Written by Adam Robbins
Hillsdale College has worked to spread classical education on campus and across America with K-12 programs meant to inspire virtue and good citizenry in students of all ages.
Hillsdale’s Barney Charter School Initiative helped launch Atlanta Classical Academy (ACA) in 2014. I began attending ACA as a fourth-grade student. The founding members of the charter were parents seeking a quality education for their children, according to their choice. As a faculty member’s child, I can attest that it was a difficult and uncertain endeavor and an exercise in the virtues taught by both ACA and Hillsdale College.
ACA encourages its students to pursue several virtues: courage, courtesy, honesty, humility, perseverance, self-government, and service. The students do not have the same honor code as Hillsdale College, but these virtues and the school pledge (stating students will learn the truth, do the good, and love the beautiful) hold ACA’s student body to a similar standard of behavior and academic dedication. As a young student in those early years, I repeatedly heard the word “self-government.” I realized later that it was not just a way of telling a fourth grader how to behave, but also the embodiment of American citizenry.
Though the endeavor was uncertain at first, the staff, faculty, parental, and student support have been key to ACA’s success. I had countless opportunities to assist teachers, volunteer at after-school events, and help with community projects. The teachers, faculty, and staff also devoted their time outside the classroom as club sponsors, coaches, and fine arts directors. Both Hillsdale and ACA can exist because of the generosity of their independent donors and the selflessness of volunteers.
As a Hillsdale student, I feel the similar virtues and genuine connections to my professors as I did with my high school teachers. But on a more basic level, the education I have received and am receiving makes me want to be a good person. It makes me want to be better than who I was the day before. It makes me wonder about the nature of my existence and makes me curious about the people who have come before me and struggled with the questions of the human condition.
A liberal arts education gives you the means to decide how you will live your life and why you choose to live it that way. That is one of the ways in which a liberal arts education makes you “free” and lives up to its name. It is like a compass or map, not a fenced path or singular road. Coming from a classical school, I am more familiar with the objects of liberal arts education. However, I have not mastered or used them to their fullest ability. Hillsdale College is helping me learn how to do that, and it’s one of the reasons I wanted to attend Hillsdale.
Hillsdale College’s influence on K-12 students around the country has spread the importance of critical thinking in students and the importance of tradition in education. The endeavor of parents and teachers has created students who understand the value of their education. My education has given me insight into many subjects and histories, but most importantly, it has given me the ability to think freely and rise to self-government.
Adam Robbins, ’27, hails from Atlanta, GA, and enjoys writing short stories and poetry, reading, and the English language. He plays classical guitar and specializes in Classical, flamenco, and Spanish music. His favorite author is Dostoevsky, and he enjoys studying literary and philosophical works from across the ages. He likes to spend his warm sunny days golfing with friends or going on walks.
Published in October 2025
