What and How To
Teach Classically
The following pages are written especially
for those responsible to
determine what students will learn and how they will be taught
in your home or school. Our goal is to make
your life easier, while improving your odds of creating a truly
satisfying curriculum, by thinking with you about the most
important questions that must be answered by those who will
build a solid classical curriculum.
If you find parts of
this section confusing, don’t be discouraged—the biggest problem
is with words. You and I are so far removed historically from the
classical curriculum that the words once used to describe that
curriculum have been dropped or, worse,
altered. For example, "art” and “science,” two of the most
important words in education, carry very different meanings from
those they once carried.
We try to make the classical meaning of
these words very clear, though we acknowledge that doing so
sometimes challenges our resources.
Ironically, the classical curriculum
is simple, focused, tight, and unspeakably effective. It isn’t
frighteningly complicated, although when we are new to it it can
seem that way.
Unfortunately, some people turn away from classical education by
this perception of complexity and even more turn away because of
the perception that the vocabulary is too difficult.
As you determine what to teach your
students, please consider the seriousness of the task. Look
past the apparent complexity and find that simplicity at the
core of classical education. Also, please take the trouble to
learn what the words mean. It will make your
school or home school more effective and, yes, more enjoyable.
So here’s your road map to the classical
Christian school of the 22nd century!
You can take one of two paths from here to
learn more about classical education:
Path one: What should we teach in a classical
school?
Path two: How
should we teach in a classical school?
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