to more parents about classical Christian education. But, of course, Pete and the organizations that provide the platform do not speak on behalf of the ACCS.