What sets the EL education curriculum apart from other methods of teaching is their idea of balanced education and completeness of an individual. Their focus is not simply on how to get students into colleges or into their desired fields, but to develop students of character well versed in all topics. Their model “fosters and celebrates student’s character development…to become effective learners and ethical people who contribute to a better world” (EL Education Core Practices) reminds me of the liberal arts education of ancient Greece where students learned much more than the simple regurgitation of facts. Many schools today have created such a reliance against these classical ideals, instead focusing on rope memorization and reciting. Education “cannot, therefore, be true that the proper studies for one grade are mere reading and writing, and that at a later grade, reading, or literature, or science may be introduced”(Dewey), in much in the classical way, “the progress is not in the succession of studies, but in the development of new attitudes” (Dewey). What was interesting about this for me is that it gave me the criteria to evaluate my own education in public school. I think that us especially as English majors take for granted where we came from as students. All the skills that come so seemingly naturally to us that create the foundation of the major had to be taught at one point. I feel that it is easy to forget the process that it took to get us where we are now. I was very fortunate to go to a school that seemed to have internalized many of these principles. My school had focuses on more than just academic success, but showcased quality student work. There were many exhibitions of fine arts and sciences. There was also an emphasis on development of character but to me it always felt pushed. I think that it is hard for schools to focus on character development without students feeling like it is some sort of gimmick not to be taken seriously.