Classical Lutheran Education 101

Key Elements of Classical Education

• Recitation and repetition during early stages and during introductory study of any content area
• Diligent study and analytical thought as the child matures
• Cultivation of eloquence, beauty, and persuasion in the student’s writing and speaking
• Socratic questioning for the pursuit of truth
• The reading and analysis of good literature
• The ancient languages and writings
• The Great Books of Western civilization
• The seven liberal arts [grammar, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, music, geometry, astronomy]
• The formation of a well-educated, virtuous human being who lives his life in noble service to others

Definition of Classical Lutheran Education

A classical Lutheran education is a formative education designed to incline the student from his earliest days toward that which is true, good, and beautiful through the liberal arts and sciences, guided by the great literature, art, music, mathematics, and ideas of Western civilization, while insisting upon the centrality of Holy Scriptures and the teaching of the Confessions, as the child is granted faith through Holy Baptism, forgiveness through absolution, and remission of sins through the Lord’s Supper, so that he receives and nourishes his new life in Christ.