Reforming Classical Education

We are now in the third generation of the great educational awakening often called the "classical Christian education movement." As with all successful movements, rival visions for its future direction have emerged, and fundamental questions beg for answers. Many hail classical education as a panacea for the intellectual and moral degradation of modernity. Others champion it above contemporary education by arguing that it ultimately produces greater career success. Others promise it will create profound thinkers by exposing children to great literature. But will reading Plato really train a Christian child in virtue? Will learning Latin ready them for success in any field-and is that even something for which we should ready them? And literature is well and good, but why doesn't classical education seem to say much about the sciences?The essays in this volume address these questions and more, exploring the issue of what a distinctly Protestant form of classical education may look like today. Christian educational renewal undoubtedly involves bringing out treasures old-and there remain some which are still neglected. Yet renewal must also be open to treasures new, as we creatively respond to the challenges and circumstances of our time.