Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Kirstin Birkhaug, Political Science
Document Type
Poster
Event Date
4-17-2026
Abstract
This paper explores Alexis de Tocqueville’s observations of American equality in No-excuse high school English classrooms and analyzes how these equality-driven tendencies transform a once liberal study into a servile one. I argue that these practical pedagogies, especially in stringent school models, reverse equality into a cycle of inequity. Through the removal of liberal-based learning, No-excuse schools fail to emphasize purpose and flourishing as an end for their diverse students, and as a result, oppose the primary goal of racial and economic equity. In my research, I propose that No-excuse high schools ought to return English to its liberality through creative writing, literary theory, and relational learning. By applying “practical” learning values like agency, identity, mastery, creativity, and friendship, I suggest that students may find literature and writing relevant to their communities and lives.
Recommended Citation
Repository citation: Snader, Anna, "Eudaimonia in Democracy: Finding the Soul in No-Excuse High School English Classrooms" (2026). 25th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2026). Paper 22.
https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/curca_25/22
April 17, 2026. Copyright © 2026 Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
Comments
This research is supported by the Haworth Fund for Markets and Morality and the Al & Phyllis Bursma Summer Research in the Humanities & Arts.