Classical Christian Education Explained: David Goodwin Interview
Rediscovering Ancient Wisdom: What Classical Christian Education Offers Modern Students
This post is based on our recent Educational Awareness podcast episode featuring David Goodwin, co-author of the New York Times bestseller "Battle for the American Mind" and President of the Association of Classical Christian Schools.
In an era where American education faces mounting challenges, an ancient approach is gaining renewed attention. Classical Christian education, rooted in methods that have shaped Western civilization for centuries, offers a compelling alternative to progressive educational models. But what exactly does this approach entail, and could it hold keys to addressing our current educational crisis?
The Foundation: More Than Just Another Educational Method
Classical Christian education isn't simply a different way of organizing curriculum—it's a fundamentally different philosophy of learning. As David Goodwin explains, this approach views education as the cultivation of wisdom and virtue, where knowledge goes far deeper than mere information retention.
"Knowledge for classical educators is different," Goodwin notes. "It specifically deals more with understanding rather than just information. If you know something about a tree or a horse, we're interested in all the dimensions of that—experiential, mimetic learning through imitation, or direct instruction."
This holistic approach to knowledge creates what educators call "poetic knowledge"—understanding that engages not just the intellect but the whole person.
A Day in the Life: What Makes Classical Christian Schools Different
The Elementary Years: Building Strong Foundations
Classical Christian schools take a markedly different approach to early education. Phonics instruction is paramount—no whole word learning methods here. Students develop fine motor skills and an appreciation for beauty through extensive cursive handwriting and even calligraphy work.
Literature selection focuses heavily on classic children's works from the 19th and 20th centuries: Pinocchio, Robin Hood, Arthurian legends, and authors like C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald. Aesop's fables and various myths round out the reading curriculum, providing rich material for developing both literacy and moral imagination.
Grammar instruction follows structured programs with recitations and sentence diagramming, while Latin typically begins in third grade. Why Latin so early? It's not just about language—it's about understanding the structure of language itself, since Latin's inflected nature helps students grasp grammatical concepts that enhance their English comprehension.
The Memory Advantage
One striking feature of classical education is its emphasis on memorization. Students learn math facts through speed drills, memorize poetry, recite historical facts through songs and chants, and even employ ancient memory techniques like memory palaces used in Greece and Rome.
This focus addresses a real crisis in modern education. As Goodwin observed, "We see quite a decline in students being able to recall their basic math facts right now." Classical schools combat this through intensive memory work that gets students "off their fingers as quickly as possible" with rapid-fire math fact drills.
The Three Pillars: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric
Classical education organizes learning around the Trivium—three paths to knowledge:
Grammar Stage (Elementary): Students absorb information and learn the fundamental rules of language and mathematics
Logic Stage (Middle School): Students learn to analyze, critique, and understand the relationships between different ideas
Rhetoric Stage (High School): Students learn to express knowledge eloquently and persuasively
This progression follows natural developmental stages, working with rather than against how children's minds naturally grow.
Beyond the Classroom: Character Formation
Classical Christian education doesn't compartmentalize academics and character development. The cultivation of virtue—moral, natural, and intellectual—is woven throughout the educational experience.
Students develop moral virtues through the study of literature that presents clear examples of good and evil. Natural virtues emerge through nature studies where students might spend time drawing leaves in intricate detail, observing carefully before learning about photosynthesis. Intellectual virtues like precision, observation, and understanding develop through rigorous academic work.
The Assessment Question: How Do You Measure Success?
Rather than relying solely on standardized tests, many classical Christian schools are moving toward descriptive assessments written by teachers each quarter. These evaluations address not just academic progress but character development and virtue cultivation.
When standardized testing is used, schools often choose assessments aligned with their educational philosophy, such as the Classic Learning Test, which uses reading passages more consistent with classical education's emphasis on great books and complex texts.
Addressing Practical Concerns
Special Education Needs
Classical Christian schools, being private institutions, often lack the extensive special education resources of public schools. However, many have developed specialized tracks within their mainstream programs. The intensive language focus, while challenging, often helps students with learning disabilities develop stronger skills than they might in less demanding environments.
The Training Challenge
For educators interested in classical methods, training opportunities exist through organizations like the Association of Classical Christian Schools, which offers conferences, online resources, and pedagogical training. Classical Academic Press provides additional resources through their Classical U program.
However, converting existing schools or teachers to classical methods proves challenging. Even established Christian schools attempting to transition to classical models often struggle, particularly when more than 20% of parents remain neutral or negative about the approach.
The Public School Question: Can This Model Transfer?
The question many ask is whether classical Christian education can work in public schools. Here, the challenges are significant. The Christian foundation isn't merely an add-on to classical education—it's integral to the entire approach. As Goodwin explains, "The pedagogical framework is based on Christianity, so it gets harder with our model."
Some charter schools attempt to adapt classical methods while navigating legal constraints around religious content. However, the fundamental difference in how classical education approaches knowledge and truth makes full implementation difficult in secular settings.
Looking Forward: School Choice as a Solution
The most promising development for classical Christian education may be the expansion of school choice programs. Eleven states currently have measures allowing parents to direct public funding toward private schools, including classical Christian institutions. This approach preserves the integrity of the classical model while making it accessible to more families.
Rather than trying to retrofit existing public schools, this path creates parallel educational structures that can serve families seeking alternatives to progressive educational models.
The Historical Context: Education's Forgotten Purpose
Understanding classical Christian education requires recognizing that separating education from Christianity is historically anomalous. Before 1900, attempting to educate without Christian foundations would have been "unimaginable," not just for moral reasons but because the entire approach to knowledge was different.
The liberal arts—the original meaning having nothing to do with modern political liberalism—were designed to liberate the mind to conform with reality, with what the Greeks called the logos. This same logos that John's Gospel identifies with Christ formed the foundation of Western education for over a millennium.
The Path Forward
For families interested in classical Christian education, resources are available at classicalchristian.org, which includes a school finder for the organization's 550 member schools serving 75,000 students nationwide. The Classical Difference magazine tells the stories of these schools and students, providing insight into this educational alternative.
As American education continues to face challenges, classical Christian education offers not just an alternative methodology, but a fundamentally different vision of what education should accomplish. Rather than merely preparing students for economic productivity, it aims to form human beings capable of wisdom, virtue, and truth—goals that have guided the best of Western education for millennia.
The question isn't whether this ancient approach can work in modern times—over half a million students in classical Christian schools worldwide demonstrate that it can. The question is whether enough parents and educators will choose this path to preserve and extend an educational tradition that has shaped the greatest achievements of Western civilization.
In an age of educational crisis, perhaps the way forward isn't innovation but restoration—recovering the timeless principles that once made education truly transformative.
