Strange Vocations

Abstract

Every vision of education relies on an inchoate anthropology—an implicit understanding of what it is to be human. This article seeks to bring the anthropologies implicit in modern and classical visions of education to light. Uncovering their respective understandings of freedom and disability reveals why we should accept the anthropology implicit in a classical vision of education. This understanding of anthropology through the lens of disability leads us to the heart of classical education by illuminating the strange vocations both of persons with disabilities and of classical educators. Further, it has important implications for the practices of classical schools in welcoming students with disabilities and learning differences.