Why Parents Are Turning to Aesop, Shakespeare to Deal With Youth Anxiety

‘We don’t read Shakespeare to find out all the problems with him. We read Shakespeare to find out about ourselves,’ one principal says.

The statue of Socrates in front of the National Academy in Athens, Greece, in a file photo. Mapman/Shutterstock

As the “smartphone generation” grapples with mental health issues amid a daily flood of online content, a growing number of educators are turning back the clock—to the likes of Aesop and Aristotle—for a way forward.

The classical education movement has thrived in the United States for decades with about 677,500 enrolled students in 2023-24, and in recent years, momentum has begun building down under.