The Educational Renaissance Bookstore
Discover a curated collection of books that blend ancient wisdom with modern educational research — the very ideas that shape our articles and inspire transformational teaching.
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Books by Educational Renaissance Authors
Jason Barney, Apprenticeship in the Arts
Apprenticeship in the Arts serves as the second volume in the Aristotle’s Intellectual Virtues series, offering a profound alternative to the dominant educational paradigms of the modern era. In this work, Jason Barney explores the intellectual virtue of techne, which he defines as artistry or craftsmanship. By moving beyond the abstract cognitive skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy, this book proposes a holistic vision of education that reunites the head, heart, and hands. The author provides a fivefold division of the arts, integrating athletics, common and domestic arts, professions and trades, fine arts, and the liberal arts into a single framework.
This volume is not merely theoretical; it includes a practical guide for lesson planning in the apprenticeship mode, utilizing the “I-We-You” movement to coach students toward mastery. Drawing on the wisdom of figures like Comenius and Aristotle, Barney shows how to structure schools as “workshops humming with work” that connect the academy to the professional working world. Ultimately, Apprenticeship in the Arts equips educators to move from simple information transfer to a transformative process of character and skill development.
Jason Barney, Charlotte Mason: A Liberal Education for All
Charlotte Mason, a committed Christian and champion of liberal education, developed a philosophy that sparked a global movement to reform education. Blending classical wisdom with modern insights, she opposed the scientism of her age while drawing on emerging fields like physiology and psychology. Mason’s model honored children as persons and embraced the fullness of knowledge for all.
In this book, Jason Barney places Mason’s ideas within the context of her life and legacy, unpacking her core principles: children are born persons; education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life; and education is the science of relations. Mason emerges as a timeless voice in the history of education.
Jason Barney, Rethinking the Purpose of Education
This book evaluates Bloom’s taxonomy from within the broader purpose of education as articulated in the classical Christian education renewal movement. Then it proposes a Christian vision of moral, intellectual and spiritual virtues as the proper goals of education.
Lastly, it articulates the value of Aristotle’s five intellectual virtues as a rival paradigm for Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive domain objectives. The practical conclusion explores how to write learning objectives in a classical and Christian way
Jason Barney, A Short History of Narration
A Short History of Narration is a follow up volume to A Classical Guide to Narration published by CiRCE that explores the history of narration as a teaching practice in the classical tradition, from Quintilian to Comenius. This history is explored through commentary on the primary texts of great educators, with practical reflections for the classroom and connections to modern learning science. Charlotte Mason’s own innovations in using narration as a central teaching method come into clearer focus, and suggestions for novel uses of narration in our contemporary context close out the book.
Jason Barney, A Classical Guide to Narration
A Classical Guide to Narration is a practical exploration of how Charlotte Mason’s approach to the art and skill of narration might be adopted in modern classical education settings. Full of step-by-step advice for how to implement narration in the classical school classroom, it presents the historical context of narration alongside contemporary studies that reveal its immense value in the development of young minds. By exploring the history of narration and its relationship to the liberal arts tradition, the book sets Charlotte Mason’s powerful practice on solid footing for wider adoption in the classical renewal movement.
Jason Barney, The Joy of Learning
The Joy of Learning is a stunning synthesis of modern research on the flow state, the classical liberal arts tradition, and the thought of the British Christian educator Charlotte Mason. Flow is the term popularized by the modern positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi for the optimal state of mind.
Flow occurs when your challenges meet your current skills and you are lost in a timeless experience of euphoria in the pursuit of a meaningful goal. The Joy of Learning takes its cue from a chapter of Csikszentmihalyi’s book Flow that discusses routes into flow through what we know as the classical liberal arts. From training the memory, to the language arts of the trivium, the mathematical arts of the quadrivium—the ancient equivalent of STEM—to the joys of history, philosophy and amateur science, this book is packed with practical insights from an experienced teacher.
Patrick Egan, Training the Prophetic Voice: A Biblically Informed Rhetoric for Today
One of the hallmarks of classical education is the art of rhetoric. Patrick Egan connects rhetoric to insights gained through theological reflection and to foundations established in biblical texts. Training the Prophetic Voice enables teachers and school leaders to incorporate Christian values into their rhetoric program. Unlock the ability of students to tackle the challenging issues of today by learning how to view communication in light of God’s impulse to communicate and in keeping with the model of prophetic discipleship laid out in the Bible.
Patrick Egan, Ecclesiology and the Scriptural Narrative of 1 Peter
The relationship between the church and the scriptures of Israel is fraught with complexities, particularly in regard to how the first Christians read scripture in light of the gospel of Christ.
In Ecclesiology and the Scriptural Narrative of 1 Peter Dr. Patrick Egan examines the text of 1 Peter in light of its numerous quotations of scripture and demonstrates how the epistle sets forth a scriptural narrative that explains the nature and purpose of the church. Egan argues that 1 Peter sets forth an ecclesiology based in a participatory Christology, in which the church endures suffering in imitation of Jesus’ role as the suffering servant.
The epistle admonishes the church to a high moral standard in light of Christ’s atoning work while also encouraging the church to place hope in God’s final vindication of his people. Addressing the churches of Asia Minor, 1 Peter applies the scriptural narrative to the church in
