What is a Classical Education?

A classical education usually refers to an education founded on the Great Books of Western Civilization, encompassing three stages of education at the K-12 level (grammar, logic, rhetoric), intensive language learning, and moral education.

In the rapidly changing high technology world of the 21st century, many might ask what old educational practices can do to prepare students for tomorrow's Flat World, but classically trained individuals have highly equipped minds that can process, analyze, synthesize, and persuade any subject matter or discipline. The skills of the classically-trained student can be applied to any field or discipline, or to careers that do not exist today.

A classical education often differs dramatically from forms of schooling in the following areas:

Language

Classical education places a strong emphasis on language learning and expression - at the grammar school level, language structure is taught and analyzed in detail. This work lays the groundwork for advanced language understanding and expression, and later it will help students analyzing arguments, resolve and recognize differences of thinking, as well as learn foreign languages. At the earliest stages (grammar), there is an emphasis on learning the nuts and bolts of language (vocabulary, syntax), where as a the logic stage, reasoned language (through speech or writing) becomes the focus. In the rhetoric years, persuasive aspects of language become important, as students learn to appeal to emotions and target their words to specific audiences.

Foreign language study is often a major emphasis of classical educational approaches - and this may mean Latin in the early years, with Greek added in later with the option for Modern Languages. Here foreign language study does much more than translation. It is an important analytical time in the early years, but later does much to help students read between the lines, ask for primary sources, and analyze events and words with in cultural as well as historical contexts.

History

History is a major emphasis of classical education, but importantly, mastery is not aimed at repeating back the mere facts of history, but on the how's and why's, and who's. If history curricula are not chosen carefully, students can be swept away in the minutiae of dates, places, and names, without the time to consider remarkable people in remarkable times, who made decisions that changed the course of history.

There is substantial evidence that the battle for history education has already been lost in conventional American education. With it, an understanding of the follies and the wisdom of the past, our personal history as a country, and how change was wrought. Classical education is distinctive in the importance it places on putting a personal face on previous historical events, differences of opinion and philosophy, and details about how changes were wrought.

Moral Education

Since ancient times, moral education has been an essential part of education. Education is not simply fact storing, but the cultivation of character and pursuit of truth and virtues. Because of the weight placed on biography and history in classical education, students observe many aspects of human nature, and develop their worldview.

In addition, Mathematics, Science, and the Arts often have very different emphases from other educational schools.

Science - Science in particular has attracted some differences of opinion in regard to its importance in the classical education. There is a natural tension between science and technology and the humanities, as well as between proponents of wholly scientific or religious worldviews. But we do a disservice to our young people if we don't educate students in the details, discoveries, and big pictures of the science that we know now, and the science that we have yet to discover.

Some classical programs emphasize observation and history of science for their curricula. These aspects of the curricula are worthy, but not sufficient in our opinion for a comprehensive education. A strong foundation in science today means a significant foundation in the the detailed facts, theories, and unknowns of science as it exists today. By the time a student finishes high school, she should have a solid framework in the details of biology, chemistry, physics, as well a personal experience with the precision and limitations of scientific recording and the scientific method.

Mathematics

Mathematics is often taught as an ally to logic as students progress through schooling. At the elementary school level, mathematics may be similar to conventional curricula, but more history mathematics may be employed. At the logic and rhetoric stage, classical mathematics programs may place more emphasis on proofs and axiomatic learning, often culminating in a progression through Euclid's Elements. Classical mathematics is more deductive than inducative - at least in the K-12 grades.

The Arts

The arts are often incorporated throughout the curriculum, although different programs vary in their exposure. Fine arts study may mean an art history tour incorporated in history and cultural discussions. Music is also woven into the curriculum, ideally with history, but also as a separate discipline as students learn instruments themselves. Poetry is also especially valued in classical education, and often a part of historical period study. Literature is also carefully chosen in classical curricula to emphasize the Greats of the Western Canon and offer studies of differing worldview and philosophy.

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