Why does Classical Education Matter?

Classical education is more than simply a pattern of learning; it’s a holistic learning approach that is focused on forming a well-trained mind that can discern goodness, truth, and beauty - and act accordingly.

To the classical mind, all knowledge is interrelated. 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.

It emphasizes virtue, defined as a disposition which inclines us to the good for which we are made. Classical education understands that character and virtue are of paramount importance—they influence every aspect of a person’s life. Teaching with wisdom and virtue in mind (rather than knowledge alone), alters the focus of education to who we become, not simply what we know.

The end goal is not that students would simply acquire information, but that they would gain the tools of learning and aspire to wisdom - and that they would enjoy doing so! Classically educated students emerge as critical thinkers who can serve in whatever capacity they are called and in whatever area most interests them.

“The beauty of the classical curriculum,” writes classical schoolmaster David Hicks, “is that it dwells on one problem, one author, or one epoch long enough to allow even the youngest student a chance to exercise his mind in a scholarly way: to make connections and to trace developments, lines of reasoning, patterns of action, recurring symbolisms, plots, and motifs.”

SCCS is Classically Christian

We teach all subjects as parts of an integrated whole with the Scriptures at the center (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Colossians 1:15-20).

SCCS is not only classical but notably Christian. This means that the things of God and His Word serve as the lens through which our students look at their lessons, their education, and their world.

As R.L. Dabney stated, “Every line of true knowledge must find its completeness in its convergence to God, even as every beam of daylight leads the eye to the sun. If religion be excluded from our study, every process of thought will be arrested before it reaches its proper goal.”

Classical Christian education at SCCS is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by focusing on goodness, truth, and beauty under the Lordship of Jesus.

It can be helpful to view Classical Christian Education at SCCS as a combination of approach, curriculum, and development of virtue:

Our students learn by asking questions, reading original texts, and using logic to reach educated conclusions. We teach our students in the way that aligns with their natural development, encouraging a love of learning that equips them well beyond the classroom.

We use integrated interdisciplinary learning and participate in the "Great Conversation" by studying ideas that have stood the test of time. This ongoing conversation of great minds down through the ages is facilitated by reading rich, primary-source material that can be unpacked again and again.

We focus on cultivating virtue. With the Gospel at the center, our students learn stewardship, honor, wisdom, and self-control. Character and virtue are of paramount importance—they influence every aspect of a person’s life.