There are lots of books and articles that have been written to both explain Classical education and help parents, teachers, and administrators understand the differences. Classical educator Buck Holler provides a helpful introduction by bringing attention to 7 areas of contrast for consideration. These are summarized here:

1) Eternal vs. “Progressive.” Contemporary society has become conditioned to equate “new” with “valuable” and “best practice.” Educators clamor for new strategies and curriculums to achieve goals. Classical educators understand that while history changes, human nature doesn’t. As King Solomon once wrote in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9). Rather than focusing on what’s new and popular now, we look back to what is timeless, that which has stood the test of time. Therefore, we study the Great Books- books that harken the reader to contemplate the questions and ideas that transcend time and culture. Hence, we are more focused on cultivating virtue that lasts rather than just equipping with skills for the current marketplace.

2) Adult-oriented vs Child-centered. Isocrates, an ancient Greek rhetorician, was known for holding his students to very high standards. He is known for saying that "we teach to the adult in the child.” Contemporary education is focused on engaging the child at their level and tout the importance of child or student-centered education. While it is important to understand the nature and development of a student, this approach easily shifts to a reduction of expectations and blurring of lines of authority. Classical educators aim not to teach a child, but to form an adult. Additionally, the idea of authority is important in classical education, as it follows the God-ordained family structure and also the biblical mandate that the older ones teach the younger. While we give students a chance to demonstrate ability and teach, we don't assume that they know, or should know, what to do. The learning process begins with imitation, repetition, and then habit – learning from someone who has lived long enough to be a teacher.

3) Honors vs Measures the child. Before the industrial age, the primary age of education was to cultivate a human soul. Since the industrial revolution, education has evolved from a Biblical view of soul care and formation into a materialist based utilitarian focus on statistical outcomes. Education has become a numbers game in which “success” has been reduced to grades on a report card and results on a standardized test. Classical educators indeed value assessment, but that assessment is not reduced to mere numbers. Our aim isn’t high test scores, but growth in virtue and character. The classical educator is looking at the child through a variety of lenses, giving them opportunities from many angles to learn. Producing data and measuring numbers is easy. But honoring the child takes much more time and care. It’s the longer road, but it leads to the better place in terms of forming a human being.

4) Moral vs Vocational. Students in a contemporary education model ask the pragmatic question: “How can I use this? What will it do for me?” Classically educated students are trained to think, “What will this do to my soul? How will it shape the person I am becoming?” CS Lewis once wrote: “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.” The aim of contemporary education is a good job. The aim of a classical education is the cultivation of a virtuous man or woman, which lasts a lifetime.

5) Thought driven vs Content driven. A lot of schools in the contemporary models boast the slogan: “We teach students how to think, not just what to think.” The problem is, they then let test data and results drive their pedagogy and curriculum, a focus on the “what.” In contemporary models, curriculum content tends to be more fragmented- focused on the content goals of individual subjects. In classical education, the curriculum aims to be integrated around ideas and principles across subjects. Classical educators are not satisfied with just the answer, but the “why” behind the answer.

6) Accepts nature and knowledge vs Rejecting nature and knowledge: Socrates is famous for saying "the beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms." Contemporary educators are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with defining terms. For example, how does one answer the following questions: “What is a man? What is a woman? What is love? What is truth?” Our present society, buying into the postmodern ideas that truth is relative to time, culture, and the individual, has left students with no ground to stand upon in forming convictions or identity. Classical educators seek to give students a great gift by allowing lessons to be driven by and aimed at truth. Things are not changing, nor are they different just because our society feels differently about them "now". The classical educator trains students to search out an issue and explore it down to its roots and foundation, to enable them to build understanding and application.

7) Freedom vs Slavery. Unwittingly, contemporary education models train and condition students to become slaves to the cultural norms and expectations of the day. Without a solid grasp on absolute truth, students become captive to the winds and waves of the relative society, with no compass to guide them home. Classical educators want their students to be liberated from the cultural moment, to be, as Andrew Kern once wrote, “open both to the past and to new knowledge and discoveries.” We aim for students to be free to analyze an idea without pressure to agree with it. We want to create space for students to have time to learn, read, discuss, and be taught- one of the greatest freedoms and joys a child can have.

Oak Grove Classical Academy: Frequently Asked Questions

Why Christian Education vs. Public Education?

I have multiple children in different grades. How can I manage a home-day with so many different lesson plans to follow?

We aren’t Christians but we don’t have a problem with our children being taught Christian

What is the difference between Classical and contemporary education models?

What is the difference between Oak Grove’s University-Model and a homeschool co-op?

Why teach Latin?

I am not a teacher. Can I still act as co-teacher for my child?