You gotta love a give-away

I know I do! So, for those of you who love free chances at great stuff, click on the banner below. When you do, you will go to a web site I was referred to by a friend of mine. The give-aways are happening there. If you go there by clicking on the banner below, I get an extra chance to win these interesting commentaries :-)

That Jephthah Thing

In my quiet time the other day, I was reading about Jephthah (if you don't know the story, you can read all about it in the Bible, in Judges Chapter 11.) Here, in the midst of a time when God's people are running around helter-skelter, each following their own way, God raises up Jephthah. He is a "mighty man of valor", and the Lord pretty much empowers him to gather the folks of Gilead together (a pretty amazing feat in itself) and defeat the Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites (a more amazing feat!) But what Jephthah did when the Lord blessed him with the first adrenaline rush of success, is make a wild and rash vow: if the Lord continued giving victory, Jephthah would sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house when he went home. Jephthah thought he was being faithful. But in reality, Jephthah was taking on the presuppositions of the neighboring peoples. their gods were the ones who loved human sacrifice. It was abhorrent to the true God.

So, God continues to care for His people, and brings victory to Jephthah, and then he returns home, and what comes out of his house first, but his daughter. And this mighty man of valor allows his pride to refuse to admit the error of his vow, and he does the abominable.

Our pastor preached last Sunday from 1 Corinthians 3, and made the statement that the way we often deceive our own hearts is by justifying our actions as godly when in fact they are anything but. How often have I done the abominable? How often am I so embroiled in the world, or in MY world (the Cosmos of Chris, where everything revolves around me) that I don't even see that I am worshiping like the pagans, with human sacrifices left and right so that my comfort, my joy, my pleasure may be full?

I am trying to learn that I need to die to self on the Lord's altar, and stop sacrificing others, and fooling myself.

Spring sprang...

... as evidenced by the apple blossoms, tulips and pansies around our little homestead.

Update on reading

I don't think anyone ever reads this blog. I barely write on it. But there is something fascinating about knowing I am recording something somewhere. In October I said I was reading the following books. If you want to know what kind of a reader I really am, the answer is slow... Here is my update:

_Jayber Crow_ by Wendell Berry: completed, but not completely satisfying to me. Berry *does* give one a sense of longing for place and a sense of what belonging must mean. His writing is simple, but somehow profound. But this book failed to move me on the whole. I may give _Hannah Coulter_ a try and see if Mr. Berry's fiction grows on me...

_Peacemaking Women: Biblical Hope for Resolving Conflict_ by Tara Klena Barthel and Judy Dabler: Almost done studying through this with our Women's Fellowship at church. It is excellent, and I highly recommend it. I think it's weakest sections are the ones on marriage and family, but there is a plethora of good material on those topics, so I will excise that. The rest is challenging and biblical.

_Standing by and Making Do: Women of Wartime Los Alamos_ ed. by Jane S. Wilson and Charlotte Serber: this is not tremendously well written, but it is a fascinating look at my adopted "hometown". It is a little slice of what these women went through as Los Alamos was founded. I loved the descriptions of people waiting outside here in Los Alamos, looking southward, waiting for the first atomic test to be visible. Fascinating.

_The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment_ by Jeremiah Burroughs: I reread about half of this timeless classic, and have laid it aside for a time. Anyone who has not read this, ought to do so.

_A Soldier of the great War_ by Mark Helprin (though I'm only a few pages into this one, and not sure if I'll stick it out or not...): Well, I didn't stick it out, but I am rethinking. I am trying to talk my husband into reading it first, and telling me whether it is worth it or not...

And new on my nightstand:

_Life at the Bottom: The Worldview that Makes the Underclass_ by Theodore Dalrymple: Fascinating, sobering, and I think full of insight. Dr. Dalrymple, a psychoiatrist in England, discusses his discovery that poverty is not so much about lack of wealth, but about poverty of soul and ideas in the West. I can't read it at bedtime, because it gives me nightmares, and makes the people you see on the Jerry Springer Show seem real...

_Lord Peter: The Complete Lord Peter Winsey Short Stories_ by Dorothy L. Sayers: Just for fun :-)

Books on my Wishlist

I have a book wishlist. It is a word document, double-spaced, size 12 font, and goes on for 6 or more pages. So many books, and so little time-- and this is a double curse on someone like me who is a slow, plodding reader (though I enjoy reading!) So below are some of the books at the top of my wish list, just as a reminder to me of those things I want to spend time thinking about, and a list for future Christmas/birthday purchases for my dear family...

Sooo... here are books yet to join my personal library:

Standing by Words by Wendell Berry

The Office of Assertion: An Art of Rhetoric for the Academic Essay by Scott Crider

Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave by Ed Welch

Only a Lover by John Pieper

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis Collins

The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck

When No One Sees by Os Guinness

The Enjoyment of Music (with all the CDs, scores, etc.)

For the Glory of God by Rodney Stark

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

The Degradation of Language and Music, and Why We Should, Like, Care by John McWhorter

Poetry as a Means of Grace by C.G. Osgood

Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child's Moral Imagination by Vigen Guroian

Woe is I and Words Fail Me by Patricia O’Connor

The Red Shoes by Allen French

The Cross-Centered Life by Mahaney

A Landscape with Dragons by Michael O'Brien

And just in case you would like to know what my current reading input includes, I am currently reading the following:

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

Peacemaking Women: Biblical Hope for Resolving Conflict by Tara Klena Barthel and Judy Dabler

Standing by and Making Do: Women of Wartime Los Alamos ed. by Jane S. Wilson and Charlotte Serber

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs

A Soldier of the great War by Mark Helprin (though i'm only a few pages into this one, and not sure if I'll stick it out or not...)

Lost Tools of Writing, or what we all ought to know about teaching writing, but don't.

As promied, below are my notes to the weekend workshop in Colorado Springs with Andrew Kern of Circe Institute. These note only include Andrew's "side comments', so to speak. The curriculum-specific notes were written right into my LToW notebook. This is an excellent, new writing curriculum, using the classical approach. For more information on the curriculum, click on the Circe Institute link to the right.

My notes are rather stream-of-consciousness, since we were really talking about a curruculum, but the encouragement Andrew gave along the way was inspiring, so here you have it.

Notes from LToW Workshop, Colorado Springs, October 2006

Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” This is a good goal for education. But what is a Christian classical education? According to A.K., it is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by nourishing the soul on truth, goodness and beauty, so that in Christ we may better know, glorify and enjoy God.

Locke said, “The soul is a needless hypothesis.” In many ways, this could be the moto for the U.S. public school system, and is reflected in our society’s free-fall morally. We need to be “radical”—Latin for “roots”, and return to the roots of education.

Language is a gift from God, patterned after Him for the purpose of communicating with us. Our capacity to know and enjoy God is qualified by our capacity to use the tool of language. Rhetoric (in the original sense of the word, meaning sound use of language) is important as communion with the Creator. In teaching from a classical and Christian perspective, we redeem rhetoric.

How can writing cultivate wisdom and virtue? St. Ignatius said, “The glory of God is the man fully alive.” By learning the beauty and intricacies of language, we learn more about God, and can become more fully alive. We, as teachers, can water those dry and impoverished souls to help them be restored. And restored sould respond quickly to nourishment.

One lesson that public schools teach well is anxiety: they are driven by and perpetuate it. We, on the other hand, need to cultivate and teach from a place of rest. Nourishing souls requires rest, contemplation and peace.

Wendell Berry says, “…specialization is tantamount to self-absorption.” If we exert our personal rights above all, we are failing to hope in the possibility of living in harmony with others.

The arts, including writing, are not only aesthetic, but ethical. Christian ethic is not based on a false good/bad dichotomy (since God created all things good), but on an ethic of priority. When we teach the idea of propriety, we gain discernment and judgment. Everything we teach should help aid children to make judgments in propriety. Teaching by formulae can’t teach judgment. Formulae can be good for a start, but we have to go beyond that.

95% of the times we encounter laziness, it is a symptom of despair. Students do not have the tools they need to perform the tasks we've given them.

The goal of classic rhetoricians was to name the basic principles found in all worthy writing.

Honesty leads to depth. If you try to be deep, you will be corrupted. Try for honesty instead. Writing is rooted in death to self for the Christian, like all other acts.

Writing is a craft, with particular tools of the trade. It is not about self-expression, which is thinly veiled self-absorption. An artist has firstly, mastered the craft, and secondly, has something to say.

There are three basic problems in writing: what to say, how to organize it, and how to say it. This breaks into the three important canons of rhetoric for writers: invention/discovery, arrangement, and elocution/style. All writing should fit the nature and purpose of the communication.

The quality of life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask. If your most pressing question is “how can I get a good-paying job?” that will determine many things. If your most pressing question is “how can I become more Christ-like” that will likewise determine some things, and lead to a richer life.

Likewise, the quality of your writing is largely determined by the questions you ask.

When writing, we start with a question, make it into an issue with the word “whether”, and go through the “ANI” process. (ANI is listing affirmative, negative and interesting ideas for your issue.) We can use the 5 Topics of rhetoric as powerful questions:

1. What is X? (Definition)
2. How does X compare with Y? (Comparison)
3. How is X related to Y? (Relationship)
4. What are the circumstances surrounding X? (Circumstance)
5. Who says what about X? (Testimony)

If you ask one good question, and answer it completely, you will be made to think of the whole issue.

Always keep in mind: Nature, Purpose and Judgment.

Arrangement in writing is wired into the nature of things. Everything must have an introduction, body and conclusion. Arrangement is just becoming self-conscious about what works and what we already do. Structure *is* intelligibility.

All narratives have an intro, a rise in action, a climax, a fall in action and a conclusion. History itself is a narrative.

We ought to be obsessively teleological; that is, always asking about the purpose in everything we do.

The world is ontologically semiotic; that is, created by God to employ symbolism. Because we are created in God’s image and He is relational, we are relational, see things relationally, and the world exists relationally. Everything has meaning in relation to something else, because meaning itself is relational.

The arrangement of an essay must be consonant with its purpose and nature. Aquinas said, “It is the part of the wise man to order and to judge.” The wise man can only judge and order rightly when he knows the nature and purpose of the work. We need to concentrate more fully on this.

How do we move from invention to arrangement? We need to see the big picture; to force students to remember that orderliness is important, as is learning self-limitation. All limitations are really possibilities. Division is a moral point: we must be honest about where the agreement and argument really is. Neitsche said, “We will never be free from God until we are free from grammar.” Limitations are actually good for us.

Elocution is teaching that revision is necessary, and teaching how to do it.

Clarity is very important. You must learn to be clear before you can discuss clarity. Tools can help you master clarity, but how then do we create sound judgment? We need to instill propriety, which includes context, circumstances, etc.

Figures of speech: schemes appeal to the senses, while tropes appeal to logic.

Didactic instruction moves from particulars to universals. It explores “types”, and employs induction.

1. Start with what a student knows. This is “pre-grammar”. Review and connect. A third of each lesson should include this.
2. Show the particulars (examples- individuals). This is “grammar”.
3. Make comparisons. This is dialectic.
4. Grasp the lesson at hand- what is the teacher trying to communicate, and make it their own. This is the beginning of rhetoric.
5. Apply what is learned. This is the end of rhetoric.

Fall

Well, a new school year is upon us. This fall I am teaching three classes to homeschooled children.

Composition II:
Composition I was imitation and analysis of sentences and paragraphs ala Francis Donnelly, and the first three progymnasmata exercises (narrative, description, and fable) ala D'Angelo and other sources. We also did a grammar review via sentence diagramming. Now, Composition II is going to introduce the rest of the progymn exercises, and the beginnings of the canons of invention. We are also taking a tour through figures of speech. I am thinking that next year, if atrophy doesn't keep me from teaching Composition III, I will use Andrew Kerns' material, The Lost Tools of Writing. To that end, I am looking f0rward to a conference in Colorado Spring next month on that subject. I'll try to post here some of the things I learn there.

Worldviews:
This is the second of a two year class for highschoolers. Using the material provided by Summit Ministries and David Noebel's book "Understanding the Times" as our jumping-off spot, we study 10 different discipline areas from 4 different western worldviews, and prepare for college work along the way. They have lots of reading, writing, and analyzing. It is the class our homeschooled kids like to complain about :-)

Chorus:
This is described below. This year we have 104 songbirds in the flock, and are adding a second auditioned ensemble for high school women's voices.

All these are keeping me happy and challeneged!

On the Last One Leaving (written in the Fall of 2003)

On the Last One Leaving

This morning, I drove with my youngest child the two-hours of highway through the desert of northern New Mexico to the airport at Albuquerque. It was the first step on his 1500 mile journey to college. In the back of my car were two large backpacks and three large suitcases filled with most of his worldly belongings. But the most precious assets of the boy beside me could not be found by rifling through the tee-shirts and jeans, books, posters and CDs.

This fledgling young man has been the object of my wrestling and rejoicing in prayer for more than 18 years. The Lord called his dad and me, first with his older brother, then with him, to leave what we knew behind us and trust God in their nurturing, admonition and education. That led us often to struggle with them, and in that struggle, we discovered that the real enemy was us: our sin, our failures, our selfishness. God used this young man, once a child, to make me what He wanted me to be—to lead me where He wanted me to go. And wonder of wonders, in the process this young man became my brother and my friend. He now bears the fruit of the journey we have been on with the Lord over the course of his life.

“You know to call when you get there,” I say.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he answers.

“And you will make daily time with the Lord a priority, and get involved with a good church right away?”

“Of course, Mom,” he says with a patient smile that reminds me he has heard this before.

Then he slips off to sleep beside me as he has done a hundred times before. That gives me a chance to thank God for him quietly, for the privilege of nurturing two young men who now begin their own journeys to stand for the cause of Christ in the world. Now I can let my heart overflow into tears without dampening the joy of his day. He is ready and excited. This is a day we have anticipated, prayed for, and dreamed of together. And yet how can it be that it has arrived, already, on this beautiful, clear morning with a brilliant sun beating upon us as it has so often done?

It can be a daunting thing to drive back to an empty home which has been full. And yet this is one more step on that journey from a place of familiarity to a place of trust. The struggle, sweetness and fullness of the journey behind us make the pain of leaving it more intense, but also make the promise of the journey to come more inviting. As I drive through the high plains desert back towards the Jemez Mountains, I rejoice in the God who has made all things well—the earth, and all those who dwell there—and who once sent out a Son of His own.

Los Alamos Homeschool Chorus

One of the hats I wear is as the director of the Los Alamos Homeschool Chorus. This group, begun by another homeschool family in town, has been part of my life for the past 10 years. It is a non-auditioned choral arts program for students grades K-12. The chorus is run by the director and a small board of parents who work to aid parents in the training of their children in the following ways:

• To train voices and develop musical skills to aid in life-long worshipping of God, telling others about Him, and using and enjoying the gifts of music and creativity that God has given each of us.
• To provide a variety of educational and performance experiences designed to broaden knowledge and experience with music, increase confidence, and spark interest.
• To create an atmosphere where the biblkical ethic of the preciousness of others is maintained, modelled and reinforced in relationships and discipline.

Our goals, then, are:

• To proclaim Christ and model godly behavior wherever we go
• To represent the excellencies of home education in all we do
• To minister to others in our community through outreach
• To train our children for participation in ministry to others
  

At the start, the chorus had between 25 and 30 students. Currently, our registration generally runs anywhere between 75 and 110 students each semester. The children rehearse for an hour and a half once a week, and present programs twice a year. Some music is done by the younger children alone, some by the older students alone, and much of it all together. We sing four-parts as a group, so the younger children are given mostly the melody, wherever it occurs.

Along with the other homeschool moms that form our board, we began asking, "How would we approach this chorus from a classical perspective?" In answer to that question, we began organizing around the history, content and skill areas appropriate to address in a choral setting.

Our youngest group, who we call our "Junior Choir", spends about 20-30 minutes in the middle of our rehearsal with another teacher away from the older students. This time allows for some special focus with the younger children (grades K-3) as well as with the older group (grades 4-12).

The Junior choir needs some time to move around and work out their jitters, but we decided there was no reason for this to be time "lost" to play alone. Instead, we have three lesson sets, each taking a year to complete, that we work through with the children on a rotating basis. Each set of lessons includes games and movement to give them "wiggle" time. Our three focus areas are:

• Vocal technique basics: We work here with tapes and visuals to discuss and practice the basic elements of good singing: posture, production, diction, following direction, tempo changes, etc.
• Rhythm reading and note identification: We introduce the basics of rhythm reading and note reading. At the end of the year, all these students can identify the names of notes on the treble clef and can read the rhythm of their chorus peices.
• Music History/Composers: Here we place music in its context by looking at great composers through time, and learning a little about their music. The composers we study are Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky.

Each of the students who enter our program in grade K, repeat that year's lesson in grade 3, and are well prepared to step up into our "Senior Choir".

Our Senior Choir, similarly, has a two-year rotation we cycle through:

• Sight singing: We work on all the basic skills of solfege sight-singing, including rhythm and melody, unison and part-singing.
• A cappella singing: Here, we put oursight reading ability to work and sing without accompaniment, working on our reading, intonation and balance.

When we began implementing these skill cycles we hypothesized that we might see a chorus better able to sing parts and more mature than what we had experienced. That has proven to be true! After about 3-4 years of this sort of emphasis, we saw great improvement in our student's abilities to sing more complex part music, and greater success in their performances. We began to see the need to continue to challenge some of our students. That was when we introduced an auditioned Ensemble for students in grades 9-12.

This small Ensemble (usually 4-12 singingers) performs a cappella music only, and music that is more difficult than the chorus at large could tackle. It also give that intimate ensemble experience to our students. The Ensemble has added more depth and joy to our choral programs.

If you are in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in mid-December or mid-May, come to one of our concerts. You will be treated to children in K-3 who can sing in unison and two parts, four-part singing from the whole group, and some lovely a cappella work. We usually present a 1 hour-plus performance of music, all from memory, and with a variety of styles and time periods represented.

If you are interested in the nuts and bolts of how this group works, leave me a comment or send me an e-mail. I love to share what we have learned!

Current Input

I have recently listened to an excellent on-line lecture by Dr. John Mark Reynolds of Biola University, and I recommend it highly! He is speaking to a group of homeschool students and parents about Classical education. You can reach his lecture by clicking on the Torrey Honors Institute link on the right of this page.

Additionally, I am listening to a workshop given by Andrew Kerns of the Cirece Institute entitled, "The Lost Tools of Writing" which is very thought-provoking. You can look at Andrew's excellent resources at the Circe link to the right.

Welcome!

Welcome, friends!

On this page, I hope to share my thoughts and findings and meanderings in regards to classical education. I am an aspiring classical educator: an amateur (from the Latin "amare", which means to love) who pursues classical education for the love of it. I first began this journey as I educated my own two sons at home (they are now both gone off to college) and continue to pursue it as I teach other homeschooled children.

For this first post, I am reprinting an article I wrote for our state homeschool newsletter, which atempts to answer the question: why in the world would a Christian desire to use classical education with their children?

Classical Education: A Godly Foundation by Chris Finnegan

As homeschoolers, we live in a blessed time. The Lord has provided freedom, abundant curriculum choices, and many avenues of support for our endeavors: this is a far cry from the days many remember of fighting for basic rights. But even in a time of such blessing, homeschooling is an intense job, requiring parents to work hard and tirelessly in order to provide the best possible Christian education for their children. Why in the world would an already harried homeschool parent consider a teaching method as teacher-intensive as “classical education”? And, more importantly, why would a Christian, who understands our most important job is to equip our children to glorify God and enjoy Him forever[i], choose such a method?

First, let’s begin with a definition of “classical education”. Indeed, defining just what “classical education” is presents a challenge in itself. It is a methodology and movement that has grown, changed and altered over the centuries. It continues to be adapted today as many of us seek to reclaim the “lost tools of learning”[ii]. It is all too easy to caricature instead of accurately representing this educational method. Classical Christian education, according to Andrew Kern,[iii] is “the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by nourishing the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty by means of the liberal arts so that, in Christ, the student is better able to know and enjoy God.” Classical education is that method of instruction which is the legacy of the Christian middle ages, Christian Europe, and early America. Its roots lie in both the Greco-Roman and Hebrew cultures. It is word-centered, rigorous, and has as its goal the practice of Christian virtue--not just the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.[iv] The mentoring of the pupil by the instruction and example of the teacher is its characteristic ingredient, and together, teacher and pupil move towards study of the “queen of the sciences”, theology.

Classical education is occasionally characterized as the emulation of pagan authors and philosophies. While study of all of history is important, “classical” education, in its broader historical sense does not necessarily imply that we admire and revere Roman or Greek or pagan theology. While classical education may include some careful study of the ancient period, it would be inaccurate to characterize it as focused on pagan beliefs.

Many compelling reasons exist to pursue a classical Christian education.

1. For Christians, the basis of all knowledge in life and godliness is the Word: either God’s general, creative word written in nature, His specific word written in Scripture, or His Incarnate Word written in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Classical education is also based upon the written word. The sciences and arts of language and logic are tools given by God to communicate Himself to His creation and to endow man with the dignity of communicating with his Creator. Therefore, a method of instruction that emphasizes the written word-- understanding it, analyzing it, and creating with it-- seems uniquely fitting for Christians. It gives man the capacity to think some of God’s thoughts after Him.

2. Classical education is about the pursuit of truth, not just the pursuit of knowledge. The idea of objective truth is a basic component of classical Christian education. As such, it is uniquely suited to help students understand that all truth is God’s truth, and to train students not only to identify what is true as measured by God’s plumb line, but to embrace truth wherever it is found and reject error. Classical education thus provides the perfect training ground for the defense of the Faith. The early Church Fathers were schooled in the classical tradition that, built on Paul’s example, met heresy with well thought out, logical and concise canons, creeds and arguments. These documents have helped the Church to navigate rough waters over many centuries as it seeks to defend the faith against the world. And such training will prove invaluable to our children as they navigate the waters of a lost and fallen world.

3. Classical education begins with the premise that there is such a thing as virtue against which vice can be seen clearly. Its goal is not only head-knowledge of such virtue, but practical, experiential virtue in action. As Christians, we know that Christ is the embodiment of godly virtue-- and that the end of all education ought to be greater knowledge of Christ, greater conformity to Christ, and greater appreciation of Him. This motivates us to work vigorously and thoroughly to attain these goals in increasing measure, both as individuals and as teachers who bear responsibility for our students. Classical education provides an avenue by which we can diligently add virtue to faith, and continue adding knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.[v] This goal of virtue in classical education moves our learning from “head knowledge” to “heart action”.

4. Classical education is built on the model of imitation. It assumes there is a body of knowledge and wisdom that ought to be passed on from one generation to the next. Classical education assumes some are teachers and some are learners. In assuming that certain skills and certain persons are worth imitating, classical education provides the perfect vehicle for the discipleship of students by their teachers, and resonates with the models of imitation found in Scripture. [vi]

5. Classical education is grounded in the idea that the world is an orderly, logical place and that it can be understood. The laws of logic and principles of right reasoning are foundational to all instruction. Early Christians understood that the orderly nature of the universe and the rational nature of thought reflected the mind of the Maker. While God is certainly much more than a merely rational being, right reasoning and logical principles flow from His very nature. Thinking is not an option for Christian: it is simply a question of whether we will think rightly or wrongly.[vii] Logis is putting our thoughts in order, and thinking God’s thoughts after Him. Accordingly, understanding the rules of clear and correct reasoning is more than an academic exercise; it is a spiritual discipline whether we classically educate or not. It is also the legacy of the Christian West through the means of classical Christian education.

6. As Christians, we believe that all of history is, indeed, His Story; the details of God at work in time and space. Classical education, with its emphasis on the study of history, gives us a framework from which to study the Great Conversation of human history—both its man-to-man dialogue about the nature of God and man and its God-to-man component found in divine revelation. It prepares our students to enter this great conversation by giving them its context. A sweeping understanding of man’s quest for God, his lostness without God, God’s divine moving in time and space, and the ideas that have shaped the men and women and cultures around us, are all integral components necessary for Christians to impact their culture effectively for Christ. The pursuit of truth provides a “safe” way to view the world through the lenses of the Scriptures. If we can embrace what is true, wherever it is found, sifting it through the Scriptures, and placing it in historical context, we are prepared to meet a dark and broken world. It gives us the confidence to attack what is wrong and stand by what is right.

7. Historically, classical education is the legacy of the Christian West to the world. It was the Christians of the Middle Ages who viewed the Greco-Roman world as providentially brought into being at the right moment in time to cross paths with Christ. It was they who took the truth found around them as God’s truth, filtered it through the worldview of the Scriptures, and laid a firm foundation of how to educate in a way consistent with the Scriptures. In this sense, classical education is Christian education.

8. Pragmatically, classical education has produced the best and brightest minds of every age where it has existed. Even in its pre-Christian incarnation, its method of careful, logical thought and training produced the minds that led to Western Civilization, and paved the way for Christ (even though they were unaware of their divinely ordained role.) In the Middle Ages, it produced the great patriarchs of the early church, and preserved the Word even through Barbarian incursion and plague and disaster. In Europe it educated the men who would be led by God to search His Word and spark the fire that became the Reformation. In England and America, it produced the Founding Fathers of this nation. Any method of education used by God to accomplish so much should not be easily dismissed.

Classical education provides a methodology that is not only compatible with Christianity, but has been blessed by God in this capacity in the past. If this is so, why have Christians failed to embrace it in our time? The answer to this is the ignorance of our current age. For the last century, our nation has built with the lumber left over from our classical, Christian worldview and heritage. But it has been so undermined in the public education system that we have lost our foundation and our way. Since the classical model was in place through the entire history of Christianity (until the last 100-150 years), and succeeded in raising up the great saints of the Church in the past, the burden of proof that it is insufficient actually rests with those who make that claim.

However, home school educators are left in the uncomfortable position of trying to rediscover exactly what a classical educational method entails, without the training that we need to accomplish it. That means a lot of hard work for the instructor who has to learn before he can teach. But this is a familiar kind of territory for homeschoolers! The recovery of the ideals of classical education may well be the next step in our quest to regain a godly foundation for our children, our churches, our communities and our nation.

---

[i] Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 1, “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

[ii] Wislon, Douglas. Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning: An Approach to Distinctively Christian Education. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1991.

[iii] Andrew Kerns is author of Classical Education: Towards a Revival of American Schooling and director of Circe Ministries.

[iv] “True learning is revealed in character; it is not a matter of courses or degrees or preparation for a job...True learning makes affirmation and acknowledges limitation; it begets honesty and humility, compassion towards man and reverence towards God... True learning knows what is good, serves it above self, reproduces it, and recognizes that in knowledge lies responsibility.” From Norms and Nobility: A treatise on Education” by Hicks, David. New York: University of America Press, 1999.

[v] II Peter 1:5-7

[vi] I Thessalonians 3:7-9, 1 Peter 2:21

[vii] For more on the place of logic in the life of the Christian, see Hawkins, Craig S. “The Nature and Necessity of Logic”, Apologetics Information Ministry, http://aplogeticsinfo.org/papers/naturenecessity.html

A select bibliography on classical education

Bauer, Susan Wise and Jesse Wise. The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home. New York: Norton and Company, Inc., 1999.

http://www.welltrainedmind.com

Hicks, David. Norms and Nobility: A Treatise on Education. New York: University of Marica Press, 1999.

Veith, Gene Edward, Jr. and Andrew Kern. Classical Education: Towards a Revival of American Schooling. Capitol Research Center, 1997.

Wilson, Doug. Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning: An Approach to Distinctively Christian Education. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1991.

Websites on Classical Education:

www.classicalhomeschooling.org

http://www.gbt.org/res.html

http://www.triviumpursuit.com/

http://www.circeinstitute.org/