Wilson and Classical Education

[Doulos 2]

My wife and I are considering placing our children in a Christian Classical School. I've noticed that some of the curriculum has been edited by Doug Wilson and some of the contributers are FV. Does anyone know if or how much the FV has influenced the classical education movement?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Philip]

Clark, most of the FV movement has been involved with Classical education---I don't know of a single FVer who isn't an advocate of it.

However, having been taught Latin and great books with a Muscovite (and member of Wilson's church) I'll say that in my two years of having him as a teacher, the issue never came up.

I'm a big fan of classical education, but it does tend to lean Catholic, if only because so many of the authors of great books have been Catholic (or Anglican of some stripe). For some reason, the RCC and the Anglican Communion tend to attract creative types, even today.

 

[Jack K]

One of my kids attended a classical-ish Christian school for a while (until we had to move out of town). That school had some Wilson-connected materials, but wasn't "FV" at all.

Wilson is a big player in classical Christian education, and a bright one. So his work is bound to come up in some materials. I wouldn't worry too much about that making it FV unless the materials he's edited deal directly with the study of the church, or justification, or something else you might find controversial. If this is something that concerns you, I think what you really need to do is find out as much as you can about the school. What is its philosophy? Who are its leaders reading?

They should also give you a chance to take home some of those materials and look through them. My guess is the FV distinctives won't show up in the materials, but you never know. And even if the leadership of the school is FV oriented, from what I've seen of the movement they may not tend to use the school to indoctrinate kids in religious matters to the extent that, say, a Catholic school probably would. Ask about that.

A classical Christian education can be a very good thing for some kids. The fact that Wilson recognizes this, and has made notable contributions to the field, should not cause us to reject an otherwise good thing just because he's associated himself with it. So you're just going to have to be an involved dad (it sounds like you already are), have those talks with folks at the school, and find out what you really need to be concerned about and what you don't.

---------- Post added at 04:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:15 PM ----------

One more thing, in case the school is FV-friendly...

Depending on how they conduct themselves, and the other choices available, I don't know that this would necessarily be a deal-breaker for me. Would a public school or a evangelical-lite sort of "Christian" school be better? The FV movement has problems to be sure, but generally speaking, how they educate their kids is not one of them.

 

[Doulos 2]

Thanks, Jack and Philip, for your responses. They are both helpful and informative. My wife and are new to classical education and are trying to find out as much as we can. Thanks again.

 

[LaurieBluedorn]

Our book Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style is one application of classical education to homeschooling. It is not FV-friendly.

 

[proregno]

Our book Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style is one application of classical education to homeschooling. It is not FV-friendly.

Your book has been a great help to many homeschool families here in SA. When people ask about books to read on homeschooling, your book is one of the top 3 I would recommend (the other two is the one I mentioned already by RC Sproul Jnr, When you rise up, and the other one by Chris Klicka, The Heart of Homeschooling).

 

[Hawk]

Our book Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style is one application of classical education to homeschooling. It is not FV-friendly.

Your book has been a great help to many homeschool families here in SA. When people ask about books to read on homeschooling, your book is one of the top 3 I would recommend (the other two is the one I mentioned already by RC Sproul Jnr, When you rise up, and the other one by Chris Klicka, The Heart of Homeschooling).

These are great books with sound education and helps; therefore, I would concur with both posters. We have discovered these materials through the web, which tells me we live in a great day, being able to access information so readily. Come to think of it, I view PB along those lines! Praise our God for His infinite Wisdom.

 

[Bethel]

I have noticed Mr. Wilson's post-mill, preterist views in the Veritas Press Omnibus series that he writes and/or edits (there are many authors in this series). However, I have to say that through this series (as well as other influences), I was converted from Arminianism to Calvinism. Even though we have different eschatological views, I continue to use the Omnibus program because it generates great family discussions and it is written from a reformed perspective.

My biggest problem with Mr. Wilson is his view that private Christian schools (like his) are better than homeschools. I found this view pervasive in his book, Repairing the Ruins. This view is found in his books on educational philosophy, but not in the books he actually sells to homeschoolers...