Classically Informed
NCCA offers a classical education that emphasizes the centrality of the written and spoken word, the centrality of the past, the centrality of the classical languages (Latin and Greek), and the centrality of rigorous thinking, speaking and writing.
How does a Classical Christian approach to education compare to others? The chart below gives some specific examples of possible differences.
CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN
Christ-centered education
Original documents based
Education for formation
Development of critical thinking – “Why?”
Emphasis on the true, good and beautiful
Integrated interdisciplinary learning
Appreciation of western civilization
Latin taught as a core requirement
Humanities and fine arts emphasis
Requires the student to learn how to learn
Mastery as working to one’s fullest potential
Lifelong love of learning as the ultimate goal
Truth is objective, knowable and absolute
Parents as primary educators
MODERN EDUCATION
Man-centered education
Textbook based
Education for information
Development of correct procedures –“How?”
Emphasis on politically correct
Fragmented and disjointed learning
Critique of western civilization
Latin as an elective
Techno-rational emphasis
Requires the student to learn how to pass tests
Mastery as measured by test grades
Graduation as the ultimate goal
Self-actualization, personal peace and affluence
Teachers as primary educators
Classical Education 101 - Recommended Reading
These are the primers on classical Christian education in our day.
The Case for Classical Christian Education by Douglas Wilson – a standard explanation and defense of classical and Christian education
Repairing the Ruins edited by Douglas Wilson – essays exposing the problems of modern, government education, and offers some practical advice for getting into classical and Christian education
On Secular Education by R. L. Dabney – written over a century ago; exposes the inevitable problems with secularizing education
Wisdom and Eloquence by Robert Littlejohn and Charles T. Evans – a helpful description of classical and Christian education
The Well-Trained Mind by Jesse Wise and Susan Wise-Bauer – This book has done more than any other in bringing an achievable form of classical education to the homeschool.
“The Lost Tools of Learning” by Dorothy Sayers – an excellent essay applying stages of development to the liberal arts
“The Greatest Single Defect of My Own Latin Education” by Dorothy Sayers – explains why Latin is often so difficult for modern students
Going Further
The following books are important because of what they teach us about the nature of classical education. Several of them are not written from a Christian perspective, and consequently tend to glorify classical civilization. They are all, however, full of helpful information.
Norms and Nobility by David Hicks - a weighty defense of true liberal arts education
Climbing Parnassus by Tracy Lee Simmons - a defense of teaching Latin and Greek
Who Killed Homer? by Victor Hanson and John Heath - helpfully explains the demise of classical studies
Johann Sturm on Education - Here is a clear picture of Protestant Classical Education dating back to the beginning of the Reformation. You will find that things have changed remarkably. There is, however, much that we should preserve.
The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis - Lewis describes–as only he can–what happens when education is divorced from values and absolutes.