This article is a retrospective account of the legacy of Paul Goodman's major educational works: "Growing Up Absurd"; "Compulsory Mis-education, and The Community of Scholars"; and "The New Reformation." It is argued here that what remains of interest in Goodman's work is to be found in the tropes and the anarchic Zeitgeist of his work. The legacy of Goodman's educational writing is its art and the nostalgic romantic humanism that holds together its various educational tropes. Goodman's contribution to educational thought was the awakening that he brought to some elements of America's mythology--that is, freedom, liberty, individuality, and human rights. Although many of the recommendations for education in his books seem more than somewhat out of touch with today's educational issues, Goodman's texts still assert a romantic anarchic humanism coloring an educational counterstory that is a refreshing alternative to the politically correct educational agendas of conservatives and liberals alike.