teaching

Liberal Arts: An Education for Life, Not Just a Job

/ RebeccaWade / Leave a comment

When my oldest daughter went to college, my father just could not understand why she was enrolled in a class called Women’s Studies. Apparently, Women’s Studies was one of the courses under the same block as Western Civilization, and everyone was required to take at least one course in that block. She explained that she had tried to sign up for an actual Western Civilization class, but it was full, so she had to choose another class, and Women’s Studies was open. My father could not understand such an odd thing. In his day, everybody took Western Civilization. No exceptions. In fact, everyone took mostly the same courses for the first two years of college, because back then, everyone received a liberal arts education. When I went to college, the same thing was pretty much true. We all took many of the same classes, and everyone still had to sign up for Western Civilization. But by the time my daughter entered college, things had changed.  

Not too many years ago, most colleges and universities provided something called a liberal arts education. Even my father, who eventually majored in business, received a liberal arts education. Years after he graduated from college, he still had many of the literature books he had read while enrolled in his collegiate studies – novels like Gulliver’s Travels, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Longfellow’s poetry, and others. He had become attached to those books; the lessons they taught and the beauty of the language they used had made their way into his thinking. And he passed them on to me; I still have some of them and treasure them because they were my father’s. 

But those books were part of the liberal arts education he received. And plenty of students today study the same literature, whether in high school or college. The difference is that it is possible to graduate from college today having not taken a single course in Western Civilization or a literature course that includes traditional literary classics. This situation has come about because of the demise of the liberal arts. By the way, I asked my daughter one time what they discussed in her Women’s Studies course. Her response was, “We talked about totally inappropriate things all semester.” Hmmm.

What is a liberal arts education, anyway? And why does it matter? 

The term liberal arts, including the division of the arts into the Trivium and the Quadrivium, dates from the Middle Ages. In classical education, the liberal arts were the branches of knowledge that started young people on their lifelong journey of learning. The goal of a classical education was to be an Educated Person. And the liberal arts were what enabled people to be educated. Whether students ended up plowing fields as a farmer, caring for patients as a physician, or working as an engineer, a liberal arts education would teach them how to live and enable them to rise above their environment, resulting in true freedom (Joseph 5). After all, the word liberal comes from the Latin word liber, meaning “free.” 

The difference between a liberal arts education and the more practical type of education that most colleges now emphasize can be found in their goals. A liberal arts education, which was not completed until graduation from college, included the Trivium and the Quadrivium, and emphasized broad reading across the humanities and other disciplines, critical thinking, and clear, effective communication. The end goal was internal for the student and was aimed at developing his own soul through the richness of his studies (Joseph 4). 

Practical studies, or the utilitarian arts, were also important, but their focus was different, because these arts enabled people to serve others and to earn a living (Joseph 5). And for sure, people need to be able to earn a living, but it was commonly believed that those who have developed their own minds and souls through a liberal education are better equipped “to serve others in a professional or other capacity” (Joseph 4).

The Liberal Arts Teach One How To Live

Historically, most colleges and universities offered a liberal arts education, not because earning a living was considered to be unimportant, but because, as Sister Miriam Joseph says in The Trivium, “the liberal arts…teach one how to live…they enable a person to rise above his material environment to live an intellectual, a rational, and therefore a free life in gaining truth. Jesus Christ said, ‘You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (John 8:32) (5). 

There are still a few liberal arts colleges left out there, but even at a state school, it is possible to put together one’s own classics/liberal arts program if the university offers enough options. And with the increase in the number of students enrolled in classical education these days, we may be seeing more and more students coming out of high school already having begun their journey towards the liberal arts.

Joseph, Sister Miriam, C.S.C., Ph.D. The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric. Paul Dry Books, Inc., 1937, 2002. 

Enhancing Classical Education with Art Appreciation

/ RebeccaWade / Leave a comment

One of the things that should be included in an enriched classical education is art appreciation. Exposing children to beautiful art is a wonderful way to put their souls in touch with truth, beauty, and goodness. And art knows no age limitations; young children, teenagers, and adults can all enjoy art together. I loved the fact that the original curriculum I chose for my children included art appreciation and even art history for older children. What are some ways that we can include art appreciation in a classical education?

In this post, I have listed a few ways we can easily share beautiful art with children. These are ideas we can use for all ages, so that young children as well as parents and teachers can enjoy the same art together.

Art Prints

As I was educating my children, I came across the ideas of Charlotte Mason, a British educator who had a gentle approach to classical education and believed in enriching children’s lives with the best art, music, and literature. She advocated using art prints with children, allowing the children to spend some time each week observing a painting, perhaps even attempting to imitate it by making their own copy. 

This method is easy to reproduce either in the classroom or with one’s own children and takes very little time. Some teachers follow this approach with a dedicated “Art of the Week” wall. And Memoria Press, for example, publishes a set of art prints for the lower grades with discussion suggestions for each print. They sell large art prints for a classroom wall as well as small prints so that each child can have his or her own set to hold, if desired. Children love to hold the art prints and pass them around, and they especially love to choose their favorites.

In my classroom of young children, we would sometimes make a craft that related to our art for that week, so one week, everyone painted a bowl of apples in honor of Van Gogh’s Still Life with Apples. Another time, we practiced our version of pointillism because we were learning about the artist who invented pointillism. 

Charlotte Mason recommended spending longer than a week on each art print, and I would agree with her. You can easily buy a set of art prints and use them for two years, stretching them out a little longer. And you are welcome to take the same set and repeat them later with older children, as the selection of art is completely arbitrary and totally up to you. The same art was created to be enjoyed by all ages, and we are free to pick and choose what we believe would be best for a particular class or child. Children love familiarity and enjoy seeing their favorites over and over.

I used to hang framed art prints on my wall at home, and when my children saw the same prints in a book, they would get excited because they knew we had that same painting on our wall at home!

Integrating Art Prints into Other Subjects 

As children grow older, art appreciation can even be integrated into history and literature. The Calvert 4th grade world history course included a set of art prints that correlated with many major events and people of world history. When children read about ancient Egypt, they would look at a photo of Nefertiti’s sculpture or a print of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. When learning about the Middle Ages, they would enjoy a print of the Sistine Madonna as well as Da Vinci’s The Last Supper; and they would be introduced to John Trumbull’s Signing the Declaration of Independence once they arrived at American history.

There are many works of art that correspond to literature as well; for example, quite a few artists have painted scenes or characters from Shakespeare. I recently bought a copy of Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare that includes numerous classic paintings corresponding to the plays in this volume. Any time you can find literature or history books that already include beautiful works of art, your children will benefit.

So don’t put away the art prints once children are in middle school or high school. Even adults benefit from them! Go ahead and post some of them in your classroom, perhaps some that go with the history or literature you are studying. 

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Books About Artists  

Enjoying art prints in the classroom or at home is only one way of acquainting children with beautiful art. Books about artists are another way to introduce children to art. Quite a few books about famous artists have been written for children, some for very young children that allow them to “touch” and “feel” the art. Here are a couple of examples, if you would like to look them up. (These are books for very young children).

Touch the Art: Make Van Gogh’s Bed

Touch the Art: Count Monet’s Lilies

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When my children were young, they loved the Katie series of books. I still have these books, as I’ve never been able to part with them. I’ve listed some of them below, if you would like to look them up. In the Katie books, Katie goes to the art museum with her grandmother and then hops right inside the paintings and runs around with the art characters while her grandmother dozes on the bench. After she finishes with her adventures, she and her grandmother go home together. These books are delightful, with beautiful illustrations, and children learn so much from them about famous artists and their art.

Katie and the Mona Lisa, by James Mayhew

Katie Meets the Impressionists, by James Mayhew

Katie and the Sunflowers, by James Mathew

Older children (3rd – 6th grades) may enjoy the Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists series by Mike Venezia. His books are funny yet informative, and the reader tends to learn quite a lot about each artist. He includes information as well as cartoon commentary about each artist, along with examples of the artist’s work. My children loved these as well. I have listed a couple of them below:

Claude Monet, by Mike Venezia

Vincent Van Gogh, by Mike Venezia

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Books about Art History

Art history is a little different from art appreciation. In art history, children learn about the progression through history of different types of art, and as a result, develop a deeper and more mature understanding of painting, sculpture, and architecture. We used some older books that were written by Vergil Hillyer, the first headmaster of Calvert School, called A Child’s History of Art. They were designed to be used in middle school, for 5th, 6th, and 7th graders – one for each grade. I’ve listed them here, just in case you’d like to look them up, as they are out of print – A Child’s History of Art: Painting; A Child’s History of Art: Sculpture; A Child’s History of Art: Architecture               

We had so much fun with these books, learning about Greek columns in sculpture and flying buttresses in medieval architecture, and all kinds of things in between. However, there are many other books that can be used to teach art history, which you can find by perusing some of the classical Christian education catalogs.  

Artist Books

This third method is similar to the first and second methods, but in this case, you can just buy an entire book full of art prints, either of a particular artist or maybe a school of art. You can enjoy the book as is or you can pull the pages that you want to use out of the book and put them in a separate notebook or mount them on poster board, essentially creating your own art prints. This method can be a great way to collect the art you like, and some of these books are quite inexpensive.

Remember, have fun as you and your children engage with beautiful art!

How Do We Teach Virtue in Classical Education?

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Before wading into a discussion about curriculum, I would like to talk about why anyone would be interested in pursuing classical education in the first place. And what in the world do we mean by “classical” when it comes to education? What is classical Christian education? Does virtue have anything to do with it?

One of the main reasons I was drawn to classical education was its emphasis on virtue. We can talk later about exactly what classical education is, but if we talk about virtue, we will understand classical education better.

The Transcendental Virtues

In my first post on classical education, I mentioned that I was looking for a certain “flavor” in the type of education that I wanted to give my children. Since opinions differ about the exact definition of classical education, I will just begin by telling you what I think of when I think about classical education. I wanted my children to have an education that instilled in them a love for the good, the true, and the beautiful – what I have now learned are considered the transcendental virtues. Traditionally, this type of education was called a classical education and focused on the history and culture of Western Civilization, which was the civilization which developed around the Mediterranean Sea – the civilization of the Greeks and the Romans. Why was this civilization so important? Because this was the culture in which God prepared the world for the coming of Christ and the culture in which Christianity spread after Christ came. Children heard and read the stories of the ancient Greeks and Romans, whose cultures emphasized virtue, even though they were pagan. They learned about the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, and the fulfillment of goodness, truth, and beauty in Christ, who is the Truth. They were exposed to stories of heroism and courage as they grew up, and these stories helped children to internalize the virtues. These “classic” stories were just part of a typical education.

All of this is not exactly a definition of classical education, but it leads back to my first question: Why would anyone be interested in pursuing a classical education? Why would parents want this type of education for their children? One of the main reasons is that this type of education has historically focused on the transmission of virtue. And that is my question for today: How can we teach virtue? And how does a classical education help us in this pursuit? 

We Must Teach Children to Love Virtue

Teaching virtue is not the same as teaching children the difference between right and wrong. We need to teach children that some things are right and others are wrong, but we can’t stop there. We must teach them to love virtue. We need to figure out how to help them to want to do what is right, even to their own hurt (even if doing what is right results in their own suffering). They need to internalize virtues such as courage and heroism. And one of the best ways of communicating virtue is by giving our children heroes – whether from history or from legends or fairy tales. Classical educators have known for years that if children are given the right stories to read, that they will identify with the hero and internalize the values of that hero. And in the literature of Western Civilization, which is based on Christianity, the hero is typically a Christ-figure. 

This idea of finding heroes in literature has been around for a long time. When I had a son, I started looking for ideas for educating him (since I had never been a boy and didn’t think I knew much about them). In my reading, I came across the idea that reading the right stories to a boy when he is young and giving him the right stories to read as he gets older was one of the best ways of teaching virtue. So I set out to find some of those stories for my son. In a future post, I will list some of the books that I gave him to read over the years. 

I had to work hard to find good books for my son to read since I had spent my childhood reading books that were geared more towards girls. However, once I started finding books for him, I found that there was a good bit of overlap, and I thoroughly enjoyed the books that I found for my son. 

Fairy Tales and Mighty Men

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Both Tolkien and Chesterton have written essays on the importance of fairy tales. When I was a child, I found the Name That Color fairy books in my elementary school library and read them all (until they ran out of colors). I read The Blue Fairy Book, The Red Fairy Book, The Pink Fairy Book, The Green Fairy Book, and on down the line. I loved those stories. Fairy tales are actually a wonderful way for children to find heroes. As a result of identifying with the heroes (or heroines) in the stories, they want to emulate their virtues; I know I did. I went through my childhood imagining that I was a princess in a fairy tale, but I had learned from fairy tales that princesses had to behave in a certain way, so I (at times) tried to behave as a princess should.

Calvert School, which I discussed in my last post, used several books which taught children about heroes from classic literature. They even had a book called Mighty Men, which was used in the 4th grade course. I remember that some of the “mighty men” were not even men! One was actually Queen Esther, whose story is told in the Bible, and who was quite the heroine. Her famous line, “for such a time as this,” has inspired courage in many, both men and women.

Knowledge without Virtue Can Be Dangerous

These are just a few examples of how children find heroes by reading the right stories. An education purely for the sake of knowledge is incomplete. In fact, knowledge without virtue can be dangerous. Think about the world wars we have experienced and the ways that men – men with great knowledge but without virtue – used that knowledge to perpetuate great evils. Education is about more than conveying knowledge. It must also be about instilling virtue, and a classical Christian education is uniquely suited to that end. We don’t want to bring up children who are given knowledge without virtue, but at the same time, we shouldn’t try to teach virtue without knowledge. I’m not sure that is even possible. A truly educated person is one who has both.