Classical Christian education


Classical Christian education is an approach to learning which emphasizes biblical teachings and incorporates a teaching model from the classical education movement known as the Trivium, consisting of three parts: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. According to Douglas Wilson, this method of instruction was developed by early Christians as part of the Seven Liberal Arts. Wilson's writings and the Logos School he founded have been cited as being influential in reviving the Trivium and fueling a modern educational movement, primarily among American Protestants.
Classical Christian education is characterized by a reliance on classical works by authors such Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Josephus, Dante, and Shakespeare, and an integration of a Christian worldview into all subjects. In addition, classical Christian education exposes students to Western Civilization's history, art and culture, teaching Latin as early as the second grade and often offering several years of Greek.

Philosophy

The modern Classical-Christian educational movement began when Douglas Wilson published "The Lost Tools of Learning". In it he expanded on a paper written by Dorothy Sayers by the same title. She lamented that the “great defect of our education" was that schools taught information, but did not teach students how to think. Wilson described an educational model based on the child's developmental capabilities and natural inclinations.
Since the 1980s, according to Andrew Kern, the classical education movement has "swept" America. The Association of Classical and Christian Schools consists of hundreds of member schools and approximately 40,000 students in the United States alone.