Every piece of Classical Education is rooted in timelessness. The liberal arts and sciences, the formation of the whole student, and habits of virtue are all elements of forming an upstanding person who has the potential to excel in anything they choose to do. These elements are ones that have proven themselves time and time again. Classical Education strives to utilize beautiful literature, mathematical concepts and teaching tools that have withstood the test of time. Despite educational trends and styles that come and go, there are some things that will always remain consistent, so Classical Education chooses to utilize the lessons of the past in order to understand the present and shape the future.
Now, this is not to say, your child can never read a modern day, trendy book. Modern books simply have yet to prove themselves to have withstood time. We can still look for elements of virtue, truth, goodness, and beauty in more current publishing's. However, there are some works that are simply considered great, because of their impact in history, the lessons they taught, and the truth, goodness and beauty they imparted.
I would like to refer back to a previous example, my childhood love for the Junie B Jones series. The tales of a mischievous little first grade were hilarious to me. Junie is a girl who gets away with doing very terrible things, and yet it is made to be comedic. Thankfully, I had some guidance from my teachers and my own mother while reading the series. They would constantly remind me that it is silly, because her actions are incredibly terrible. Would a person act like that in real life, there would be real life consequences, ones that were never demonstrated in the books.
Fast forward a couple of years I picked up Anne of Green Gables for the first time. Similarly to Junie, the story follows a young girl who finds herself in troublesome situations. The difference, however, is that Anne is meant to face her consequences. The reader follows this girl as she grows, learning life lessons through her mistakes.
Many people today have never heard of Junie B Jones, and yet most, will to some extent, know Anne of Green Gables. One, was a comedic, trendy book while the other was an engaging, relatable read that proved itself to stand the test of time. Anne had many experiences that are relatable to everyone, anywhere, and in any time. There was nothing inherently wrong with reading Junie B Jones, in fact, I look back fondly on how much enjoyment I received from those books, and yet, is the stories of Anne of Green Gables that I truly love today, that have stayed with me and truly played a role in my formation.
Because of its timelessness, Classical Education is truly, a very natural form of education. Its in-depth understanding of humanity from across time allows shapes its students into a complete and virtuous person.
Classical Music of the Week!
Piotr Tchaikovsky
Known most famously for his music in The Nutcracker ballet, Tchaikovsky's music has been used to tell stories for centuries! The Russian composer wrote music for multiple ballets, including Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Did you know the music from Disney's Sleeping Beauty is actually a rendition of Tchaikovsky's? What better composer to listen to as the holidays draw near! You can find almost any of his ballet's recorded for free on Youtube. You can see The Nutcracker live at Popejoy Theatre in Albuqureque!
