WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - An increasing number of students in Wichita are attending Christian schools with an education model derived from Greek and Middle Ages philosophies along with a strong Christian worldview.
Four schools in Wichita using the model have reported enrollment growth since they opened in the last decade, which mirrors trends in the classical Christian movement across the country, The Wichita Eagle reported (https://bit.ly/2gNOVE1 ).
The national Association of Classical Christian Schools had 10 schools when it was founded in 1993. It has since grown to 279 schools with 43,000 students. The association estimates about 100 other schools aren’t official members, and say some homeschool students also rely on the model.
“They (parents) know they have other Christian school options, but when they look at what we do, they say, ’This is the education I wish I could have had,’ ” said David Goodwin, president of the Association of Classical Christian Schools.
Classical charter schools, which the association does not represent, also use the model from a secular perspective.
Classical education teaches students in three stages. Grammar, taught in first through fourth grades, involves learning facts, diction and vocabulary. The logic stage in taught in grades 5th through 8th, and teaches students to argue well, often using Aristotelian logic.
The rhetoric stage in 9th through 12th grades focuses on speaking and writing well, often blending history, geography and literature. Many classical students also learn Latin.
Reading classical books is emphasized throughout the schooling, with common texts including, “Pinocchio,” C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia,” ’’The City of God” by St. Augustine, 19th century novels such as “Les Miserables” and “David Copperfield” and Virgil’s “Aeneid.”
Classical Christian education operates off of the premise that “the good, the true and the beautiful”- a phrase derived from Plato - are objective qualities that exist separately from any individual’s opinion.
“Yes, we want them to be gainfully employed, but we’re interested in not just the intellectual but their character, who they are as people,” said Jennifer Sebits, president of the board of Christ the Savior Academy.
Bridget Schneider said classical education has shaped the characters of her 13-year-old and 10-year-old daughters, and her 8-year-old daughter attends the Classical School of Wichita.
“They’re taught to choose the best books and things they can really glean a lot of information out of, and they’re taught to analyze that information and question and debate that information,” Schneider said.
The movement is still young. Goodwin said most of the schools in the Association of Classical Christian Schools started in the past 20 years.
In Wichita, for example, the Northfield School of the Liberal Arts opened in 1993 with 12 students; it now has between 60 and 65 students. The Classical School of Wichita had 90 students when it opened in 2006, and now has about 315.
Christian Classical schools generally cost less than the average private school. For the 2011-2012 school year, private schools averaged a tuition of $10,940, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Goodwin said the average cost among his members is about $7,100 annually.
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