In Shaky Speculation: The Lost Tools of Learning, I examined the history of classical Christian education and why the current classical home education renewal movement is based on the following faulty premise: the psychological development of children (poll-parrot, pert, then poet) roughly follows the chronological pattern of the medieval classical trivium (grammar, logic, then rhetoric.) I explained how the current “classical” education model regularly recommended in homeschool circles is really just a 12 year public school paradigm with classical subjects tacked on for enrichment. Now if you accept my position, the next question is this:
Where do you go from here if you want to give your kids a true classical Christian education?
Well, in my family, first we strip away the idea of a 12 year, subject-driven schedule and all the trappings of a public school model including start and finish times, standard holiday and vacation dates, textbooks, and dedicated school rooms. Then we go back to the content of the original trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and establish that we will master these skills (the “lost tools of learning”) over several years. [Note: In order to help you resist the temptation to think of the trivium as three subjects or stages, I will refer to the first three liberal arts (the trivium) of the seven liberal arts as (1) language, (2) thought, and (3) speech. Finally, once these three skills have been substantially mastered, the parent mentors the homeschool high school teen in the reading of the classics as they together craft a unique homeschool curriculum and high school transcript based upon each teen’s gifts, abilities, and interests.
In a nutshell, there are three simple but significant steps to a classical Christian home education:
This doesn’t begin to explain the entire process, but I hope it helps you get your mind around the simplicity of the system. Each family will uniquely tailor the three steps.
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Let’s get a dialogue going on this topic…it was a real stretch for me that took a few years and lots of reflection to realize that our classical home school didn’t have to be so rigid. Have you found yourself tied to a schedule or concerned because your had fallen behind in completing the tasks? Let’s talk! Leave a comment below about these three simple but significant steps to a real classical education.
