Attend the Launch of ARI’s Conceptual Education Program

Violent tribalistic protests as well as disastrous political ideas are results of irrationality in our culture. Key to cultivating a more rational culture is improving the quality of education.

In her 1970 essay “The Comprachicos,” Ayn Rand made the case that today’s schools cripple students’ ability to think, producing conformists who seek the protection of a group. To address this crisis, she issued a call to action: “The educational establishment has to be fought—from bottom to top, from cause to consequences, from nursery schools to universities, from basic philosophy to campus riots, from without and from within.”

Inspired by Rand’s call, Ed Thompson has been fighting for educational reform.

In 2021 he founded the Conceptual Education Fellowship at ARI, which funds intellectual work applying Rand’s ideas to educational issues. Now, Mr. Thompson has spearheaded the expansion of that Fellowship into a Conceptual Education Program that will support a wider range of work promoting rational ideas in primary and secondary education.

Join us for the official launch of the Conceptual Education Program at the next ARI Member Roundtable. We’ll talk to Mr. Thompson about the impact of Ayn Rand’s ideas on his life, his commitment to advancing Objectivist ideas in education and the vision for the program. Mr. Thompson will be joined by Sam Weaver, ARI associate fellow and recipient of the Conceptual Education Fellowship, about his work applying Objectivist ideas to education. The event will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time / 10:00 a.m. Pacific time on Zoom.

After the discussion, we’ll open breakout rooms where you can talk with Mr. Thompson and Mr. Weaver, as well as other ARI scholars and staff, in a free-form hangout. The roundtable will last approximately 90 minutes; the hangout will remain open for another hour.

Invitations have already been sent to current ARI Members.

If you’d like to attend this Roundtable as well as upcoming events in the future, consider becoming a member.

Background image credit: Ao win/Shutterstock.com.