You’ve heard about this thing called classical education and you’re curious. Should you choose to pursue a classical education in your homeschool?
Or maybe you already consider yourself a Christian classical educator, but you’re feeling burned out. The kids don’t seem to remember or appreciate the things you thought they would, and you wonder if it’s even worth it.
So, why do I pursue a Christian classical education in our homeschool?
Hint: it might not be why you think!
I’m not here to tell you about the benefits of Latin or logic. I’m not here to give you a book list. I’m certainly not here to talk about memorizing lists of dates and dead people. (We take a much different approach to our memory work.)
There are a lot of different voices telling us how to be classical home educators. There’s such value in listening to and learning from one another, even when we approach things from slightly different perspectives.
But I think it would serve us well to take a step back and think about who God is and what that has to do with how and why we educate our children. Our homeschool philosophy ought to be firmly grounded in our theology.
I believe that actually Christian Classical Education’s greatest strength, what makes it worth pursuing in fact, is found in the character of God Himself.
Classical education is unique in that it looks to and pursues transcendental ideals that exist outside of ourselves.
This humility and posture of submission in education is referenced by C. S. Lewis in his work The Abolition of Man: “For the wise men of old the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality.” He sets this in contrast to the modern desire to “subdue reality to the wishes of men.”
The oft-mentioned transcendentals of truth, goodness, and beauty are not themselves self-sufficient or autonomous, however. These transcendentals flow from a transcendent God. He is outside the system, not “under the sun.” His very nature defines truth, goodness, beauty, and virtue; they have no meaning apart from the one who is the Eternally True and Holy One.
In this concise, 10-minute introductory video I share my perspective as a 2nd-generation classical homeschooler. We’ll talk about the dangers of raising “smart pagans,” explore how a word-based education relates to creation, and touch on the necessity of education leading to active love.
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Want to learn more about Christian Classical Education?
Check out these interviews from the Homeschool Conversations with Humility and Doxology podcast:
- Repentance and Discipleship in Christian Classical Education with Dr. George Grant
- Life-Long Learning: Charlotte Mason, Classical Education, and a Read-Aloud Family Culture with Kathy Weitz
- Identity, Grace, and a Literary Life with Missy Andrews
- The Liberal Arts, Great Books, and Classical Christian Education with Wes Callihan
- Patience, Wonder, Ignorance, and Joy in a Classical, Charlotte Mason education with Karen Glass
- Ordo Amoris with Abby Wahl
- Raising Covenant Children with Keren Chu
- Humility, Worship, and Relationship with Melissa McMahan
- A Living, Humble, Joyful Homeschool Education with Cindy Rollins
- Reading and Teaching the Great Books with Kristen Rudd
- Analogies for All of Us: Thoughts on Classical Conversations and Communicating Well with Marc Hays
- Curiosity and Surrender: Classical Education, Poetry, and a Longing for Light with Jennifer Dow
- Charlotte Mason, Mother Culture, and More! with Brandy Vencel
- Charlotte Mason Education and Ambleside Online with Dawn Garrett
A few more of my favorite Christian classical education homeschool resources:
- Scholé Sisters Podcast
- CenterforLit and their Bibliofiles podcast
- ClassicalU training from Classical Academic Press (the free content is plenty to get you started!)
And click here for a few more of my favorite homeschool mom book recommendations!