Classical Mythology
The Gist of Classical: Every generation begins as barbarians and needs to be civilized by the greatest minds humanity has produced.
Part of my How Homeschool? Series.
When your father dies and you are struggling with your emotions, calculus won’t help you. When you exercise your civic duty to vote, mastering the org chart of government won’t inspire you. When you dream your greatest ambitions, a standardized test can’t tell you the righteous path. Classical education aspires to provide such answers from the deep well of timeless wisdom, to give your children a chance to contemplate and pursue a good life.
Classical will also appeal to you if you find attractive the idea that your children should learn different dialects of ancient Greek to read Aristotle and the New Testament in the original. And also Latin to dig into the strategic insights of Caesar’s commentaries. The double fluency will of course help your children with English, in which they will read Shakespeare and Mark Twain, John Locke and the Federalist Papers.
Figure 1. Don’t forget German to read Austrian economics in the original.
Your children will also learn all the other subjects of traditional school but with higher standards and within the context of a coherent worldview that arises from an engagement with the foundational texts of Western civilization. History is Classical education’s backbone, and, in one popular variant, every four years a child goes through all of it, from prehistoric to modernity, with scientific subjects tied to their historic discovery period, contemporary literature to be read, etc. The ambitions of Classical tend to be very rigorous and, ultimately, Classical education attempts to cultivate virtuous citizens who are equipped to understand and engage with the ideas that have shaped history and continue to influence contemporary society.
Figure 2. Ironically, one of the better representations of Classical education in fiction might be the future’s Shakespeare-adoring Jean-Luc Picard. But maybe by the 24th century more people will realize the benefits of Classical! Otherwise, you could plausibly expect your favorite aristocrats in works like Lord of the Rings to have received a Classical education. Ironically in a different way, Classical education also gives a classy edge to villains like Hans Gruber (ChatGPT even suggested Hannibal Lecter, whose refined tastes included serving on a symphony board prior to capture).
Most modern Classical education also has a “trivium” theory of development which dictates that children from age 6 to 10 should memorize facts and basics like grammar while precisely copying by hand the greatest words ever written to get a feel for the English language. In one variant, every week, children might go to the library to check out one book on science, one book on history, another on art, a biography, a practical how to, a classic novel, an imaginative storybook, and a book of poetry. From age 11 to 14, they learn formal logic, cause and effect, and critical thinking across subjects. And from age 15 to 18 teenagers learn rhetoric and how to effectively communicate (with a strong encouragement to focus on speech and debate).
But, oddly, the “Trivium” appears to involve Classical mythology. The “trivium” originally referred not to ancient different developmental stages for children but described, in the Middle Ages, a process for college students to go through (before moving on to the quadrivium of such exclusively essential topics as arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.) The English crime novelist Dorothy Sayers appears to have popularized the current version in the 1940s and I don’t know that it has been well-studied for empirical results, though it is in widespread practice. E.D. Hirsch’s research does reinforce the academic value of early fact accumulation but the claim that children love memorization does not reflect my own childhood memory. Of course, you don’t have to pursue the trivium yourself - the Hillsdale Classical franchise considers the Trivium only an interesting analogy - but know that most Classical advocates believe it is an essential feature, some insist on an extreme fidelity to its phases, and some make faulty claims about its origins.
Figure 3. This mythology is not quite as exciting as Hercules and the Nemean lion.
Relatedly, Classical advocates sometimes claim that their method is what was used to teach the great heroes of the past. This is probably most true in the sense that earlier generations had fewer modern books (and alternative entertainment) to waste time with and, especially when books were expensive, great literature was more likely to be the only works justifiable. Early Americans were taught literacy as children to be able to read the Bible and perhaps an additional primer and then apprenticed; very few children went through a rigorous civilizational survey. That being said, as institutional schools developed, they had a Classical flavor, attempting to orient children to the virtues of the ancient world, often at the expense of modern (often contemporaneously developing) science. And that emphasis eventually led to a decline in Classical popularity as parents wanted their children “prepared” for the modern world.
Importantly, Classical education is a critique of Traditional school’s humanities education and has much less to say about math and science; indeed modern Classical appears to have just conceded workforce/college preparation and extended its curriculum to match Traditional. Although Classical has grander aspirations, many parents may just think of Classical as an easy way to do Traditional without modern liberal baggage (they won’t have to carefully sift through the entire curriculum and determine which modern books are okay, they just presume against anything after a certain year). For better and worse, Classical is an all-subjects approach that is now a variant of traditional school, including music and arts appreciation, naturally meaning Mozart and Michelangelo, that may not reflect everyone’s priorities, including the students’.
An indisputably ancient teaching tool is most famous for its use in law school and weirdly is not always the central feature (or even part!) of Classical education: the Socratic method. Rather than lecture (and perhaps take questions at the end), the Socratic method insists that the teacher ask questions of students to test and guide their understanding. I remember experiencing it at Vanderbilt law school and wondering why it was not more broadly used; if nothing else, it is an extreme incentive to do the reading before class!
Figure 4. Just be sure to avoid hemlock.
An alternate name for Classical education is a “Great Books” approach, which emphasizes the desirability of exposing children directly to primary sources as written by the sharpest people who have ever lived. Which sounds great. But while original works carry undeniable historical significance, they may not always provide the clearest instruction or the most accessible content for learners new to the subjects (one variant of Classical called Thomas Jefferson Education goes so far as to suggest teaching geometry through Euclid’s original work and physics through Newton’s). But the trouble is getting the right interpretive source that doesn’t too much dumb down or misinterpret the original. I’ll freely admit that I am a prolific reader of books who would not want to read through many of these Classical curations - but perhaps that’s because I did not get a Classical education myself! Then again, Mark Twain defined a classic book as “something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read”
So how would time be organized in a Classical homeschool? The Well Trained Mind includes suggestions, from 4 hours of academics in 2nd grade to 7.5 hours in tenth grade (though it also says not everyone will do everything.) In tenth grade, that’s divided between 10 hours per week on history and reading great books; 5+ hours per week for math, though the mathematically disinclined can “rest on their oars” and do less over time; 4+ hours on science; 4 hours a week on art and music; 3 hours per week of debate prep and then more in actual debating as an extracurricular; 3-6 hours on classical and modern foreign languages; 3 hours per week on polishing grammar, and an unspecified amount of time on religion. In 11th grade, they can specialize in an interest for 2 to 3 hours a week.
This is only one variant of classical - and while it may look recognizable versus a traditional school day, it’s important to realize that most homeschoolers who just try to do the traditional school day at home get done much faster, so this really is a lot of work, comparatively (though it involves no additional “homework”). But it’s also extremely important to note that, in practice, many (perhaps most) parents who claim to pursue “classical” education don’t actually pursue the rigor associated with its purest form - e.g. how many Classical graduates are trilingual? Or even fluently bilingual? Or, more fundamentally, intimately familiar with ancient events, ideas, personalities and able to relate them to the contemporary and personal? I don’t get the impression that elite colleges disproportionately accept the Classically educated and some Classical institutions I know certainly don’t expect a large part of their student body to go to the best. Interestingly, I’ve also found it more likely that serious intellectuals try to arrange Classical education for their children than actually experienced it themselves. With a different lens, “good citizenship” is hard to measure but I wouldn’t be surprised if graduates of Classical institutions are more conservative than Traditional peers, but how much of that is inherited from their parents? And the homeschooled generally are more conservative than institutional peers.
If I were to preserve the essence of Classical education but steelman it for my own preferences, I would construct a curriculum around the greatest minds from my perspective. Though “Classical” education’s current form is somewhat newfangled, it is certainly true that yesteryear’s educated person would laugh at the average, comparative knowledge of whom we call educated today. I would take the Hillsdale Classical approach of minimizing the Trivium and maximizing the Socratic method (though perhaps more direct instruction for the very young, if permissible). While The Well-Trained Mind offers a well-organized chronology and acknowledges the biographies of great men, its equal division of time across four historical periods does not align with my impression of the importance or educational relevance of each era. My history curriculum would place a much heavier weight on the time period since the industrial revolution, since average human life didn’t change much before then, but I would be sympathetic to exploring in depth the values of the ancients, the meaning of the Bible, and the theology of the Reformation (which Reformers would say was merely a callback to the original!). Classical shines in its rejection of political correctness, which is part of the reason why it is so comparatively popular among conservatives (another part is just general, perhaps unfounded, nostalgia) and I would select biographical portraits that reflected actual accomplishment. And if I were totally dictating the curriculum based on what I found important: why shouldn’t a child learn about the modern era through Antonin Scalia and Milton Friedman?
But how might other homeschooling approaches critique and comment on Classical? (Note that this is imaginative speculation, not quotation, from each point of view)
Evidence-based Traditional: Classical is a recognizable variant but it unnecessarily indulges primary sources with a fantasy ideology of child development that hasn’t been well-established by research. Latin only arguably helps kids with English and is rarely taught with the best evidence-based approach (immersion) because it has no native speakers. The Socratic method may work for law school, but Direct Instruction is what clearly, definitively works for children. Reading ancient literature to manage your emotions is speculative; cognitive behavioral therapy works. You can be very (empirically) rigorous and aligned without going Classical, though Classical resources may be worth consulting. Certainly don’t think because your approach is “Classical” that it is necessarily rigorous. For better or worse, modern cultural literacy does not require you to distinguish between Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, so why bother?
Charlotte Mason specifically designed her method in the late 1800s to respond to contemporary “Classical” education, which was considered thorough but empty. Classical overemphasizes an abstract civic virtue rather than good daily habits that form Victorian morals. In disturbing ways, Classical actually worships reason - but intelligent people can reason their way to all kinds of badness. Classical underestimates younger children, turning them into memorization monkeys rather than trusting them to process rich literature and put it into their words. Their decontextualized fact memorization regime results in cramming and forgetting; instead, children should slow down and concentrate on the bigger story unfolding. The Trivium was clearly popularized by someone who didn’t spend much time with children. Classical is too intense in its expectations and hours, neglecting the continuous renewal offered in reading and time in nature and how children can be well prepared without being overwhelmed.
Montessori has an entirely different theory of children’s development that does not mesh with Classical’s Trivium. Classical starts years too late, wrongly prioritizes teacher-dictated learning over self-directed learning, and overestimates reading and lecture at the expense of sensorial experiences. Integrating history with other topics is wise but Classical doesn’t start early enough: it overemphasizes humanity at the expense of the universe. If you want inspiration from Italy, trust in Maria Montessori, not Quintilian.
Unschoolers: Classical is a Roman dictatorship that calls out for a Brutus to free children from its comprehensive rule. Do you speak Latin, spend your free time listening to Mozart, and only read primary sources? Even if you say yes, why expect and require everyone to? Some people like jazz! Classical requires what should be an invitation; it mandates more than one needs and therefore unnecessarily alienates and aggravates kids who don’t have an interest. Education should be more like a museum you want to visit because it offers exquisite exhibits to be experienced at pleasure than the mandatory field trip organized by your teachers that insisted on keeping everyone close together and only seeing what they wanted to and had time for (the Etruscan pottery section).
Figure 5. According to unschoolers, Classical education is the Coliseum where spontaneity and personal interest go to die.
Specialists: Classical compounds the opportunity costs of Traditional by spending even more time and effort on a broad range of subjects. Certainly you should consult the best minds ever on what your kids are trying to master but all else is a distraction. Even if you’re trying to make your kid a national debate champion, an achievement Classical educators might aspire to, Mozart and Michelangelo are a waste of time. Latin is only good if you’re trying to win spelling bees. The Olympics may originate in antiquity but specialists are more likely to take home the gold today.
PhD Dad Art Robinson: Classical education once provided the most rigorous thinking available - but that was before the discovery and articulation of advanced science and math. Now intellectual rigor is better achieved through wrestling with STEM, though texts of the 19th century are good to study for their better vocabulary and closer aligned values. Classical also engages in oversimplified pretend science in their “grammar stage” rather than first building a foundation of mathematical understanding. Fact accumulation that merely trusts and parrots is no substitute for actual understanding - and elementary children can actually understand math, which should be the focus. Classical dramatically underestimates the student’s ability to self-teach, which is the ultimate preparation for adulthood, and is in fact how some of our most famous thinkers, including many Founders of the United States, got their education. And because it tries to do even more than Traditional school at home, it exacerbates the risk of parental burnout.
PhD Dad Bryan Caplan: Classical is even more esoteric than traditional school, a disaster for the non-academically inclined, and even the nerds might not like (and certainly don’t need) everything required. Struggling only through primary sources in unfamiliar, old-timey language may not be the ideal prescription for learning (or loving books). Classical also claims to be academically comprehensive but very often neglects more modern but important fields like economics and statistics.
Mentors: if you can’t surround your kids with really sharp adults socially and academically, reading the writing of really sharp adults is a very good start. But it’s only a start. The good news is that Classical education circles tend to attract adults with more intellectual ambition, especially in the humanities, and they can form a base for mentorship. And the Socratic method is a phenomenal way of ensuring that children and adults are in a constant dialogue of mutual understanding - though don’t neglect the Oxford Tutorial as a similar but more recent model. And certainly: Don’t limit yourself to the Classically inclined or professional teachers - broadly consider who your best options are to serve as adult mentors to your kids. While plenty of historic tutoring was devoted to Classical-style education, the very best tutors were attentive to each individual child’s strengths and interests and played to those.
Cyberschoolers: Classical education is inherently static and anachronistic; what makes you think that medieval “dark age” education can’t be improved upon? Knowledge is cumulative, average IQ has been steadily going up over time, are we really so sure that old = better? Classicists swoon over Aristotle, whose scientific misconceptions reigned for over a millennium, but what about physics lectures from Richard Feynman? Their enthusiasm for the ancient overshadows recent genius, especially outside the humanities. Classicists also probably underutilize modern technology, even to teach things they find important.
Bible first: While a great many Classical education approaches claim Christian features, a constant Classical danger is that it emphasizes pagan values that can confuse or undermine your central goal. The fact that many Classical schools explicitly claim that their approach can be and is separated from religion should put Christians on guard about secularism. Even Christian Classical schools have a disproportionate enthusiasm for Latin - why not for the languages that God actually revealed His Word in, Greek and Hebrew? That being said, admirably, many parents attracted to Classical have the right Christian desires and they can and should work to ensure that their program prioritizes God above all else. Christian Classical approaches also are more likely to feature church history than just about any other approach.
Pragmatists: What does Cicero have to say about how to fix a car? How much employment is there in Renaissance Fairs? Will Latin help you interact with Latinos? Classical can be even less practical than Traditional. There are some diamonds in the rough here that should be respun as common sense, like stoic insight that you can’t control everything that happens to you but you can control your reaction, but they don’t require the whole Classical program. Better to actually live Roman virtues: avoid self-indulgence and idleness and get to work.
Figure 6. The solution, ipso facto, is just to take Uber.
Unit studies: Classical makes an admirable attempt to connect the subjects through history but still limits understanding of how everything connects everywhere always, especially with respect to science. It only nods to interdisciplinary learning, and doesn't actually teach it. It also typically oversamples Western civilization at the expense of philosophical insights of the East. And it underestimates the potential to learn by doing, the creativity of using the wider world as a classroom.
Pioneers: The blood and sandals of ancient times can fascinate boys and Classical is admirably open to politically incorrect great men theory of history - but it requires way too much cooping up inside to get through things and is over-attentive to humanities versus math and science. We need Roman practicality, not Greek fluffery!
Have I missed an important critique of Classical? Let me know.
My own takeaway: introduce your children to the best minds you’ve ever come across. I realize that as a parent I can dictate every aspect of my homeschooling curriculum but I am hesitant to do so because I would not want to follow the entire curriculum dictated by almost anyone else, including my parents or perhaps especially the teachers I had growing up. But I would be delighted if my children (or others’!) shared my interests and I could help direct them based on my own judgment. I do currently plan to have some perhaps unusual requirements (e.g. economics) but I also want to lean more into interest than I think the essence of Classical education would idealize or the comprehensiveness of it would allow.
One might guess that Classical would especially appeal to me, a conservative who, though educated in a traditional school, chose to be both a Latin student and a debater. And the originalist in me does appreciate the idea of learning Biblical Greek but the pragmatist in me resists - an uneasy compromise might be Latin, which is a great potential AP to take ahead of college because there are no native speakers to compete with. But what will my own children be interested in? Classical education is more thoughtful and systematic about history than almost any other approach and, as a history lover, I appreciate it, though I probably will take a different angle for my children who love it as much as I (this is heresy to many, but if a child consistently finds history boring or dreadful, I don’t know that it’s as necessary to push as say, math). Perhaps most importantly for those who do not choose to educate Classically: know that there are more publishers and service-providers for this method than most others and that their offerings may be worth sampling. Some of the parents I most respect choose to educate their children Classically and it may be, as Margaret Thatcher believed, one of the best base models for the public at large.
Figure 7. ChatGPT’s impression of the “most stereotypical student of Classical education.”
Further reading would include:
The classic guide to Classical homeschooling - and like the pedagogy, it is rigorous, articulate, exhaustive, putting kids on a firm foundation of the West’s greatest hits from age 6 to 18. It is one of the best books I’ve read about homeschooling, though I did not always agree with it. Its main feature is to try to both impart particular knowledge and order it in a way that a child can understand everything in context. There is also a related website with additional resources, including a community forum.
An important essay from a Hillsdale history professor. Generally, Hillsdale is a great resource for doing a Classical education at home and their reading list is excellent.
“What do we not find in the trivium and the quadrivium? History, government, economics (which had not even been invented yet), and ethics: the very disciplines that are central to the ancient and, later, the Enlightenment efforts to live a good and happy life in civil society.”
“No one writing on education in the eighteenth century took the trivium as a guide. Rather, the purpose of education for the Founders was in the broadest sense both humane and political. The Founders insisted upon training the mind in the disciplines of language, mathematics, the natural sciences, and, above all, history in order to impart the learning and character necessary for self-governing citizens in a republic. They looked at medieval learning as pedantic, monkish, and not worthy of a free man. They did not shy away from using the word ‘useful’ in describing education, meaning useful for the man and the citizen.”
“The trivium often confuses teachers in a school when it is used too stringently. Elementary teachers are led to believe that because they are operating at the grammar stage they are not allowed to ask students a question expecting anything but a fact spouted back or to have anything resembling a discussion. While it is true that having a discussion with first graders is hard, by the time the students reach third grade, they should be capable of short discussions that show insights into literature, history, science, and so on”
Memoria Press: this is one example of a publisher that caters to Classical preferences and this specific one is used as a “spine” for a homeschooling family that I think does an especially good job.
Several families I respect use Classical Conversations; the book introduction to this approach is the Core
Great Books of the Western World: there are various lists that you might work off, but this one is probably the most famous, a project by the University of Chicago in the mid-twentieth century that sold tens of thousands of copies. My family still has a version from Harvard that my grandfather procured. UChicago did update their list in 1990 but for many the original publication date’s inherent exclusion of anything modern is a feature. Other lists include John Senior’s appendix of the 1,000 books that everyone should have read in the Death of Christian Culture and the Saint John reading list.
Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning is a riff on Dorothy Sayers’ original essay. A learned, well-footnoted case for Classical education from a Reformed perspective. Says the problem with schools isn’t ignorance, it’s stupidity. “One of the great ironies among modern evangelicals is the fact that many have higher and stricter standards for their children's babysitters than they do for their children's teachers. Is a baby-sitter needed? She should be a Christian, and a reliable one. She should be known to the family, or highly recommended by someone who is. And for what task? To keep Johnny safe and dry until bedtime and then to tuck him in."
Classical Education in History and An Introduction to Classical Education give interesting overviews.
What else should someone read if they are trying to do Classical home education?
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