[This piece has been published in Restoring America to highlight the importance of a well-rounded and robust education, especially one that emphasizes reading].

With a new school year starting, I am regularly asked why I continue to choose to teach at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. The school is famously progressive and activist and many of the school’s students, faculty, and administration habitually attack me for my beliefs. I have been thinking quite a bit about this and realize that I opt to remain on faculty because, like in higher education generally, there are actually a large number of students at Sarah Lawrence who want to hear a diverse set of views. Offering courses and being a resource to them in a sea of liberalism (though the number of liberal students is not as numerous as it often appears, albeit they are loud and well organized on social media) is important to me.