Classical Education

If you’ve been around the homeschool world more than a few days, you’ve probably heard about something called the Classical Education model. What is it, and should Homeschoolers make use of it?

My family has chosen to follow the Classical model, and in the interests of full disclosure, you should know that my books are carried (though not published) by Veritas, one of the major Classical publishing houses. I have also written for several volumes of the Veritas Omnibus series, a Classical theology/history/literature curriculum. And one of the blurbs on the cover of my book, Talking of Dragons, was written by Douglas Wilson, considered by many to be the father of the modern Classical Christian movement. So what follows may be considered biased in some ways. But keep in mind that, like you, I had to wade through the various philosophical and methodological options available to Homeschoolers (see this post for some thoughts on the process of choosing), and all this was before I had ever met Doug Wilson, or worked with Veritas.

That said, our family’s approach has several important elements in common with Classical Christian Education, yet is also distinct in a few respects.

We can be considered classical in the sense that we believe there is much wisdom in the Medieval Trivium. For those new to Classical education, the Trivium refers to three stages of learning: Grammar (learning the facts, rules, and principles of each subject; roughly ages 5-11), Logic (learning to think through, question, and understand the facts, rules, and principles of each subject; roughly ages 12-14), and Rhetoric (learning how to speak and write in eloquent ways in defense of the facts, rules, and principles of each subject; roughly ages 15-18).