Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America

by Gene Edward Veith Jr., Andrew Kern

Classical The Movement Sweeping America examines the decline of American education and offers a solution. It is not more spending or a new and innovative program. Rather the solution, according to authors Gene Edward Veith, Jr. and Andrew Kern, is classical education. “America education cannot improve until we have a new theory of education. Fortunately, one exists,” Veith and Kern write. “An increasing number of schools and educators are returning to an approach to education that is the bedrock of Western  classical education.” Veith and Kern examine contemporary education theories that have failed during the 20th century. Among them are modernism, postmodernism, and multiculturalism. They in turn produced Whole Language, Goals 2000, School-to-Work, critical thinking and technology in the classroom. It is clear that these approaches are not working. In Classical Education , the authors examine six different approaches elementary and secondary schools use to tie the “3 Rs” to the moral and civic education of the Western tradition. They include Christian Classicism, which is advocated by the Association of Classical and Christian Schools; Democratic Classicism, which has been adopted by over 100 public schools; Moral Classicism, which is based on the idea that education is a path to virtue; and Liberating Classicism, Marva Collins’ program for minority children in poor neighborhoods that emphasizes phonics and character education. This revised and updated edition includes new chapters on classical education in Catholic schools and in the homeschooling movement. Veith and Kern also review the best liberal arts colleges in the U.S. that teach Western tradition and they provide a directory listing of organizations that work for a return to classical education.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching, Christian

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Gene Edward Veith Jr., is the Culture Editor of WORLD MAGAZINE. He was formerly Professor of English at Concordia University Wisconsin, where he has also served as Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. He is the author of numerous books, including Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture, The Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals, and God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life.

Postmodern Times received a Christianity Today Book Award as one of the top 25 religious books of 1994. He was named Concordia's Adult Learning Teacher of the Year in 1993 and received the Faculty Laureate Award as outstanding faculty member in 1994. He was a Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation in 1994-1995 and is a Senior Fellow with the Capital Research Center. He was given the layman’s 2002 Robert D. Preus Award by the Association of Confessional Lutherans as “Confessional Lutheran of the Year.”

Dr. Veith was born in Oklahoma in 1951. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1973 and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas in 1979. He has taught at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and was a Visiting Professor at Wheaton College in Illinois. He was also a Visiting Lecturer at the Estonian Institute of Humanities in Tallinn, Estonia. He and his wife Jackquelyn have three grown children and live in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview, though readers already familiar with things like The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home will likely be able to skip over large portions. To its credit, it does not focus exclusively on private schools or homeschooling, but considers the topic in a broad manner.

[Andrew Hoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful overview of the contemporary Classical Education movement. The edition that I read was a bit dated, but still relevant.

[Jody Bennon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm indebted to Andrew Kern and the CIRCE Institute for their inculcation of the ideals of classical education through this book and many resources available online. Kern and Veith make a broad sweep of the history of education in the Western world and the value of the classical tradition of education. What is the aim of education? What does it seek to produce within its students? What is the mark of success at the end of an educational path? The classical tradition maintains that education is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by nourishing the soul on truth, goodness and beauty by means of the seven liberal arts. Such an education will poise one to embody the ideals of liberty, virtue and self-governance as a thoughtful member of democracy. The discussion of this rich yet also introductory and it whet my appetite for deeper examination of this topic.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title I am reading is actually Classical Education: Toward the Revival of American Schooling but this is the same author so it must be the updated version. I read this book for my SIP in college but our church's school is moving in this direction and I want to make sure I understand it a bit better...it's been so long since my SIP days.

I read the first half since the last half is more on higher education. Very good read...probably will read it a few more times before it all really sinks in and I have a true understanding of Christian Classical Education

[Joel Everett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview to the idea of a Classical Education and a presentation of six difference Case Studies which apply the Classical model. There is a brief history of education in the States at the beginning and a discussion of the current state of Higher Learning, i.e. Colleges and Universities, at the end of the book. This book is a good corollary to Homeschooling Methods being a closer a look at the Classical Education method.

[Alexander Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of different applications of Classical education in the modern world. Chapter 9 was particularly interesting in cataloging the rise and fall of the liberal arts at the university level. However, their definition of the trivium (p. 12) is decidedly influenced by Sayers.

[Nathan G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its overview of the main branches of modern classical education is useful and worth having as a reference, but its presentation of classical pedagogy/philosophy is extremely shallow.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

finally some brave people are telling it like it is.

[Christopher Raffa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a stimulating and well thought out explanation of what “classical education” is, this is it.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinct. Descriptive.

After Perrin's Intro to Classical Education, this is the next best introduction to the movement.

B. Grizenko

[Christopher Rush · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this 3 stars more because of the necessity for generosity than for present-day benefits. I had to keep reminding myself while reading it this book is over a decade old, and thus a lot of their ideas on the newness and cutting-edginess of what was going on a fair amount of time ago is no longer quite so new or cutting edge (especially when its "newness" is a revitalization of ages-old time-tested educational techniques and values). The main disappointment for me was most of the book is a "here's what our buddies in the burgeoning field of classical education are doing," and not a "here's what classical education is, should be, and how to implement it in your school or family." If Andrew Kern and Gene Veith had actually spent more time telling us what classical education is and/or should be, this book would have been far better than it is. Perhaps, though, that is another facet of the book's comparative age: these are rather trustworthy fellows in this field, and so if they would tackle another updated version of this (or just write a new book), I'm sure it would be much better. Because it is so much given to "let us tell you how awesome our buddies are and their successes that far outshine your little school's piddlings," a great deal of this book is more irritating than encouraging (or interesting). True, Kern and Veith don't intend to sound like that, but that's how it comes across (especially if you've read some of the books by the people they highlight). Perhaps the most useful sections of the book today are the sections on homeschooling and colleges. Some of the resources for homeschoolers are still available (but, by this time, having grown in popularity and size, they are far more expensive - and probably awfully big for their britches - than they were when the book came out). The ideas on colleges are still relevant, though double-checking the schools' philosophies of education and course offerings are still a good idea. I was hoping this would be a better book than it was, but I'm sure when it came out it was much more useful. I suppose anyone thoroughly unfamiliar with classical education today could get a good deal of helpful information from this book, even if it is outdated (which is a sad thing to say about a book about classical education and its timelessness coming from such trustworthy fellows).

[Vincent Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors did a good job giving a sweeping overview of the classical education movement and what defines a classical education.Careful attention was given to putting names and faces to those laboring hard to bring the vision of a classical education to their communities. The distilation of the four essential components of a classical education is extremly helpful in understanding and articulating what a classical education is.

Overall this book is a good read for parents considering a classical education and an encouragement to those already implementing one. I borrowed this book from my county library but will definitely be getting a copy for my home library. It has strengthened and encouraged my desire to educate my children in the classical model. As Andrew Kern has said "a Classical Christian Education is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by nourishing the soul on the true, the good, and the beautiful (by means of the seven liberal arts) so that in Christ the student is better able to know God, glorify God, and to enjoy God forever." This to me seems a good aim for parenting and worthy of the responsibility God has given us as parents.

[Donald Linnemeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of interesting information, and they did a great job of summarizing the different classical education movements out there. Way too flowing a report on classical education, though. Not that it's not clearly helpful and effective, but the salvific language got a little grating.

Oh, and for some reason, this book was really badly edited. Not just the occasional out of place comma; at one point, there was a line break in mid-sentence. It actually got distracting at times.

[James King · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful overview and, though it is the third edition and has a copyright of 2015, some of the statistics and cases studies it cites are somewhat dated. What this book lacks is depth. Perhaps it was meant to simply be an overview, but even at that it is a little light on details.

I would certainly recommend this as a high level overview of classical education but don't expect it to be much more than that.

[Amber G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent and detailed overview of the different types of classical education. Although there may be differences in approaches, the themes all compliment one another. This book also gives good resources quotes. It's a good starting point for anyone considering a classical school or classical homeschooling.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great overview of various movements within classical model education.

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book but found that it was a bit basic

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the non-biased approach to discussing all the different types of classical education, including homeschooling.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for parents interested in Regents of Austin for their children. Very eye opening. Having not studied education this was very informative and worth while.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of the various approaches to classical education. I found the chapter on Marva Collins' inner-city school most inspiring.

[Austin Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good survey of the various educational backgrounds to the rise of classical education, its traditional basis, and its various expressions in primary/secondary schools and higher education.