Newspapers are filled with stories about poorly educated children, ineffective teachers, and cash-strapped school districts. In this greatly expanded treatment of a topic he first dealt with in Rediscovering the Lost Tools of Learning, Douglas Wilson proposes an alternative to government-operated school by advocating a return to classical Christian education with its discipline, hard work, and learning geared to child development stages. As an educator, Wilso… More >>
#1 by John Seel on July 2, 2010 - 12:27 pm
Doug Wilson is the father of the Protestant classical Christian school movement. This book is a mature statement of why classical Christian schools are needed and what they stand for. Many have been introduced to the movement through his book Rediscovering the Lost Tools of Learning (Crossway, 1991). This book is a far better starting point. One does not have to agree with Rev. Wilson on all points to appreciate the distinctive vision this book outlines. It is highly recommended and should be read by every teacher, parent, student, and board member associated with classical Christian schools. Once again, we owe Doug Wilson an enormous debt.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Midwest Book Review on July 2, 2010 - 1:17 pm
In The Case For Classical Christian Education, Douglas Wilson articulately and persuasively denounces the state that American public schools have fallen into with endemic and rampant illiteracy and below-grade literacy; poor performance in math, science, history, and geography; and even the prevalence of crime and drugs among the student population. The only way to improve things is to restore classical Christian education, which provides religious answers to the basic and profound matters of life, as well as the more mundane answers to practical everyday problems. The Case for Classical Christian Education is strongly recommended reading and a welcome contribution to the current national dialogue over public education reform and the role of the church sponsored school.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Adam T. Calvert on July 2, 2010 - 3:54 pm
I’m convinced.
Douglas Wilson makes a powerful case for a classical, Christian approach to education. He lays out for the reader how and why the government educational system is broken, and then shows how and why it cannot be fixed. Building from that, he proposes that the best solution for this problem is a classical Christian education.
After giving a brief review of how his school got started, he explains what Classical Christian education is. Having everything point to Christ as the unifying principle of education, the classical model is used because of its natural link of the Trivium (Grammar, Dialectic, Rhetoric) to the stages of child development (Wanting to know what things are – Grammar, to Wanting to know why things are and how they fit together – Dialectic, to Wanting to know how to express one’s self – Rhetoric).
His later chapters are more about how to start a classical Christian school. The only problem is that they seem out of place in a book set out to simply make ‘The Case for Classical Christian Education’. They give some details on how to start a classical, Christian school, but not nearly enough details if one wants to actually start one. In my opinion, it would be best if these chapters were expanded on and put into a separate book.
While I certainly don’t agree with everything Wilson says (mainly Covenant theology doctrine – like presupposing covenants made between the Godhead and God and Adam that are not recorded in Scripture, and making no distinction between Israel and the church, as I believe the Scriptures do), this book is certainly a must read for anyone who is curious about why the classical approach to education is the best.
I am further convinced of the classical approach to education, and just as convinced that any true education must be a Christian education. (For more on this, I highly recommend ‘Foundations of Christian Education’ by Berkhof and Van Til)
Rating: 4 / 5
#4 by S. Liu on July 2, 2010 - 5:09 pm
This is a book that seeks to present a broad overview of the classical Christian model of education.
Today’s America’s schools are in a mess. Violence and drug-usage at schools are no longer news. Learning to read and write gives people the tools to ask and answer questions in life. But our schools fail miserably in this basic task.
Douglas Wilson is strongly against government schools. He argues that all these happened because we falsely believe that schools can be neutral about morality. He says that education is basically religious. Education deals with the basic questions if life, and these questions demand religious answers. He proposed that we must turn to Christian classic education- in styles, philosophies, even curriculums, with an emphasis on the children development.
Has Wilson gone too far? It is your call. However, he will convince you that education is not the world’s savior. Education itself needs to be saved!
Rating: 3 / 5
#5 by Rod Zinkel on July 2, 2010 - 6:29 pm
Douglas Wilson’s book, The Case for Classical Education, is a challenge to Christian educators, true, but also a challenge to Christians. He writes of the Paideia of God, (the title of another of his books), which is more then the education of children, but the “enculturation,” which is providing more than biblical stories or platitudes, but living, worshipping, working, and thus teaching the Christian life. This is required of the teachers, the administrators, the board, and the parents.
The classical Christian education trains children in the faith, but also the Western civilization in which Christianity prospered. Wilson’s plan, put into practice at Logos, the elementary school he founded, is more demanding than the average public school’s. It is not vacation Bible school. Wilson mentions some of the unusual subjects, (by today’s standards), like Latin, Greek, Hebrew languages. He also writes of how subjects that are not specifically religious or irreligious are a part of the holistic Christian education, such as mathematics and athletics. He lays out the overall plan of the Trivium: grammar, dialectic (or logic), and rhetoric, as they determine the subjects; grammar from first grade to junior high, dialectic until senior high, then rhetoric. Grammar gives children basic knowledge to accumulate, dialectic is the arrangement of this knowledge by its interconnectedness, and rhetoric is the expression of the student’s conclusions.
Also useful for any adults interested in specific texts that are taught, or who would like to have an idea of what a classical education includes, a list of twenty-five books that represent the Western canon is included. If you are interested in some classical training yourself, most of these books are available online for free.
The book is a well-reasoned explanation of why many parents have quit, or are ready to quit, the status quo among public schools. It’s not to make it easier for the children; it’s to have a higher standard of academics, and some standards of God’s in the school.
Rating: 4 / 5