What Is Classical Christian Education?¶

Classical Christian education teaches through the stages called grammar, logic and rhetoric, with Latin, great books and Scripture at the center. It happens in full-time academies, in co-ops and hybrid schools, and at the kitchen table.

That is the short answer. The rest of this post fills it in for a parent visiting a school for the first time, or for a few families deciding whether to start one.

What the three stages are¶

The stages are called the trivium: grammar, logic and rhetoric. The Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) links the trivium to clear thinking and command of language. Schools run it from kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Each stage asks something different of a student. In grammar, a child learns the facts and the vocabulary of a subject. In logic, the student starts asking how those facts fit together and where an argument breaks. In rhetoric, the student learns to say what they think, in writing and out loud, in front of other people.

Schools draw the lines between stages at different ages, so ask any school you visit where theirs fall.

What a student reads and studies¶

ACCS says students in classical Christian schools read classic works, study history and art, and take part in what it calls "the great conversation." Students primarily read original sources and generally avoid textbooks for history and literature.

The phrase ad fontes, "to the source," names the habit. A student reads the book itself, not a chapter about the book.

Why classical Christian schools teach Latin¶

ACCS membership standards spell this out. In the secondary grades, a member school must teach "at least two years of Latin or ancient Greek, one year of formal Logic, and one year of Rhetoric" to each student (ACCS membership).

The standards require Latin or Greek but do not say why, and we did not find a sourced reason, so we will not invent one. Ask the school. A headmaster who can explain why Latin is in the week tells you a lot about the school.

What makes it Christian¶

ACCS describes the education as built on a biblical framework in which every subject connects to God as Creator. It says this "is more than adding a Bible verse to the curriculum," and points to Ephesians 6:4, "bring them up in the paideia and instruction of the Lord."

What is the difference between a Christian school and a classical Christian school?¶

A Christian school is defined by its faith. A classical Christian school is defined by its faith and by its method: the trivium, original sources, and the language and logic requirements above. Many Christian schools use a modern curriculum with Bible class and chapel added. A classical Christian school builds the whole day around the stages.

ACCS also contrasts the approach with a common modern goal, "College and Career Readiness," which it presents as too narrow. Its stated aim is to form a student's character and worldview, not only prepare them for college or a job.

That is the school's own description of itself. A good Christian school that is not classical can be a good fit for a family. The question is which one fits yours.

Who founded classical Christian education?¶

No single founder. Wikipedia's article on the movement names several people who shaped it:

• Dorothy Sayers wrote the paper "The Lost Tools of Learning," arguing that the great defect of education was that schools taught information without teaching students how to think.
• Douglas Wilson expanded her paper into the 1991 book Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning and founded Logos School.
• Andrew Kern founded the CiRCE Institute to promote classical Christian education.

The article says ACCS had accredited 200 schools as of 2016.

What are the disadvantages of classical education?¶

We did not find a sourced list of disadvantages, so we will not hand you one. Instead, here are questions a family can put to any school:

• How many students are in each class, and who teaches the Latin and logic courses?
• What does a graduate's transcript look like, and how do colleges read it?
• What does it cost, and what does a family do if the cost is too much?
• What happens to a student who joins in ninth grade without the earlier stages?

You will learn more from those answers than from a pros and cons list.

Where classical Christian education happens¶

You do not need a building. ACCS requires "a school with classrooms (physical or digital) and teachers," and says "nontraditional models like collaborative or University™ model schools, or online schools qualify."

So the same education shows up in several shapes:

• Full-time classical Christian academies.
• University-model schools, where students are on campus part of the week and work at home the rest.
• Hybrid schools and online schools.
• Co-ops and microschools, where parents each teach what they know.
• Families teaching at home, including those using Classical Conversations communities.

NavEd is built for all of those. If you are weighing whether to start one, our post on starting a classical Christian school walks through the first year.

Records matter once a student reaches high school¶

Latin, logic and rhetoric do not look like the courses on a standard transcript. A school or family has to translate them into course titles, credits and a GPA a college reader can follow. We wrote about that in classical Christian transcripts.

If you need a transcript now, the free transcript builder makes one without an account.

Rules change, and schools differ¶

This post describes classical Christian education as ACCS describes it. Individual schools, co-ops and curricula vary, and membership standards can change. Check the current ACCS pages linked above before you rely on any requirement.

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