Panel Discussions Bring the Wisdom of Many to Symposium Stage

Each year at the Great Hearts National Symposium for Classical Education, the team at Great Hearts Institute puts together an amazing program of presentations, talks, and workshops that address the topics that are most pressing in classical education today. During this process, they carefully consider which of those topics are in need of a full examination by a panel of subject experts. Rather than presenting a single perspective, these carefully curated panels bring together diverse viewpoints on topics that are often complex or polarizing. The resulting conversations are both thoughtful and respectful and are just one of the many reasons to attend the 2026 Symposium at the Tempe Mission Palms, February 25–27.

The theme of this year’s Symposium is Classical Education and the American Experiment: the Declaration of Independence at 250 and a fitting panel discussion is Teaching the American Founding in a Classical School. Featuring panelists Colleen Sheehan, a Professor at the Arizona State University – School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership; Zachary German, Assistant Professor of American Civics at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; and Andy Smarick, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

The premise of this panel is that a classical education should include a deep consideration of the founding principles and documents, speeches, and history that inform the establishment of American republican government. Classical liberal arts students are citizens and the future leaders of American democratic life, and as such, they should come to understand the knowledge of the human condition and the limits of politics the American Founders, the “great oracles of political wisdom,” possessed about how to make a government by the people and for the people succeed.

The next featured panel tackles two hot-button topics for today’s educators, Literacy and Artificial Intelligence. In The Future of Literacy in an AI World, panelists include Alex Petkas, Co-Founder and CEO of The Classical Society; John J. Goyette, Vice President for Advancement and Dean Emeritus at the Thomas Aquinas College; and Erin Valdez, Executive Director of the Center for Education and Public Service Incubator at the University of Austin.

Together, these panelists will discuss the future of literacy in a world where AI tools can be used to produce research, poetry, essays, and other creative work formerly assumed to be solely the domain of humans. This panel will steel-man the case against literacy and challenge the panelists and audience to set aside wishful thinking to explore the most robust and compelling responses to the critics of classical education.

These insightful panel discussion, along with many others, will be presented at the Great Hearts National Symposium for Classical Education, held February 25–27, 2026, in Tempe, Arizona. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with fellow educators, renew your sense of purpose, and explore how classical education continues to shape the American experiment. Learn more and register for the Symposium athttps://classicaleducationsymposium.org/

Do you have a story or know of one that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.