What Is Classical Education? Part I: The First Assumption

bookshelf classical education school mentor oscar ortiz duarte

We are proud to feature, as a series of guest posts to help parents understand the nature of classical education, excerpts from The Manner to Galleon: The Definitive Manual on Classical School Culture, a forthcoming book by Oscar Ortiz Duarte, MLA.

Classical Education: A Vision of the World, the Human Person, and the Relationship Between the 2

I dear when parents enquire me what a classical education is. Besides talking about something I love, I get to shed light on ane of the most important areas of a child'due south life: their pedagogy. Fifty-fifty the well-nigh involved parents that I know are not asking these crucial questions:

What is pedagogy and how does it make humans happy?
What is the purpose of instruction and is my child'south school meeting that purpose?
Is all education equal, i.east., is my child receiving the all-time education the same fashion other children are?

This prevailing lack of interest towards didactics stems from something that is not all that bad: trust. Parents trust that their children are receiving the kind of educational activity that will make their children successful. Thus I hear parents say to me all the fourth dimension: "Nosotros just driblet our kid off to school and that should be information technology, right?" Well . . .

In today's day and age there are equally many educational models as at that place are letters in the alphabet, with all of these models operating from different philosophies about the human kid, her needs, and what will make a homo person happy (think of the educational philosophy of Montessori vs. career schools, Waldorf vs. classical schools, STEM vs. forest schools, etc.). What's fifty-fifty more shocking is that within the walls of a single school—even amid teachers of the same class—teachers volition teach from unlike models based on individual preferences, educational philosophies, teacher-certification, etc. and then it'south not all that unlikely that twins in the same grade but in different classrooms might be receiving qualitatively different educations! Simply here is the real kicker: some educational models are better than others by different standards; some are better at building reading skills, some are better at developing numeracy, and some models look better than others on a resume when students begin applying to college.

Three Simple Questions

All of this "edu-speak" tin can be overwhelming. That is why, to make things simpler, I recommend that parents enquire themselves at least three simple questions when looking for a school:

What kind of pedagogy is my kid receiving (is it one that has a correct understanding of the world, human nature, and human learning)?
Is it one that is oriented towards the ultimate happiness of my kid?
Is it fourth dimension-tested and true?

These questions are designed to tell the wheat apart from the chaff; they reveal the deepest assumptions (i.east., the operating philosophies) of every educational model. In other words, I agree with the sentiment that "dropping off our children to school should be enough"—in an ideal world. In a perfect world, nosotros could trust that all children would receive the best education. Unfortunately, we are far from the ideal, so that fugitive to consider these questions (in my mind) is akin to playing educational Russian roulette with our children—something no parent would exercise if they were aware of the extent of America's current educational crunch.

By dwelling on these questions I've started this commodity with what makes the classical model of education unique. Over the course of ten years of working in the field of education, doing research, and comparing the academic functioning of children coming from various educational models, I find that a Classical education model is one of the all-time (if not the all-time) model for the academic, concrete, and emotional growth of children.

Why? Because of the unique assumptions the classical model accepts equally true when answering the most primal questions about our human nature, the nature of learning, and human happiness.

In this commodity I'd similar to practice something that I have not seen in other essays that endeavor to answer what is a classical education. I'd like to reply this question by cartoon your attending to the assumptions that shape and define the classical model, and how this impacts our children, preparing them for a better future. Divided into two essays, I brainstorm this report by introducing you to the first nearly widely accepted assumption, then complete this foray into the classical world in a second article where I shed calorie-free on the ii most pregnant assumptions that follow as a upshot of accepting the first.

The Starting time Supposition of Classical Educational activity

THE COSMOS Nosotros Live IN IS TRUE, Skilful, AND Beautiful.

At that place is perhaps no assumption more than distinctive of the classical mindset than the conventionalities that the earth is true, practiced, and beautiful. Everything from math facts to popcorn drills (in P.East. class) to memorizing the voice communication, "I Accept a Dream," is intentionally designed to bulldoze this point domicile. Nor is information technology difficult to do: Classical educators and schools don't need to preach or moralize this assumption, since the books and the stories that make upward the classical curriculum exemplify this every unmarried day. Through the example of endless heroes and the stories of human triumphs over trials, children larn to experience this kind of world as a fact of life and non simply as a sentimental cliché. This does not mean that the classical model shields students from studying how nosotros have fallen short from the standard of a true, skilful, and beautiful world. Similar to athletes that are taught to envision the ultimate prize for their difficult piece of work, classical education teaches that a true, practiced, and beautiful world is both the starting point (i.east., as foundation) and the terminate prize that we are all aiming for and in pursuit of. Over again, similar to the athlete whose life, difficult work, and sacrifices are justified in light of a final reward that is actually true (whether the athlete wins the reward or not, the reward exists and is always present to the athletes mind), the earth as true, expert, and cute is what makes our pursuit of knowledge, pursuit of justice, and pursuit of world peace all meaningful man endeavors.

This vision of the globe that begins to brand its domicile in the child's heart prepares the child to honey the world (as opposed to antisocial information technology because he has been taught it is ugly or false); it equips the kid to detect in information technology his responsibility as a steward and protector (every bit opposed to using and manipulating the world because he has been taught that it is non adept). In other words, a world that is true is a earth that makes scientific discipline and hence medicine and the progress of technology possible, and is therefore a world total of wonders—worthy of exploration and study. Moreover, a world that is good is a world where there is a standard for justice, i that inspires us towards virtuous living, one that calls upon us to help our neighbour and ensure fairness for all. Lastly, a globe that is beautiful is a earth where finding delight is possible.

Worldviews and Education Models

No other educational model (explicitly) adopts this assumption as part of their pedagogy. You lot might observe teachers here and there that ascribe to this or a similar worldview, but fifty-fifty then, it is not the prevailing aim of the model, and hence is non included in the daily didactics practices of the school or its curriculum. In fact, one could argue that past failing to adopt this assumption, some schools unwittingly teach their students an reverse view of the world: a soul-crushing nihilism that zaps the imagination and moral cobweb of our children. For examples, I've studied models that unintentionally (or intentionally) teach children

That human being happiness depends on the skills 1 has acquired (if those skills are marketable); or,
That a higher degree is a person'southward highest achievement in life.

Likewise, I've encountered models that teach

That a career or job is the ultimate aim of living;
That man happiness is achievable through the things one possesses;
That truthful human being freedom is actually just purchasing power; or,
That the kid is the mensurate of all things (and therefore should not exist questioned).

Interestingly, none of these reasons entreatment to or appoint the kid (like they do their parents). This makes justifying a school that adheres to these philosophies a torturous project for parents, who will spend the adjacent thirteen years of their kid's schooling nagging their children to utilize themselves.

To a classical educator, this only shows that the child, her aptitudes, and natural curiosity marshal meliorate to the classical model than other models. For it is at this early age that the kid'due south natural curiosity will brainstorm to explore the world and enquire herself: is the world worth exploring? Is learning worth pursuing? A false, mean, and ugly world is hardly a expert incentive to encourage children to continue developing their intellect and grapheme. And equally many parents will admit, telling a child that they must go to schoolhouse considering it will secure them a job in the future does not hateful much to a child that is simply learning to become self enlightened and is therefore much less aware of his or her future.

Showing a child that the earth is true, adept, and beautiful, and doing it through an about space store of examples from history, science, math and literature, gives children the foundation they need to become life-long pursuers of truth, goodness, and dazzler. And so when considering a schoolhouse for your child, I encourage yous to pay shut attention to the philosophies that undergird the mission of the schoolhouse and ask yourself: what view of the world is this model setting equally a foundation for children? Children at classical schools acquire to cherish the earth precisely because it is a place where they can at once observe love, joy, a standard for moral living, and significant in life.

Oscar Ortiz Duarte School Mentor classical education

Lease Moms Chats

Oscar Ortiz Duarte, MLA, CEO and Superintendent of Heritage Classical Academy, joins Inga Cotton on Charter Moms Chats on Jan x, 2022 at 4:00 PM Key alive on Facebook and YouTube.

Oscar Ortiz Duarte is the CEO and Superintendent of Heritage Classical Academy in Houston, Texas. Oscar has devoted his career to classical education and over the grade of ten years has gone from the classroom, to Head of Schoolhouse, to CEO/Superintendent. He is known for being a passionate advocate for diverse classical lease organizations, lending his aid and expertise to all. With an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and a Main's in the Liberal Arts, Oscar is well-versed in classical themes bringing his knowledge into every new endeavor. Originally from Republic of honduras, Oscar's vocation has e'er been creating access to classical didactics to diverse and disadvantaged populations believing that the true, the good, and the beautiful paves the way for all to lead flourishing lives.