OPINION:
Even as a retired engineer, I still appreciate the Western classics I was required to read in Northern Virginia schools in the 1960s. (I seriously doubt these remain required reading in those same schools today.)
As a volunteer webmaster for the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance, I took it upon myself two years ago to construct plain-text HTML copies of these books and many others — now quite a collection — at fcta.org/books/. These classics should inspire home-schoolers and any parent who wants their kids to improve themselves over and above whatever they’re being taught.
Whether one is truly educated is up to the individual. So even if K-12 schools and colleges continue to downplay classical education, one can continue to educate oneself throughout life — which was the goal of yesteryear’s liberal arts education anyway.
DAVID SWINK
Vienna, Virginia
Please read our comment policy before commenting.