What is Classical Education

by Peter Kreeft | The content of the curriculum of a classical Christian school, on primary, secondary, or college levels, is similar to the core of the “arts and sciences” core of a university, which was developed from the medieval curriculum of the “seven liberal arts” of the “trivium” and the “quadrivium,” which was invented by … Continue reading


What Are The Liberal Arts?

The liberal arts denote the seven branches of knowledge that initiate the young into a life of learning. The concept is classical, but the term liberal arts and the division of the arts into the trivium and the quadrivium date from the Middle Ages. The trivium includes those aspects of … Continue reading


What is Liberal Education?

The liberal arts are traditionally intended to develop the faculties of the human mind, those powers of intelligence and imagination without which no intellectual work can be accomplished. Liberal education is not tied to certain academic subjects, such as philosophy, history, literature, music, art, and other so-called “humanities.” In the liberal-arts tradition, scientific disciplines, such … Continue reading


What Is Classical Education?

Most of us, most of the time, do not know what we are doing. It’s not that we can’t tell where we were on a certain date, or what we had for dinner last night, or who we had a meeting with this morning. It’s not even that we are incapable of performing our tasks. … Continue reading


Toward a Definition of Classical Education

Modern education occupies a great deal of time – nine months per year, six hours per day, and countless hours keeping up with homework. Yet, how much do most American students actually know by the end of twelfth grade? Can they solve basic math problems in their mind without using a … Continue reading


What Is Classical Education? (Winter 2015-16)

I read a magazine article recently in which the reporter went to two Christian colleges, one a more standard Christian college, and another with an explicitly classical emphasis. When asked what their objectives were, the first college answered, “To save America.” The second answered, “To save Western civilization.” Why is this significant? It is significant … Continue reading


What Does Classical Education Mean Today?

Excerpts from Climbing Parnassus   What does Classical education mean today? We find that, in an uninstructed age, the old regimen needs not only defending but also defining. Once classical education pointed to an elite course of instruction based upon Greek and Latin, the two great languages of the classical world. But it also delved … Continue reading


The Four Causes of Classical Education

When do you really know what something is?” When your philosophy teacher asks this, your gut reaction is to roll your eyes and say, “Here we go again.” Or you get up and walk out. Or ”and this is the best option” you say, “Hmm. I’ve never thought about that.” Thinking deeply about thinking is what philosophers … Continue reading


Classical Education is More Than a Method

If you were to ask most classical educators what classical education is, you would find them hard-pressed to give a short, coherent answer. That is the way with a lot of movements: It’s easy to get swept up in the enthusiasm, but when asked to formulate what it is that excites you, it’s hard to … Continue reading


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