What is a Classical Christian Education?
It might be good to think about that from a Homeschool Southaven Teachers Eye Perspective.
Dear Homeschool Southaven Teacher,
Learning is one of the most important aspects of a person’s life. It never stops, never ends; we simply get to the place where it slows down and we transition to giving away the learning we’ve gathered through life and experience.
Not to get too complicated but “learning” is a consequence of the existence of God and that we are created by him in his image and likeness.
All learning presupposes two things: that truth is available and that it is valuable. That truth is available implies that there are good things out there for us to find. That it is valuable speaks to that there are things that are important to learn and that some things are more important than others.
“Classical education is a traditional approach focused on cultivating wisdom and virtue through the timeless ideals of truth, goodness, and beauty.”
We could invent a whole system of learning and choose a new and unforeseen body of knowledge to learn – or we can learn from the past. As in any aspect of life, learning from the experiences, successes and failures of others tends to be better than attempting to do it on our own.
There are ways this has been done for thousands of years. That is not an exaggeration. And with that, we might find that the people that have found the most fulfillment and success in life have tended to follow an identifiable and predictable path of learning.
That path of learning has come to be called “A Classical Education”. Classical is a loaded term in that it could be interpreted as “old fashioned”. That would be true but it is deeper than that. Yes, it is very old and it has has been done this way by families and schools through ongoing generations. It has been refined, tested and retained in a purified and distilled form for the present day.
The primary or unifying discipline of learning is called by the nickname: Theology. To know God is to set the foundation for knowing the self and the world.
- Homeschool Southaven is not a secular or religiously neutral program.
- It is very specifically a Christian learning program in theory and practice.
- We do not teach from a Christian perspective as one of several options but believing that Christianity is true.
- And so, we believe it is the correct understanding of the world through which to give children truth.
- We could ask ourselves this question: If we think we are children of God why would we teach our children from any other perspective?
Thus everything you teach as a teacher at Homeschool Southaven should be taught from a Christian perspective. There is no such thing as not teaching from a perspective; everyone has one.
The classical method is described in 2 big sets: Trivium and Quadrivium.
Trivium includes the 3 most basic and necessary skills that prepare a human being to learn all of the others. These skills are:
Grammar (using words) or hearing, reading and writing
Dialectic (reasoning and thinking correctly) or logic
and Rhetoric (communicating truth appropriately and persuasively, including writing, speech, presentation, debate and argumentation).
All of these being taught in the Socratic Method which could be taken to mean in the context of discussion and interaction rather than being limited to mere lecture and hearing.
The Quadrivium includes the mathematical arts — arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy
And then the “Liberal Arts”. A traditional liberal arts curriculum covers three primary areas of knowledge:
- Humanities: Includes history, literature, philosophy, and languages to build cultural awareness and ethical reasoning.
- Social Sciences: Includes economics, psychology, and sociology to analyze human behavior and social systems.
- Natural and Formal Sciences: Includes biology, physics, chemistry, and mathematics to understand the physical world
Here are some “Key Pillars to the Structure and timelines for development:
- The Trivium: A three-part path aligning with a child’s developmental stages:
- Lower Grammar (K–5th): Focuses on memorization, basic rules of language, and absorbing foundational facts.
- Dialectic / Logic (6th–8th): Emphasizes questioning, understanding the ‘why’ behind facts, and analyzing arguments.
- Rhetoric (9th–12th): Teaches students to express their conclusions clearly, elegantly, and persuasively in speech and writing.
- The Quadrivium: Historically follows the trivium, covering mathematical arts—arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.
- The Great Books: Focuses on reading original, foundational texts of Western civilization and philosophy rather than modern textbooks.
- Classical Languages: Emphasizes the study of Latin and Greek to build linguistic precision, vocabulary, and logical rigor.
- Socratic Method: Uses guided, open-ended discussions rather than rote lecturing to develop critical thinking and independent thought.”
Please feel free to contact us with any questions, thoughts or concerns.
Rev. Christopher Scott Neiswonger JD, MA
Principal, Homeschool Southaven Education
Contact Deni: a1000Generations@gmail.com
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