‘Classical education’ is a loaded term these days, representing different core commitments to different groups within a broader movement. It was coined to provide a contrast with ‘modern education’ and gesture toward a return to how education was previously conceived. Chris Perrin of Classical Academic Press has explained this usage through an analogy with Coca Cola classic, when the company returned to a previous recipe. The term ‘classical education’ thus implies that recent innovations have in schooling lost something valuable and cherished.
Of course, one of the challenges with the abstractions ‘classical education’ and ‘modern education’ is that they paint with broad brush strokes and do not make necessary distinctions regarding the complexity of educational ideas and practices in either category. Nevertheless, many have found them a useful heuristic for explaining some major differences in the approach to education in the modern era vis-a-vis earlier Western tradition. For instance, the purpose of much of modern education has taken on the utilitarian technicism and scientism of the modern West. The goals of cognitive training and job preparation for the modern economy might well be exemplified by Bloom’s Taxonomy of educational objectives.
The Classical Purpose of Education
In contrast to this, the classical tradition of the liberal arts and sciences emphasized a grander purpose of education. What is this purpose? For thousands of years, many great civilizations rooted in the traditions of Israel, Greece and Rome wrestled with this question, leading to a rich tradition of insight centered around the following answer:
Education is the pursuit of wisdom for a life of virtue and human flourishing.
Education constitutes all the knowledge, wisdom, training and instruction that is necessary to prepare a young person to thrive as a human being and contribute to the flourishing of society. It equips a person to engage the world as an active participant, both seeking and cultivating the Good, True, and Beautiful.
While there have always been flashy alternatives, it wasn’t until the modern era that this ancient purpose of education was rendered sufficiently archaic. In today’s fast-paced world consumed by short-term gratification and immediate results, education has become tantamount to college and career preparation, the standard onramp for a competitive salary.
But education doesn’t have to remain that way. At Educational Renaissance as we promote a rebirth of ancient wisdom for the modern era; that includes the wisdom of this broader and more holistic purpose for education. Given this classical purpose of education, how should we think about the term ‘classical education’ itself?
Defining ‘Classical Education’
Classical Education is a clarion call to look to the wisdom of the past as guidance for the future. It emerges from a commitment to glean wisdom and knowledge from all times and places, western and eastern, ancient and modern. In the western tradition, its foundation is a synthesis of Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman thought. Out of this tradition emerged a particular view of both what human beings are and what they could be. Education became the project of closing the gap between current state and future potential. The result was a philosophy of education aimed to train the human mind, heart, body, and soul.
However, we must get clear on the fact that ‘classical education’ does not have a single answer to the questions of education: the why, how and what of education. Instead, there were many answers to this question practiced by different educators throughout the classical tradition. In fact, it is perhaps better to understand ‘classical education’ as a broad tradition with many different streams contributing to it. The tradition grew and changed with new circumstances, alternatively abandoned and then recovered earlier ideas and practices, and was host to its own controversies and dividing lines, as educators advocated for various positions in an ongoing conversation about the topic of education.
When we at Educational Renaissance refer to ‘classical education’, therefore, we are not blindly endorsing all that may have been done in the name of education in earlier eras. Instead, we are referring to this tradition of ancient wisdom about education. In addition to losing the grander purpose of education mentioned above, many modern educational movements have also lost any meaningful connection to this rich, historical tradition. At the same time, we recognize that the modern (and post-modern) era is not without its unique contributions to the Great Conversation about education. In this sense, then, we mean by ‘classical education’ precisely what the EdRen mission entails, that ancient wisdom must be synthesized with any legitimate insights from recent research as we embody our educational ideals in the modern era. We can abandon neither the past nor the present in our Great Conversation about education.
EdRen Articles related to Classical Education
The Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Educating for Moral Character and Civic Duty
- Why Study Western Civilization?
- The Classical Distinction Between the Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Training in the Arts vs. Teaching Sciences
- Why Luther Believed Christians Should Study the Liberal Arts
- The Flow of Thought, Part 4: The Seven Liberal Arts as Mental Games
- The Flow of Thought, Part 7: Rediscovering Science as the Love of Wisdom
- The Flow of Thought, Part 8: Restoring the School of Philosophers
- In Search of Happiness, Part 1: The Road of Virtue
- In Search of Happiness, Part 2: The Way of Wisdom
- Charlotte Mason and the Liberal Arts Tradition, Part 1: Mapping a Harmony
- Charlotte Mason and the Liberal Arts Tradition, Part 2: Educating the Whole Person
- Liberal Arts and the Transmission of Culture
- The Human Brain and the Liberal Arts
Aristotle on the Moral and Intellectual Virtues
- Aristotle and the Growth Mindset
- Excellence Comes By Habit: Aristotle on Moral Virtue
- Aristotle’s Virtue Theory and a Christian Purpose of Education
- Moral Virtue and the Intellectual Virtue of Artistry or Craftsmanship
- Practicing in the Dark or the Day: Well-worn Paths or Bushwalking, Artistry and Moral Virtue Continued
- Apprenticeship in the Arts, Part 1: Traditions and Divisions
- Apprenticeship in the Arts, Part 2: A Pedagogy of Craft
- Apprenticeship in the Arts, Part 3: Crafting Lessons in Artistry
- Apprenticeship in the Arts, Part 4: Artistry, the Academy and the Working World
- Apprenticeship in the Arts, Part 5: Structuring the Academy for Christian Artistry
- Apprenticeship in the Arts, Part 6: The Transcendence and Limitations of Artistry
Free Resources to Apply Classical Education Principles
Learn how to train students in an art following the ancient insights of the apprenticeship model of education.
Learn how to train students in virtuous habits through Charlotte Mason’s insights into parenting and teaching.
Explore how teaching techniques from Teach Like a Champion can embody classical principles of education.
Wanting to cultivate the joy of learning in your classical classroom? Download a free eBook with 5 actionable priorities based on recent research into ‘flow’, as well as classical insights.
Seeking to apply the ancient trivium in practical ways in your K-12 classroom? Download “Charlotte Mason and the Trivium” and discover how narration provides the centerpiece for training in the trivium arts.
