What is a Classical Liberal Arts Education?
A classical liberal arts education seeks to form students in and through the rich intellectual and cultural tradition of Western Civilization. A Catholic classical education is one in which students being formed academically are at the same time formed emotionally and spiritually by the truths, traditions, and sacraments of the Catholic Church. In a Catholic classical school the whole person is educated, in an intentional and integrated way, for the purpose of helping the student achieve his or her Telos as a child of God, made to be with Him eternally in heaven after a life of service to Him on earth.
A Catholic classical approach is one in which education is not instrumentalized: students are not trained to pass tests, build resumes, and pad college applications. They are guided to
conform their minds to the Truth taught us by nature and Revelation
order their souls to the Good, realizing their human potential by the practice of virtue and of the
corporal and spiritual works of mercy
recognize and delight in what is Beautiful, that their “joy might be complete”
A Catholic classical education is holistic, and also practical. Students are given the knowledge and skills they need to achieve their potential and fulfill their responsibilities in the pursuits that are the stuff of daily life. And, of critical importance, classical education nurtures in students habits, discipline, and a disposition that enable them to continue their education and their growth throughout their lives. It prepares them to take their places as productive members of their families and communities, thus fulfilling Christ’s command that His disciples be “the salt of the earth.”
Liberal Education: Personal and Social
A Catholic classical education is both personal and social; for the individual and for the community. The late Russell Kirk in his essay, “The Conservative Purpose of a Liberal Education,” writes:
By “liberal education” we mean an ordering and integrating of knowledge for the benefit of the free person—as contrasted with technical or professional schooling.... Liberal education...defends order against disorder. In its practical effects, liberal education works for order in the soul and order in the republic. Liberal learning enables those who benefit from its discipline to achieve... harmony within themselves.... The primary purpose of a liberal education, then, is the cultivation of the person’s own intellect and imagination, for the person’s own sake.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
Yet, a system of liberal education has a social purpose, or at least a social result, as well. It helps to provide a society with a body of people who become leaders in many walks of life, on a large scale or a small.
Working with Human Nature, Setting and Achieving Realistic Goals
A Catholic classical approach is successful, because it understands and cooperates with the natural development of children and young people and it aims at mastery at each level of development. Consequently, a classical education is satisfying. We know that the young are naturally curious, energetic, and optimistic. A classical education satisfies their curiosity with knowledge, channels their energy in productive ways, and rewards their optimism by disciplining them to complete the tasks they begin, so that they can feel good about what they’ve accomplished and achieved. It makes sure that, as in a well-built house, the foundation is solid and the frame is sturdy before the painting starts and the furniture is moved in. No phase in the orderly building can be neglected, but neither should it be prolonged unnaturally. Students graduating from high school should be looking to take their place in the adult world and move on, with a sense of purpose and direction, either to advanced academic studies or to specialized training for a career. A classical liberal arts education in grade school and high school is the best preparation for the next step is, whatever that is.
From Here to Eternity
By means of a Catholic classical curriculum, students are disciplined and trained to think and to express themselves in an orderly, accurate, and persuasive manner through the study of grammar, logic, Latin, and rhetoric. The study of history, including lives of the saints, and the reading of great literature presents to them examples of great and heroic humans as well as the tragic consequences of vice. It prepares them to understand and participate in the “great conversation” and take their place as aware and informed adults in their families and communities. Through the study of the sciences and math they encounter the Creator through his Creation and understand the important truth that there is a reality outside of us, not of our making, which operates by laws that we must learn and with which we must cooperate if we are to flourish. Through literature, again, and through a systematic study of music and art, their imaginations are expanded and they are inclined to delight in the beautiful. Through the study of a modern foreign language, their world is expanded; they are introduced to different cultures and different “takes” on being human and acquire the possibility of forming friendships and collaborating with other Catholics in the Universal Church. Finally, but also firstly, through their study of the Catholic religion, they learn the eternal truths and laws that are necessary to a wholesome, happy life and eternal salvation, and develop a Catholic world view which is supported and enriched across the curriculum.
Students who have passed through this systematic education are well-prepared to go on to further academic studies or specialized training for the career or work of their choice. They are prepared to begin to take their place in an adult world and be the “salt of the earth” that we are called as disciples of Christ to be. And their feet are set on the road that, with the grace and providential care of God, will lead them to eternal happiness.