Classical Christian education

Classical Christian education is a learning approach popularized in the late 20th century that emphasizes biblical teachings and incorporates a teaching model from the classical education movement known as the Trivium, consisting of three parts: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. It is taught internationally in hundreds of schools with about 40,000 students, as of 2024.

According to Douglas Wilson this method of instruction was developed by early Christians as part of the Seven Liberal Arts.^[1] Wilson's writings and the Logos School he founded have been cited as being influential in reviving the Trivium and fueling a modern educational movement, primarily among American Protestants.^[2][3][4]

Classical Christian education is characterized by a reliance on classical works by authors such as Homer, Democritus, Sophocles, Plato, Plotinus, Josephus, Dante, Pythagoras and Shakespeare, and an integration of a Christian worldview into all subjects.^[5] In addition, classical Christian education exposes students to Western Civilization's history, art and culture, teaching Latin as early as the second grade and often offering several years of Greek.^[3] Since the 1980s, according to Andrew Kern, the classical education movement has "swept" America.^[6] It started with three schools founded in 1980 to 1981: Cair Paravel-Latin School (Topeka, Kansas), Trinity School at Greenlawn (South Bend, Indiana), and Logos School (Moscow, Idaho).^{[citation needed]}