According to the Association of Classical Christian Schools, of which we are a member, “Classical Christian education (CCE) is a time-tested educational system which establishes a biblical worldview (called Paideia), incorporates methods based on natural phases of child development, cultivates the seven Christian virtues, trains students in reasoning through the Trivium (Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric), and engages children in ‘the great conversation’ through the historical Great Books.”
Classical education finds its beginnings with the Greeks around the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., with men like Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle. Grammar, logic, and rhetoric were used to train students to think critically and to communicate persuasively. There was also an emphasis on the affections as they strove to educate the whole person—mind, morals, and character—which supported the effort to train wise and virtuous leaders. This method of instruction and enculturation was very effective in preparing subsequent generations to be great leaders in many different vocational streams.
In the Middle Ages, classical pedagogy was further developed by Christian thinkers such as Boethius and St. Augustine. These men played a pivotal role in systematizing the liberal arts, as well as laying the groundwork for Christian engagement with classical education.
“By the time of the first Nicene council in 325 AD, the church fathers had a long tradition of classical Christian education. Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, and St. Jerome were all church fathers with classical educations who first expressed the doctrines that nearly all Christians believe today. By the middle ages, classical Christian education was a keystone in how the church taught its people about God, so they could worship him in spirit and truth.”
A Brief History of Education: American and Classical
Many of America’s Founding Fathers were either classically educated or heavily influenced by classical thinkers. Classical education was the predominant form of education for 2,500 years and is the foundation of Western civilization. It is time-tested and has proven to be effective in training critical thinkers; however, apart from a Christian foundation, it is incomplete. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. As Christians, we have the only sure foundation on which to ground all of our instruction and learning, and therefore, we have the most complete and effective form of education. There is a rich history of the early Church Fathers using classical education as a tool to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of Christ. We would do well to return to the rock from which we were cut.
