Classical Christian Education and S.T.E.M.
Parents who are looking into educational options for their children have a lot of information to sort through. They want their students to grow as well-rounded individuals and to be set up well to find a relevant job after school. As they undertake the daunting task of comparing educational methods and environments, parents often end up trying to compare detailed curricula and extracurricular activities to help determine the “best school.” While curriculum and programs matter, what matters most is the ultimate purpose of education.
“What we call ‘classical education’ was before the late 1800s simply ‘education,’” said Christopher Perrin, a national leader in the classical education movement and founder and CEO of Classical Academic Press. As education reform became increasingly pragmatic and job-oriented, “The questions in education went from ‘What kind of citizen do we want?’ to ‘What do they need to be able to do, and how can we prepare them for that?’” (Keith Nix, Board member of ACCS and the Society of Classical Learning (SCL).
Let’s consider together: Does a Classical Christian Education properly equip my child in a modern world that emphasizes STEM readiness? Let’s give thought to some common questions and misconceptions.
Classical education does not prioritize the humanities over the sciences.
A classical education is by design well-rounded and balanced, with an emphasis on the verbal arts of the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and the mathematical arts of the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy). Academics reflect this rigorous instruction in mathematics, literature, science, and history. In fact, one distinctive is that all knowledge is interrelated to a classical mind. The curriculum uses history as its organizing principle, beginning with the ancients and progressing forward to the moderns in history, science, literature, art, and music. This time-tested framework results in a more comprehensive understanding of subject matters and the valuable skill of making connections between past events and current information in all subject matters.
Classical education deepens science learning.
While STEM curriculum is heavily focused on the application of science, a classical presentation of science is focused on the principles behind the science. Michael Berndt, a classical teacher of astronomy and physics, speaks about why it is important to study science in a rigorous way: “Science is really about the knowledge in and of itself, not of the production. And so, a curriculum which is ordered primarily towards production actually misses science. Oddly, I think that the STEM method is not properly science, it’s the application of science.”
Classical education produces scientific minds.
Classically trained students are taught to study the “why” of science and math, which creates critical thinkers and true scientists. These well-trained minds are able to thrive when the techniques and information of fields change because they understand how to learn, not just what was important at a specific time.
David Kalt, the CEO of an online brokerage firm, gave testimony to this fact in the Wall Street Journal: “It’s very simple. A well-rounded liberal arts degree establishes a foundation of critical thinking. Critical thinkers can accomplish anything. Critical thinkers can master French, Ruby on Rails, Python or whatever future language comes their way. A critical thinker is a self-learning machine that is not constrained by memorizing commands or syntax.”
Let us not forget, the time-tested methods of classical education produced some of the greatest scientists, inventors, and mathematicians in history - like da Vinci, Copernicus, Darwin, Einstein, Aristotle, Aquinas, and Jefferson.
Classical Education prepares your student for a lifetime.
Seattle Classical Christian School believes that a classical education under God's love and authority builds the foundation for human flourishing. This human flourishing includes succeeding in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Some predict that a large portion of jobs that will exist in the next generation years don’t exist now. In other words, “we need to educate students who are nimble, adaptable, agile, and innovative—the fruit of a classical education”.
Steve Jobs said it best: “technology alone is not enough…it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our hearts sing.”
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