Sons of Patriarchy The Problem with "Christian" Classical Schools
Nov 17, 2025
In this enlightening conversation, Susan Wise Bauer, a renowned historian and educator, joins Jill Wright, a certified K-12 educator with firsthand experience at The Oaks Academy. They tackle the complexities of 'Christian' classical education, debating its true meaning and the risks of using 'classical' as a marketing gimmick. Jill shares her insights on classroom pressures and the impact of patriarchy on school culture, while Susan critiques common misconceptions and calls for authentic educational practices that encourage critical thinking rather than indoctrination.
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Classical Education Is A Pattern
- Classical education is a pattern (trivium) not a fixed set of books or curricula.
- Modern neoclassical models mix ancient, medieval, and early-20th-century ideas into a developmental grammar-logic-rhetoric arc.
Trivium Maps To Child Development
- Dorothy Sayers reframed the trivium to match child development stages: grammar, logic, rhetoric.
- This developmental match is central to contemporary neoclassical pedagogy.
Avoid Rushing Mature Tasks
- A true classical approach honors developmental readiness and resists forcing mature tasks on young children.
- Pushing critical tasks too early creates false achievement signals and harms learning.
