A Classical & Christian Education

The word “Classical” is in danger of becoming a buzzword these days, so it’s important that we define what we mean by it at Saint Brendan’s. When some people say “Classical,” they mean to refer to the culture, art, and politics of Ancient Greece and Rome. Others simply mean something like “traditional.” Still others mean to say that they identify with a model of education hinted at in Dorothy Sayers’ famous essay, “The Lost Tools of Learning,” which interestingly enough, never uses the word.

So what do we mean? There are a few ways to answer that question. First, we very much do mean something like “traditional.” In that sense, a “Classical” model of education is one that aims to reach back into the past for its curriculum, methods, and model. In this sense, the word “Classical” is being used in the same way that it is being used when someone talks about Classic Rock—it is classic as opposed to modern. So when we think about the work of educating children, we are “Classical,” in that we are not modern. We are not learning from Dewey, from the educational systems of the industrial revolution forward. Rather, we are reaching backwards into the past—to the early American schools in Puritan New England; the one-room schoolhouses on the Western frontiers; to the monastery schools of the early Medieval period; to the courtly schools of France and Germany in the 11th century; to the work of Augustine, Cassiodorus, Hugh of St. Victor, Quintilian, and so on.

Second, when we say “Classical,” we mean a model of education that reaches back by way of a very particular sort of historical artifact: Books. How do you discover the past? How do you navigate upstream in the broad, winding river of history? Probably the most important answer is that you read. You read the books left behind by our Christian forefathers as they led nations, sent out missionaries, discovered continents. You read their words as they wrestled with the big questions of philosophy and theology, as they developed the sciences and mathematics. When we say “Classical,” we mean that our curriculum relies heavily on the great books of the West, the great books of history, philosophy, theology, politics, culture, arts, and more.

But that’s not all. As you read those books, you find that there were certain subjects that seem to define the educational theory and practice of the last several millennia of our history. Variously referred to as the arts and disciplines, the liberal arts, the trivium and quadrivium, and more, these are the subjects that make up the spine of a liberal arts education. These arts and disciplines of study came to be known as “liberal” arts, because they were the core of the education of free men. So at Saint Brendan’s, when we say “Classical,” we also mean a focus on the liberal arts—with particular emphasis on the trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. A Classical education will place a large emphasis on the ability to deal wisely and skillfully with words, because no matter what you do, the ability to read well, think well, and speak well will serve you.

So finally, when we say “Classical,” we particularly mean to emphasize the practices our forefathers in the West employed to train their children and young adults in the arts and disciplines of free men, men who can think well, read well, and speak well. To that end, students will be trained through the practice of what used to be called “Progymnasmata” and “Declamation” as they learn the art of rhetoric. These exercises help our children achieve mastery in communicating, especially in front of other people.