Classical Christian Education

Classical Christian Education.

I would like to recommend a book to the brothers and sisters: Classical Christian Education (Written in Chinese). This book is more than four hundred pages long. I asked ChatGPT to condense the book into the following framework. Brothers and sisters who are interested, after reading the summary below, may visit the following link to access the full text:

https://github.com/chengduqiuyu/-/files/4971811/default.pdf

This book is not simply an introduction to the “techniques of classical education.” Rather, it is a collection of essays that unfolds layer by layer from theology, the church, the family, the history of education, classical educational methods, and finally to the practical establishment of schools. The whole book is over four hundred pages and is divided into three main parts: why the church should engage in education, what classical Christian education is, and how to practically establish a classical Christian school.

One Sentence to Capture the Whole Book

The central thought of the whole book can be condensed into one sentence:

Education is not the act of putting knowledge into children, but the shaping of a person under a particular faith and worldview, so that he may know the truth, understand the truth, and have the ability to live according to the truth.

Therefore, the authors believe that Christians should not merely ask:

“Where would it be better for my child to go to school?”

Rather, we must first ask:

“What kind of person is my child being shaped into?”

This is the real question of the whole book.

I. Part One: Why Should the Church Engage in Education?

The first part is the longest section of the book, and it is also the part where the book’s theological position is most clearly expressed.

It first answers a very fundamental question:

Is Christian education merely an optional choice, or is it the responsibility of Christian families and the church itself?

In the preface, Wang Yi summarizes the basic position of the whole book in five points:

1. All education is religious in nature; there is no value-neutral education.
2. Christian education is first of all the education of the covenant people.
3. Christian education is the education of the whole person, not merely religious instruction.
4. All subjects should be understood within the Word of God and the Christian worldview.
5. Historically, classical education and the university were deeply shaped by Christian civilization.

So the first idea this book opposes is this:

“Schools are only responsible for teaching knowledge; faith is the responsibility of the family and the church.”

The authors believe that this is impossible.

Because history, science, literature, ethics, politics, human nature, and the purpose of life—every subject already implies a certain interpretation of the world.

In other words:

A child is not only “learning math”; he is also learning “what the world is.”

He is not only “learning history”; he is also learning “whether human history has a purpose.”

He is not only “learning how to be a person”; he is also learning “what it means to be a good person.”

Therefore, education inevitably involves worldview.

II. Education Is First Not the Responsibility of the State, but the Responsibility of Parents

This is one of the strongest and also one of the most controversial claims in the whole book.

The authors repeatedly return to passages such as Deuteronomy 6, Proverbs, and Ephesians 6, believing that God has entrusted the primary responsibility for raising and educating children to parents.

Schools may assist parents.

The church may equip parents.

Teachers may be entrusted by parents.

But in the end:

Parents cannot completely hand over the responsibility of education.

The essay by Douglas Wilson included in the book pushes this position even further, emphasizing that parents should recover their responsibility as educators.

So the whole book actually forms a triangle:

Family — Church — School

These three are not in competition with one another, but together participate in the shaping of children.

But in terms of order:

The family is the basic unit, the church provides spiritual and theological direction, and the school becomes an extension of education.

III. The Purpose of Education Is Not Success, but Becoming a True Human Being

This, in my view, is the most important point in the whole book.

The authors do not define the ultimate goal of education as:

• getting high scores
• entering prestigious schools
• finding a good job
• becoming a professional
• increasing social competitiveness

Instead, they continually return to a classical concept:

Education is the shaping of a complete person.

That is, a person who is able to:

know truth, discern truth, love goodness, pursue beauty, express himself rightly, and live responsibly.

Therefore, what classical education calls liberal education or liberal arts does not originally mean “elective courses,” but rather:

the cultivation of a free person.

Here, “freedom” does not mean doing whatever one wants. Rather, it means:

a person who is not enslaved by his own ignorance, desires, prejudices, or the trends of the age.

Christianity, however, goes one step further than ordinary classical education at this point:

True freedom is not accomplished by education, but only the person who has been redeemed in Christ can truly live unto the truth.

IV. Why “Classical Education”?

This brings us to the middle section of the book.

The middle section includes essays by Douglas Wilson, Dorothy Sayers, Su Bingsen, and others.

The most well-known feature of classical education is:

The Trivium — the three arts

That is:

Grammar
Logic
Rhetoric

These are first of all not three ordinary subjects, but three basic capacities for learning.

They may be simply understood in this way:

The book especially points out that these three stages roughly correspond to:

knowledge → understanding → wisdom.

V. The First Stage: Grammar — First Put the World into the Child

The grammar stage roughly corresponds to early childhood.

At this stage, the child’s strongest ability is not analysis, but:

absorption, memory, and imitation.

Therefore, classical education is not afraid of memorization.

On the contrary, it makes extensive use of:

poetry, historical dates, stories, multiplication tables, language, Scripture, creeds, the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and so on.

The book even explicitly opposes a certain modern view of education:

Do not let a child memorize something before he fully understands it.

The answer of classical education is exactly the opposite:

Store it now, so that there will be material for understanding later.

Dorothy Sayers’ meaning is roughly this:

When a child’s memory is at its strongest,

do not be in a hurry to constantly require him to “analyze.”

Rather, put a large amount of good material into his mind.

It is like building a house:

The grammar stage is the preparation of bricks.

VI. The Second Stage: Logic — The Child Begins to Ask “Why?”

When children reach adolescence, they begin to argue, object, and challenge.

Modern parents often feel:

“Why has this child suddenly become so argumentative?”

Classical education, however, says:

Good. Now is exactly the time to teach him logic.

Because at this age, the child naturally begins to ask:

“Why?”

“On what basis do you say this?”

“Do these two things contradict each other?”

Therefore, education must teach him:

how to define concepts,

how to analyze arguments,

how to recognize fallacies,

how to draw conclusions from premises,

and how to distinguish truth from falsehood.

So the second stage is not about stuffing in more information.

Rather, it is about:

learning how to organize what was previously known.

VII. The Third Stage: Rhetoric — Not Only Knowing the Truth, but Being Able to Express the Truth

At a more mature stage,

the student must not only know:

“What is true?”

He must also learn:

“How can I express what is true clearly, powerfully, and beautifully?”

This is rhetoric.

It includes:

writing, speaking, debate, literature, argumentation, persuasion, and public expression.

But classical Christian education understands rhetoric more deeply than ordinary public speaking.

Because it asks:

What are you doing with language?

You can use language to:

deceive people,

manipulate people,

and glorify yourself.

Or you can use language to:

communicate truth,

serve your neighbor,

and bear witness to Christ.

Therefore, true rhetoric is not simply “being good at speaking.”

Rather, it is:

the union of truth, character, and the ability to express.

VIII. The Authors Further Connect the Trivium with the Whole Person

This is an important development in Su Bingsen’s contribution.

He believes that the Trivium should not be understood merely as a teaching technique, but should be connected with the whole formation of the person:

Grammar — memory
Logic — reason
Rhetoric — will and practice

In other words, education does not merely train the mind.

It shapes:

what a person remembers,

how a person thinks,

and finally how a person is willing to live.

Therefore, education ultimately involves the whole person:

heart, soul, mind, and strength.

The author connects this with Deuteronomy 6 and the Lord Jesus’ word about loving God “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

This is what is meant by:

the education of the whole person.

IX. Theology Is Not Merely One Subject, but “the Queen of the Sciences”

This is another important concept in the book.

Classical Christian education does not say:

Have math class in the morning,

and then have one Bible class in the afternoon,

and this makes it a “Christian school.”

What it truly seeks to do is:

to restore the relationship of all knowledge in God.

For example:

Science — Who created the created world?

History — Does history have direction and divine sovereignty?

Literature — How are human good and evil, fallenness and redemption described?

Art — What is beauty?

Politics — Where does authority come from?

Ethics — Where do the standards of good and evil come from?

Therefore, drawing from the classical tradition, the book calls theology:

“the Queen of the Sciences.”

This does not mean that every class must become a sermon.

Rather, it means:

all knowledge must ultimately be placed within one true world.

X. The Book’s Critique of “Modern Education”

This book is actually quite critical of modern education.

It believes that modern education has gradually developed several problems:

being centered on children’s interests, fragmentation of knowledge, excessive utilitarianism, vocationalization, neglect of the classics, neglect of memory, weakening of logic, and the lack of ultimate truth.

Su Bingsen even believes that classical education and modern education represent two different views of man.

Modern education often assumes:

Man is basically good; as long as the right environment and methods are provided, his potential will naturally develop.

Classical Christian education, however, begins from fallen human nature:

Man’s problem is not merely that he “does not know”; rather, man’s heart and will themselves have a problem.

Therefore, education cannot save man.

This point is very important.

Christian education itself is not the gospel.

A teacher cannot cause a person to be born again through a curriculum.

What truly changes man is still:

the grace of God.

Therefore, the authors seek to avoid a kind of “educational salvationism.”

XI. Why Does Classical Education Place Such Importance on the Classics?

Because the authors believe:

we are very easily imprisoned by our own age.

If we only read books from today,

we often do not know:

where the blind spots of our own age are.

Therefore, reading classical works, including:

ancient literature,

history,

philosophy,

theology,

poetry,

and classic political thought,

is not for the sake of nostalgia.

Rather, it is to allow students to converse with people from different ages.

The book even discusses the thought of C. S. Lewis, emphasizing that people need to be delivered from the control of “the spirit of the age.”

Therefore, classical education is actually cultivating:

a sense of history.

XII. Why Does It Also Place Special Importance on Language?

Classical Christian education places great importance on:

Latin,

Greek,

Hebrew,

and, in the Chinese context, classical Chinese as well.

The purpose is not to show off.

Rather, it is because:

language determines the precision of a person’s thought.

More importantly:

Scripture, theology, and historical classics are all transmitted through language.

Therefore, the weaker a person’s language ability is,

the more easily he can only receive:

summaries,

slogans,

and second-hand information.

Classical education, however, precisely hopes that people will:

come into direct contact with the text.

This point has a similarity worth considering with the emphasis you usually place on “first-hand seeing” in Bible study. At least in terms of learning method, it does not want people to live merely in other people’s summaries.

XIII. Part Three: How Exactly Does One Establish Such a School?

The third part turns from vision to practice.

It includes:

• the experience of Logos School
• ACCS, the Association of Classical Christian Schools
• how to establish a classical Christian school
• teachers
• parents
• curriculum
• school culture
• the relationship between church and school
• the practice and reflection of Covenant Reformed School itself

One of the most important thoughts here is:

Establishing a school does not begin with buildings, textbooks, and teachers, but with a group of people who share a common conviction concerning the purpose of education.

Therefore, the authors strongly emphasize:

the education of parents is actually just as important as the education of students.

Because if:

the school says one thing,

but the family lives another way,

education will be very difficult to succeed.

XIV. What Kind of Person Does the Whole Book Truly Seek to Cultivate?

If we compress these four hundred-plus pages into a “portrait of a graduate,” it would be something like this:

a person who:

knows that he lives in a world created by God;

is able to read the classics and the Bible;

has a rich memory;

has clear thinking;

can discern truth from falsehood;

can express himself well;

understands history;

appreciates truth, goodness, and beauty;

has character and responsibility;

loves God and loves his neighbor;

and is prepared to serve in the world.

Therefore, the real key word is not:

achievement

but:

formation.

XV. If You Only Remember Seven Sentences from the Whole Book

If you do not have time to read four hundred pages, I suggest first remembering these seven sentences:

1. Education is never truly neutral.
2. The first question of education is not “What should be taught?” but “What kind of person are we shaping?”
3. Parents bear the primary responsibility for the education of their children.
4. Christian education is not “secular education plus Bible class.”
5. The core of classical education is grammar, logic, and rhetoric — knowing, understanding, and wisdom.
6. Education should shape the whole person, not merely train the ability to make a living.
7. The end of true education is not success, but loving God, loving others, and living according to the truth.

My Overall Evaluation of This Book

In terms of its intellectual value, I believe that the most worthwhile part of this book is not the section on “how to establish a classical school,” but the fundamental question it raises concerning “what education really is.”

It forces Christians to rethink:

Are we hoping that our children will “succeed in the world,”

or are we hoping that they will become “the kind of people God desires to gain”?