Recently I was asked the question, how does a classical education differ from traditional education? Implied in the question was the notion that the modern public education is in fact, the traditional manner in which the human person has been educated throughout history. It dawned on me, in that moment, that the modern public school is an innovation in terms of education.
For most of history, human beings in Western Civilization have been educated by means of the Classical Liberal Arts or the Artes Liberales, meaning the art of educating free men. It is a holistic education that seeks to reach the fullness of the human person, so that, he might flourish. Traditionally, the components of the Artes Liberales were both academic and moral.
The practice of educating free men began in Ancient Greece. In the Republic, Plato argued that education should encompass not just the pursuit of academic excellence but moral excellence as well. He stressed that when the “amusements” of children are not well regulated whether at home or at school, they may become “disorderly.”
Therefore, it becomes impossible for the education to produce great hearted citizens with respect for justice and order. On the other hand, he stated that:
“If children play on the right lines from the beginning and learn orderly habits from their education, these produce quite the opposite results, following and fostering their growth and correcting any previous flaws there may have been in the society.”
The notion that education has a moral component was not abandoned by the Romans who preserved the Artes Liberals. One of the greatest texts on the education of children was written by Quintillian, called “The Orators Education.” In the first pages he discusses the education of the perfect orator and he says. “We therefore demand of him not only exceptional powers of speech, but all the virtues of character as well…the man who can really play his part as a citizen, who is fit for the management of public and private business, and who can guide cities by his counsel, give firm basis by his laws, and put them right by his judgements, is surely no other than our orator.”
The Medievals followed the Romans in their preservation of the Artes Liberales, adding to it theology. Building on the intrinsic link between the family and education, fleshed out by Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas said that “a parent is the principle of generation, of education, of learning and whatever pertains to the perfection of human life.”
We take our mission seriously, it is derived from thousands of years of thought, wisdom, and tradition. We invite you as parents to help us to accomplish it. You have been given the authority to educate your children by nature. They learn how to use a fork under your expert tutelage and how to speak their first words at your feet. When they reach a certain age, you entrust that responsibility to us. We believe like Plato, Aristotle, Quintilian and St. Thomas Aquinas that “man as man reaches fullness of being through knowledge.” Not just any knowledge, but the sincere pursuit of objective truth, goodness, and beauty.
It is a great joy for us to accompany your student on the journey to discover the wisdom necessary to become a great hearted man or woman and a joyful citizen in a peaceful society. As we continue to grow and cultivate this relationship with both you and your student, always remember, that everything we do whether in the classroom or out, is ordered to the elevation of the soul of your student, to a participation in the wisdom of the West and ultimately, their human flourishing.
Sincerely,
Mr. Garcia
