In an era when every screen competes for a child’s attention, a surprising movement is quietly reshaping American education. Classical academies — once seen as a niche option for a small, motivated group of parents — are now experiencing explosive growth. And according to Great Hearts Institute’s Carol McNamara, this shift isn’t a trend; it’s a response to a crisis.

On the latest episode of Breaking Battlegrounds, McNamara joined hosts Sam Stone and Chuck Warren to break down why so many families are abandoning conventional schooling and seeking something more rigorous, more focused, and more meaningful. What emerged was a conversation about literacy, technology, COVID, and the deep desire parents have for their children to grow into serious thinkers.

A Generation Drowning in Distraction

Sam Stone opened with a question nearly every educator can relate to:
How do you teach students who live in a world where everything demands their attention for only two seconds at a time?

McNamara’s answer is simple — and surprisingly radical in 2025:
No phones. No laptops. No screens.

At Great Hearts classical academies, this has been the rule since day one. McNamara, who has taught everywhere from ASU to Utah State to Weber State, said she implemented this long before it became a national conversation. Once Wi-Fi became omnipresent, she realized that serious thinking couldn’t compete with constant digital stimulation.

“All I need is your attention for 90 minutes,” she tells students. It’s a simple ask — but in today’s world, a revolutionary one.

Parents Are Driving the Classical Education Revival

While classical education originally attracted families who already understood and valued its approach, the past two decades — especially the last five years — have transformed the landscape.

McNamara traces the new surge back to the early 2000s when Great Hearts launched, but says COVID was the catalyst that turned curiosity into urgency.

During the pandemic, parents finally saw what their kids were actually learning — or not learning. And many didn’t like it.

The result?

44% of parents exploring new schools now choose classical programs.

Families are increasingly concerned about the national decline in literacy and the collapse of academic seriousness. McNamara says nearly every article crossing her desk these days is about a growing literacy crisis. Parents want their children reading whole books, engaging with challenging ideas, and developing real intellectual discipline.

Classical schools offer exactly that.

Do Classical Schools Produce Better Thinkers?

Chuck Warren asked the question many parents wonder:
Is it even possible for a student to go through a classical education and not become a better thinker and writer?

McNamara’s response was immediate:
“I can’t imagine how that’s the case.”

Classical education isn’t just about content — it’s about habits of mind. By removing digital distractions and returning to serious reading, thoughtful discussion, and deep engagement with ideas, students develop the intellectual muscles that so many modern classrooms unintentionally weaken.

Why This Movement Matters

The conversation underscored a powerful reality:
Parents aren’t just seeking better schools — they’re seeking a better future for their children.

In a culture of distraction, classical education is offering something rare:

  • Focus

  • Discipline

  • Intellectual challenge

  • A framework for becoming capable, flourishing citizens in a democratic republic

And families across the country are responding.

Transcript

Sam Stone: Maybe a little bit of a curveball here, but those hands-on workshops, how are you finding or how are your teachers finding it different engaging with students? It seems like there’s been a very significant cultural shift in the last five to 10 years with young folks. How has that changed their interaction and how do you engage them in a world where everything’s demanding their attention for two seconds at a time?

Carol McNamara: That’s so interesting. First of all, no phones in Great Heart’s classical academies. We’ve done that before anyone started talking about it. And even when I taught it at ASU and Utah State and Weber State, when I realized there was Wi-Fi everywhere, I just said, you’ve got to put your computers and phones away. All I need is your attention for 90 minutes or 90 minutes at the time, right?

I think that we have a student population that, you know, where parents are looking for this kind of education for their students. Classical education began for an audience that knew they wanted it. But now, after COVID, of course, but even given the general challenges that you’re talking about, that there’s technology everywhere that is demanding the attention of students. Parents are looking for an education that really makes their kids serious prepared human beings for flourishing in American democratic republic.

Chuck Warren: And what timeframe did you see this increase in interest in classical education for parents? Because I know if I wasn’t that way 20, 10 years ago, do you think COVID, when was the timeframe this interest came about again?

Carol McNamara: I think it started when Great Hearts started around 2002, around the turn of the century. But again, there were parents out there who knew it, that they wanted this education for their kids, for their students. But as the 21st century sort of started up, and then especially with COVID. So there are parents who wanted classical education, they wanted their kids to be reading whole books.

I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention. I feel like the universe is telling me something. Every single article that people are sending me is about the decline in literacy. There’s a crisis of literacy. There’s a crisis of seriousness. And after COVID, I mean, this is an old story, but parents saw what their kids were learning at school. And for them, it was a crisis. And they started to seek out through various options in school choice, they started to seek out 44% of parents when they’re looking for new schools choose classical schools now.

Chuck Warren: Is there any way a parent can put their child into a classical education, like Great Hearts, and that child does not come out a better thinker and writer?

Carol McNamara: I can’t imagine how that’s the case.

Listen to the full episode of Breaking Battlegrounds anywhere you stream your podcasts!