What is Classical Education?

Classical education has been growing in popularity over the past few decades both in the founding of new schools and in homeschooling. Despite this a lot of people don’t know what classical education consists of.

So what exactly is classical education? In short, classical education is a tried-and-true pedagogical approach that doesn't just teach children what to think, but rather teaches them how to think. A core goal in a classical education is to instill within students a desire to learn and to equip them with the tools they will need to be lifelong learners. One of the central ways in which classical schools equip students is by following the trivium.

Trivium. In following the trivium classical schools divide learning into three stages: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. During the grammar stage students learn the fundamental facts and principles of the various disciplines (e.g. multiplication, spelling, etc.). During the logic stage students learn to question and critically examine facts and information. During the rhetoric stage students learn how to communicate all that they have learned clearly and winsomely. These three stages mirror the natural development of children, which allows students to learn with greater ease and effectiveness.

Other hallmarks of Classical education include the use of the Socratic Method in classrooms, a focus on Western Civilization and the Great Books, the study of Latin, and high expectations for students.

The Socratic Method. The goal of the Socratic Method is to help students discover answers themselves as opposed to being fed answers by the teacher. The Socratic Method fosters discussion and the ability to draw clear distinctions as students work through difficult and engaging questions.

A focus on Western Civilization. Not that Western Civilization is better or worse than any other civilization, but as Americans it is our civilization. One needs to understand one's own culture and history in order to understand oneself. Likewise, one needs to understand one’s own culture before one can understand another culture. Knowing our heritage is particularly important given that we as Americans live in a country where we have the right to elect officials and influence policy. If we don’t know why we do what we do, it is easy to disregard good things or to try things that have already been proven to be failures or worse.

A focus on the Great Books. Classical students learn science and math, but the goal is to help them be mature men and women of character, not dutiful worker bees successful enough to purchase lots of consumable goods. For that reason classical schools give equal weight to the humanities instead of narrowing their focus to applied science and mathematics like most conventional schools. In our teaching of the humanities we read classic texts in place of textbooks. For example, instead of reading a text on the philosophy of Plato, students read Plato himself; instead of reading a modern professor describe ancient Rome, students read Livy and Plutarch. This is not a new approach, but rather an old one. Like centuries of students before them, our students read the texts that form the backbone of Western Civilization and Culture.

Latin. Classical students study Latin and often Greek. This helps them to dive deeper in their understanding of Classical Cultures; it also helps them to better understand the Bible and early Christian Theology. Moreover, having a foundation in Latin helps students to learn English grammar. It may be surprising, but in the past English grammar was often taught using Latin. Likewise, an understanding of Latin equips students to be able to quickly learn other languages.

High expectations. Classical schools have high expectations both in terms of academics and behavior. Character formation used to constitute the core of education; the ancients focused on it and modern psychology is proving that they were right on two fronts. First, your grit, or the character that is a product of your habits, is a far better indicator of your success in every area of life, from job to family, than your IQ. Right now the average student in the United States gives up on a problem they don’t understand in 20 some seconds! Our society lacks grit and this shows in our failed marriages, cheap friendships, lazy parenting, job hopping, etc. Second, we have come to recognize that kids that are taught basic etiquette and manners in little things are less likely to do big harms. Right now we as a society (implicitly) teach young men that they can swear in front of girls, that they need not hold doors etc. and then go on to tell them that as adults they had better treat their wives and girlfriends with respect. This, as we are seeing to the harm of many women, simply does not work. If you want to stop people from committing big harms you need to teach them to treat others better in small, day to day things. The habit of holding doors and watching their language as boys will make men far less likely to abuse a woman in the future; likewise, getting kids in the habit of sticking with a hard homework problem will make them far more likely to stick in a hard marriage, remain in a tough job, or complete a difficult task.

Education used to be centered on the pursuit of the True, Good, and Beautiful. At classical schools we seek truth in the books we read and in our pursuit of mathematical and scientific knowledge. Classical schools seek to develop within students character capable of knowing and loving the good. And classical schools point out beauty in the world and the works of men, all the while encouraging students to develop beauty of soul.

All in all, those of us in the classical school movement believe that that a classical education is the best means possible to acquire wisdom and virtue, both of which help one to grow in maturity and to flourish in a variety of human endeavors.