The Puritans, the Moderns, and Classical Education

Martin Cothran covered this topic a while back.

Here is one of his well-researched, but brief, articles about it:

https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/classical-education-puritans/

And here is an interesting recent article, not about the Puritans per se, but about the old question of whether we Christians ought to read pagan literature.  The Puritans thought that some was worth reading and some wasn't.  The question I ask when choosing literature is not whether there are bad ideas in the books, but why.  So my kids might read the Communist Manifesto, but not Harry Potter.  Other parents might make different choices, but we have to pray and think about it.

https://scholegroups.com/why-read-pagan-literature/

American Christianity took an anti-intellectual turn during the early 20th Century and followed progressives down the modern education path, until the 1950s desegregation of public schools.  Then groups like Abeka and Bob Jones University started their own Christian private schools, but kept much of the progressive modifications to education which had been instituted in the fifty years prior.  Further, they tended to conflate Christian culture with patriotic American identity. As conservatives moved to these Christian schools, they began to reject secular teaching fads in favor of tried and true methods such as phonics and math facts drills and civics education.  

Since the 1980s, Christian educators interested in philosophy have reevaluated the models and content of Christian education prior to its divergence in the 1950s from the progressive models. Some went with restoring a full medieval curriculum, or took Dorothy Sayers up on her suggestions for stages of learning correlating to the Trivium.

But the belief of most current classical Christian educators is that some of the changes made to education during the 20th Century were based on the false philosophies of secular humanism and progressivism.  And so, they say, we ought to replace those bad ideas with the liberal arts and humanities from a Christian perspective in a modern context, to prepare students intellectually for a good life and good work.

In homeschool circles, the term “classical” usually serves to differentiate from other popular types of education. For example, popular methods of education might be 1950s Abeka textbook style, or child-directed progressive “unschooling,” or a liberal arts, literature-driven education (classical).  The majority of homeschoolers now use some classical methods and curriculum resources. According to one publisher, classical education curriculum sales are ten times bigger than conventional curriculum sales.

Most Christian teachers and schools already teach many of the concepts that classical educators promote, but those who advocate for classical education try to systematize and include all the good Christian teaching practices and philosophies under one umbrella.

Christian Classical	Secular Conventional
Philosophy: Integrated with each subject.  Students are taught why they think what they think.  Example: Discussion of communism includes why it is immoral. Authority: truth, Scripture.	Philosophy: not discussed.  Students are required to show where their ideas come from and find the bias of other writers, which teaches that truth is relative and the validity of identity politics. Authority: none, or a majority opinion
Life makes sense	Life is random
Study intellectual skills, not just facts for careers.	Cram for tests and then forget the facts. Test- oriented, which teaches kids to game the system.
Language: tools to be precise in language. Sentences have concrete meaning. Example: U.S. Constitution interpreted via “originalism.” Learn languages of the original scriptures and church documents (Greek, Hebrew, and Latin).  Morphology and phonics for reading and spelling.	Language: a way to express yourself. Open to the interpretation of the reader. Example: U.S. Constitution interpreted as a “living” document. Ancient languages are irrelevant because old documents (such as scripture and Constitution) are irrelevant.  Reading instruction methods vary.
Grammar: How to be precise in understanding English and other languages (what is the difference between the indicative, subjunctive, or imperative?)  Not just to be a better writer but to be a better reader in multiple languages.	Grammar: a few basic standard rules for writing English.  Only for writing or in a foreign language class, if taught at all.  Example: using a semi-colon to convey the intended meaning.
Humanities: integrated history, civics, geography, government, economics and literature.  Story- and context-based and evaluated with a Christian worldview. Example: Reading Eusebius and Augustine while studying the fall of the Roman Empire and the geography of the Mediterranean.  The question asked is “What does this mean?” Read the literature of historical figures.	Humanities: a facts-based surface overview of history, current events, and geography. Literature separated into English classes away from history.  The question is “What does this mean to YOU?” or “What thoughts did you have when you read this?” Classic works of literature, philosophy, and history are read about but not read themselves except in small excerpts.
Logic: studied as a subject.	Logic: varies. Usually little to none.
Rhetoric and worldview: express truth winsomely	Rhetoric and worldview: Change the world (no matter the direction).
Science: reliable and valid because it functions in the world God made.  But “he who marries the science of today will be a widow tomorrow.”	Science: taught as the only form of truth and that truth is decided by a majority of experts.  (Varies).
History: 1 Chronicles 12.32.  Understand our own times and the context of the Bible accounts and church history.  Teach cultural identity through stories and literature, and how to evaluate cultural elements according to God’s word.  Usually taught chronologically via story in two or three cycles. Usually more emphasis on church history.	History: Usually a collection of irrelevant facts, if studied at all.  No church history. Multiculturalism teaches that all historical cultures were equally good and right. Marxism teaches that everyone is either a victim or oppressor.  There is no standard for living according to God’s order that gives some cultures success or failure. Conventional Christian history usually focuses on American history and missionaries rather than world church history.
Memory: important for intellectual and linguistic development.	Memory: only needed short-term to prepare for testing.
Mimetic and Socratic teaching: don’t demand creativity if students have not been given real ideas with which to be creative.  Students should imitate good models before being required to produce their own work. Ask questions to help students see truth.	Teaching: varies.