Practical Paideia

by Lindsey Ralls

Chances are, at some point in the last week you told someone that your kids just started school and that it’s a classical school. And chances are, they probably asked you what that means. “

“Well… ” you began. And then it got kind of tricky. 

Is it about paideia? (You’re pretty sure you’ve heard that word somewhere.) Latin? The trivium…whatever that is? The uniforms? (Do uniforms make a school classical or just tidy?) Seniors going to Europe? Chapel? How do you put all of those things into one concise statement that won’t take an hour to explain?

If I had to define Classical Christian Education in ten words or less I would say that it teaches students what it means to be human.

Now, you’re probably thinking; I’ve met a fair number of humans that I certainly hope my kid does NOT turn out like! Fair point. I would respond by saying yes, but I bet no one ever taught them what it means to be human. 

No one challenged them, as our seventh graders were challenged this week, to read through the entire Torah – asking two deceptively simple questions: What does this passage tell you about God?’ and What does it tell you about humans?

No one introduced them to a novel like The Last Sin Eater, as our 8th graders encountered this week – asking them to imagine life in a world without a Savior—where one flawed human had to carry the weight of everyone’s sin.

No one differentiated between a primary and secondary source, like in 9th grade this week—helping them see that truth is best understood when you hear it from the source, from a real human who experienced it, not just a distant echo or subjective opinion.

No one ever asked them to articulate the essential components of the gospel and then share that with someone else (in Spanish and in the present-tense!), like what was required of our 10th graders this week. This assignment reminded them that while the Fall touches every human life, the hope of redemption and restoration are equally real.

No one ever explained to then what was explained to our juniors this week – that just as atoms are things we cannot see that make up the physical things we do see – so it is with our faith. Our entire human existence is rooted solely in what we cannot see, but we know it exists because we can see the evidence it produces. 

And no one pointed out, like was done with our seniors this week in a debate on Frankenstein, that “playing God” always ends badly. Only God has the ability to create human life; which is why we were created in His image – and why he called us, His creation, ‘very good’. 

So the next time someone asks you what makes Classical Christian Education different, you can just smile and say:

“It’s where my kids learn what it really means to be human.”