In loco parentis is a Latin phrase meaning “in the place of a parent.” Teachers and administrators at classical Christian schools seek to live in loco parentis with students and parents choosing to attend the school. This involves a high level of trust and understanding from parents entering this partnership with schools. Parents are encouraged to trust that teachers and administrators approach this role seriously and should seek to support and encourage the school.

Truth, goodness, and beauty are transcendental objective standards defined by, and found in God alone. Teachers lead students toward understanding, cultivating, and reflecting these virtues through a flourishing life. Students are taught to seek truth in all things, cultivate virtues of goodness, and reflect the beauty of our Savior. We must never tolerate a lie, never tolerate evil, and never tolerate misguided attempts at beauty while living a life for the good of others and the glory of God.

Multum non multa is a Latin phrase meaning “much not many.” This phrase is used to describe the philosophical approach of classical education. Classical schools expect students to learn deeply and thoroughly about the most important parts of western civilization. Learning multum non multais different from most modern schools which seek to touch on many parts of subjects (like a rock skipping across a pond) without much depth in any of it.

Paideia is an ancient Greek word meaning “the culture of a society.” Educators in classical Christian schools understand that it is more than just knowledge being delivered to students at schools. The paideia of Christianity and western civilization is being passed down from one generation to the next generation through the curriculum, teachers, and community of classical Christian schools.

Ad fontes is a Latin phrase meaning “to the sources.” The preferred form of learning in classical Christian schools is from original sources rather than relying on textbooks, commentaries, or lectures. Reading the original source of an idea is fantastic but reading the original source in its original language is even better. This is one of the many reasons classical Christian schools require the study of ancient languages such as Latin, Greek, or Hebrew.

The seven liberal arts are grammar, logic, rhetoric, astronomy, mathematics, geometry, and music. For the ancients, and throughout western civilization, these disciplines were thought of as essential areas of knowledge for any free person to flourish as a human and contribute fully to society as a citizen. These areas were codified as the seven liberal arts in late Roman antiquity and influenced the formation, foundation, and requirements of higher education.

Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric are the first three of the seven liberal arts and known as the Trivium. Each of these three are a stage of classical learning and employ a unique teaching methodology. Grammar covers the fundamentals or building blocks needed in all subjects and provides a firm foundation for future learning. Logic involves the critical thinking, reasoning, or why behind the subjects. Rhetoric focuses on expressing knowledge with poise, clarity, and wisdom when speaking or writing. Trivium means “three roads” in Latin which refers to these three ways of learning.

Mathematics, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music are the second half of the seven liberal arts and known as the Quadrivium. These are known as the upper division of the seven liberal arts and were the majority of the medieval university curriculum. The Quadrivium was designed to build on the Trivium and draw students into higher order reasoning and interaction with the cosmos. Now, schools around the nation integrate these disciplines into earlier stages of education to foster a greater unity of learning and interplay between the arts and sciences.

Classical Christian schools study the best and brightest scholars from both the Christian and non-Christian world. During this process, there is an intentional effort to take every thought captive for the glory of God. This requires teachers to lead students through a process of sifting material to take what is praiseworthy and leave behind what is not true, good, or beautiful. This process is referred to as “plundering the Egyptians” to take and learn from the best of ancient cultures.

Scholé is a Greek word meaning “leisure.” In Latin this word is scola and in English it is school. The idea of restful learning, or learning as leisure, is an important concept in education. Schools were not designed as job training or a platform from which to launch students into economic gain. Education should lead students toward becoming more fully human. Time for contemplation should be baked into the fabric of a school. This form of learning is not lazy. It is intentional, disciplined, and focused on the true end of education. This scholé, or leisurely approach to learning, allows for long-term comprehension and lifetime formation of students.

It is the desire of classical Christian schools to create lifelong learners. To do this, students need to be given tools for learning that they can use for life. Giving students the tools needed for lifelong learning is far better than teaching students lists of facts during a lecture. Some of the many tools that students are given are reading, writing, Latin, critical thinking (Logic), communication (Rhetoric), etiquette, biblical knowledge, a biblical worldview, and many other skills.

Some conversations last six minutes, some last six days, and some last six thousand years. Students at classical Christian schools join in a conversation that was started thousands of years ago. Reading ancient texts from theologians like Augustine, philosophers like Aristotle, scholars like Euclid, historians like Herodotus, and storytellers like Homer allows students to pull up a chair to be part of the great conversation about the most important questions in life. Engaging in a conversation with the greatest minds of the western world allows students to gain a deep understanding of recurring patterns and themes in western civilization and are then uniquely poised to offer solutions to current challenges facing modern society.

Just as students grow in their ability to read and write, students can also grow in virtue. A virtuous life involves knowledge, belief, and action for the good of others and the glory of God. Becoming more virtuous allows humans to flourish by fulfilling the purpose for which they were created. Cultivating an environment, culture, and programs for students to intentionally grow in virtue is a challenging task but an important role of true education.