Classical Christian Education equips students to thrive in any context. CCE cultivates the knowledge, tools, and skills necessary to remember the past and prepare for the future. I have been teaching for almost twenty years and in that time I have seen over 1,400 students. The Trivium really works. Dorothy Sayers laid out a brilliant system of curriculum that instills both granite truths and viral skills. I have seen this in my own life and in the lives of my students. Students trained in Latin, Greek, Logic, and Rhetoric gain the knowledge and tools to think carefully, reason well, and speak persuasively. The students I work with are regularly some of the most thoughtful and articulate people I meet. 

The key in Classical Education is knowing God. That is the fundamental knowledge that shapes everything else. Jesus is our true north and the Bible orients our thoughts so that we can think God’s thoughts after him. This is the engine that makes Classical education go. If the Biblical truth is absent, then the Classical part will be shallow and worthless. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 

If the Biblical truth is absent, then the Classical part will be shallow and worthless.

Dorothy Sayers’ powerful insight is that the Trivium works in three ways: as subject material, as stages of growth, and as tools of knowledge. She laid this out in her piece from 1947 titled “The Lost Tools of Learning.” The Trivium was the medieval course of study which included three core classes: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. These three subjects enabled a student to learn critical knowledge, what Dorothy Sayers calls the Tools of Learning. Grammar is how a language works, Logic is using language to reason in a valid and systematic way, and Rhetoric is speaking in a beautiful and persuasive way.

Sayers shows how the courses of the Trivium also map onto the ways that young students grow through their educational years. Students from ages nine to eleven are in the grammar stage, then they move into the logic stage, from about twelve to fourteen. And finally, they are in the rhetoric stage which is fifteen and beyond. In each stage, there is a primary faculty that students are particularly good at or interested in. Memory and learning basic facts characterize the grammar stage. Critical thinking and reasoning characterize the logic stage. Beauty and style characterize the rhetoric stage. 

The final insight of Sayers is that these three courses also work as tools of knowledge. When learning there is a grammar component, a logic component, and a rhetoric component. That is, there are necessary basic facts (who, what, when, etc) which need to be put together in a systematic way (logic and reasoning) in order to gain appreciation, wisdom, and beauty. These tools allow one to take something apart to see how it works and then also put it back together or form something new. The Trivium as Sayers lays it out is a powerful resource to educate young people in the great works of culture, by matching their growth and development while equipping them for a life of learning.

Latin and Greek enable students to see the fundamental elements of language so they can understand how grammar works. Grammatical knowledge and skills is key in communicating clearly with others. These languages also offer a rich land of resources to read and study with insights from great thinkers from the last three thousand years. Modern languages can be helpful to study (Spanish, German, French, etc) but none offers the vast library that Latin and Greek hold. The classical languages unlock the door to profound ideas and great writers. These classical languages have also shaped English and how it works today. Without Latin and Greek, we cannot understand English. 

The classical languages unlock the door to profound ideas and great writers.

Integrated Humanities reveals key ideas across great works of literature, history, theology, and philosophy. In reading these important works, students see the truth in multiple ways and from different angles which helps them gain a deeper understanding of how God has made the world. In order to know the truth it must be seen in connection to other truths. Through these readings, students also learn what it takes to be a great thinker. Great thinkers are great because they think across diverse fields and bring critical ideas into play in new contexts. The ability to make connections comes from knowing God who integrates all things. Knowledge of God orders all other knowledge so we can see how various pieces of knowledge fit together. Being able to see the big picture makes one a leader. 

Great thinkers are great because they think across diverse fields and bring critical ideas into play in new contexts.

Classical Christian Education is a powerful force in shaping the next generation to think clearly, reason well, and speak persuasively. It also equips students so they can have the knowledge and skills necessary to live well as a Christian in a secular age. Equipping students well for the world they are entering is critical work. Classical Christian Education is the resource to meet that need. 

The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David