More than a Christian Veneer

 

In the 1990’s Marvin Olasky, editor at World Magazine, began editing a series of books on Christian worldview. These books included All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes, by Ken Meyers, and State of the Arts, by Gene Edward Veith (both of which are excellent). Each book in the series approached a  topic from a specifically Christian perspective. When I read Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning by Douglas Wilson in 2010, it was one of those "light bulb" moments. Revisiting that book recently, I was reminded why.  

I read the book having taught history in a government school for six years. I knew public education was mostly a farce but could not give a thorough explanation as to what should be done in response. Certainly I had ideas which I would usually discuss with my carpool companion as we rode to and from work. But they were essentially to restore rigor and discipline to the classroom. There was no cohesive philosophy of Christian education, just tweaks to the current system with plenty of Bible added.

Reading Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning was an oasis for me. The author, Douglas Wilson, not only had ideas of what Christian education should be, he put those ideas into practice. Wilson, longtime pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, helped to start Logos School in Moscow. He wanted to start a school that would be more than public education with a Christian veneer. He and the men of the church wanted an education that would nurture the soul. This is best expressed in the words of English poet John Milton. “The end then of learning is to repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of that knowledge to love him, to imitate him, to be like him, as we may the nearest by possessing our souls of true virtue, which being united to the heavenly grace of faith makes up the highest perfection.” That quote summarizes the message of this book.

It begins with a critique of public and secular education. The number of books critiquing government education are legion. Yet his critique goes deeper than the surface problems of education. He critiques the inherently secular nature of government schools from its inception. Since Horace Mann introduced the common school approach in the 1830’s, the goal of public education has been neutrality, aka secularism. He identifies this faulty foundation is the root of educational problems. Any education that is built purposely to exclude Christianity while retaining common “morals” will not only weaken but evolved into a poison that endangers all who breathe it. The suggested reforms of many Christian schools in the 1960’s and 70’s, which resemble the government approach while adding Bible verses, were not much of an improvement.

The second part of the book lays out the meaning of a Christian education. Education begins in the family, and that is the emphasis of the opening chapter of this section. Some expect public schools to fix bad behavior, but teachers have little influence in this area. Not even the best Christian schools can “fix” students who are not taught at home. On the other hand when families take responsibility for their children’s education, the school can fill its proper role, aiding parents in the growth and development of the child. The rest of the second portion considers how we view students (made in the image of God yet fallen in Adam) and philosophy of curriculum (holistically united under the Lordship of Christ).

The third portion is the longest. It explains how classical education is a remedy for the modern perspective on education and how it can be applied. It begins with a discussion of the meaning of the term “classical.” The deep appreciation for the past and what it can teach us undergirds classical education. The honor paid to our Greek and Roman forbears in literature, philosophy, and history is part of what drew me to classical education in the first place. Pastor Wilson warns against adopting everything taught by ancient pagans while retaining deep appreciation for the wisdom they possessed. This is essentially what makes classical Christian education different from other forms of Christian education. Both receive from the educational philosophies of the past. The difference is that classical Christian schools draw on the wisdom of three thousand years of educational philosophy. They openly announce their indebtedness to our pagan and Christian ancestors. Modern Christian schools draw on a mere two-hundred years of educational philosophy and pretend and do not acknowledge the sources from which they draw. Not only is the former a better way, it is more honest as well. This is not to say modern Christian schools try to mislead anyone; they simply have not analyzed their approach enough to connect the dots.

The third section is also introduced me to the concept of the Trivium from the perspective of English writer Dorothy Sayers. Sayers’ famous essay, “The Lost Tools of Learning” (also included as an appendix), explains the concepts of grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric stages of learning. While not getting into a detailed explanation, the grammar stage (K-6^th grades) is one where students are eager and best able to memorize material, but not mentally process it. The dialectic stage (7^th-9^th grades) is when students want to think and argue about the things they have learned. At this stage they are discovering rational thought and that thought can be sharpened through debate. The final stage is that of rhetoric (10th-12th grades), when students are usually growing in their ability to express themselves. This ability is sharpened through greater emphasis on writing and speech. Wilson outlines how a classical Christian school can be organized to facilitate these various stages of learning, using Logos School as an example. 

Many things have changed in the thirty years since this book was written. Logos is now one of the flagship schools for classical Christian education in the U.S. I had the privilege of serving as the pastor of a church just down the road from Moscow, Idaho and becoming more acquainted with Logos school. I can say they have maintained an excellent reputation in the world of Christian education and have preserved the vision written in this book.

That said, no movement remains the same. Since the time of publishing, other variations of this philosophy have arisen and schools can be found all across the country under the name “classical Christian” that may or may not look like Logos. This fact is not a sign of weakness though; it is a natural progression that any healthy movement takes. The book is clearly written and a good introduction to the philosophy of the movement as a whole. I will note that Pastor Wilson is a conservative Presbyterian; his denominational perspectives, though not prominent in the book, will not match up with readers from other Christian traditions. Nevertheless the book remains a good resource for those who know public schools are not what they should be but know that the generic local Christian school isn't enough.