By Josh Herring
Read more at the Federalist: http://thefederalist.com/2017/09/12/no-classical-education-not-impossible-revive-americas-degenerate-society/
Classical Christian education has been declared impossible to conduct in the modern age. Yet some still believe there exists a coherent mission to re-shape the paideia (worldview) of our degrading culture. This recent essay in the Federalist addresses naysayers who have lost faith in certain elements of CCE. There are many reasons to be optimistic for the future of education.
“I turn to the biblical doctrine of the imago dei to shape my pedagogy. Each student bears the divine image stamped into him body and soul. In each, that image is born out differently. Marion Montgomery argues in “The Truth of Things: Liberal Arts and the Recovery of Reality” that rather than trying to force students into a mold, the liberal teacher calls them to excellence according to their giftedness.
Montgomery illustrates how teachers can affirm all students: if all students are made in the divine image, and that image looks different in each student, then the instructor can rejoice as each student rises to his level of potential. This vision stands opposed to one condemning students for failing to reach the Ideal Type. Grounding pedagogy in the imago dei is both more biblical and realistic than imagining an Ideal Type emerging out of Greek literature.”
