Catholic Classical Resources

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Foundations in Catholic Classical Education

This document presents a kind of annotated bibliography to guide the reader with hyperlinks to the various texts for developing one's foundational knowledge in Cahtolic classical thought. It is meant to be a "helpful guide for the beginner" or wayfarer on the journey, but it is not meant to be an exhaustive treatment of the subject.
A good first place to encounter the Church's teaching on education is the five-fold set of documents from the 20th century:
1. The 1931 encyclical, Divini Illius Magistri, by Pope Pius XI
2. The 1965 Declaration on Christian Education from the Second Vatican Council: Gravissimum Educationis
3. The 1977 post-conciliar document from the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education: The Catholic School
4. The 1982 post-conciliar document from the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education: Lay Catholics in School, Witnesses to Faith
5. The 1988 post-conciliar document from the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education: The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School

These texts present the core principles with which the Church defines Catholic education, Catholic schools, and the role of educators and employees of schools. Moreover, studying these five documents in chronological order allows the reader to see both the enduring tradition of Catholic social teaching on education as well as the developments that resulted from the Council.

To engage the core of the "Classical Education Movement" it is helpful to begin with Dorothy Sayers' famous essay, "The Lost Tools of Learning." This text establishes the framework through which classical schools understand the grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages of learning; at least implicitly, it also introduces the trivium.

To that point, it is helpful to "get one's feet wet" by picking up the terms of the trivium and quadrium; thus, allowing wikipedia site on "Liberal Arts Education" to guide initial reading is helpful.

Clark and Jain's book on The Liberal Arts Tradition is a very helpful way to deepen one's thinking on this topic in light of classical principles of education.

A more thorough treatment of the history of classical education, especially in America, is Tracy Lee Simmons' book, Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin. This text allows the reader to see how the classics formed the educational and intellectual life of countless key Americans, including the Founders.

Everyone should read Mortimer Adler's short text on annotating a book: "How to Mark a Book."

The CiRCE Institute is a great warehouse for an classical education; their resource page can be found here.

Within the Catholic fold, the classical renewal as "liberal arts" is best exmeplified in the work of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education; their resources are here.

And a fundamental resource for Catholic education, K-20 is The Cardinal Newman Society. In particular, consider reading Guernsey's "Educating to Truth, Goodness and Beauty." Also, consider the text for teachers and administrators for starters.

A great easy introduction to Catholic classical education in general is Andrew Youngblood's work, Know Thyself: Classical Catholic Education and the Discovery of Self.

Another easy read for the young teacher allowing basics principles of traditional thought to engage the pedagogical craft is E. Tyler Graham's book, The Gravity of Education.

As mentioned above, Mortimer Adler is one of the towering figures of 20th century classical education renewal in America. His Paideia Proposal is worth reading.

In Catholic circles, the work of Luigi Giussani is essential for understanding the important developments in high school (or rhetoric stage) education. His work on The Risk of Education is an essential text for working with adolescents. Graham's text Modeling the Master is a helpful supplement for those interested in linking Giussani's pedagogical insights to larger themes of contemporary Catholic theology.

Once the groundwork is laid, the road to continuing education in Catholic classical thought is experience, reading, and writing. One should engage the work of education in whatever context God allows (parenting, mentoring, and coaching if actual classroom teaching or school adminstrating is not part of God's call for you).

What to read next? It is best, through prayerful discernmet to find a writer, famous educator, or saint who inspires you; then read his/her stuff. Are you interested in Socrates himself and this famous Socratic method that everyone talks about? Pick up the Euthyphro or even the Republic and watch the master in action.

Interested in Aristotle's thought on virtue? Read the Nicomachean Ethics.

How about Augustine and Aquinas? Augustine's Confessions is always helpful, as it shows the mind of someone outside the faith coming to learn the faith. We can reach our students better when we understand how others reached Augustine.

But don't stop there. Augustine has his own text about teaching: On Christian Doctrine. Pick up and read: tolle lege!

And as for Aquinas, anything in the second part of the Summa can help with the teaching of virtue. But the first part and third part can't hurt either.

The great tradition of Jesuit education has much to teach us still. Check out the Ratio Studiorum. And while you're at it, check out Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises; learning how God teaches you can help you teach others.

It is also worth considering at least the central principles of St. John Henry Cardinal Newman's classic text, The Idea of a University. Newman remains a towering giant in the contemporary renewal of Catholic classical education.

In our own time, Pope St. John Paul II's Familiaris Consortio is a must-read for understanding the family and its relation to education.

And then there's St. Albert the Great, St. Don Bosco, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Katharine Drexel, St. Mother Cabrini, St.Alphonsus Liguori, St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, St. John Neumann, and St. Francis de Sales (not to mention many, many others).

Do not be afraid; Catholic classical education is not some new form of gnosticism; rather, it is a set of guideposts, hints, and clues for leading us on the path that the Holy Spirit desires for us today. That path is the same for everyone in some repects but, finally, different for each person: God calls each of us to a unique mission. Here then is the Holy Father's final word.

“Each in his or her own way” the Council says. We should not grow discouraged before examples of holiness that appear unattainable. There are some testimonies that may prove helpful and inspiring, but that we are not meant to copy, for that could even lead us astray from the one specific path that the Lord has in mind for us. The important thing is that each believer discern his or her own path, that they bring out the very best of themselves, the most personal gifts that God has placed in their hearts (cf. 1 Cor 12:7), rather than hopelessly trying to imitate something not meant for them. We are all called to be witnesses, but there are many actual ways of bearing witness. Indeed, when the great mystic, Saint John of the Cross, wrote his Spiritual Canticle, he preferred to avoid hard and fast rules for all. He explained that his verses were composed so that everyone could benefit from them “in his or her own way”. For God’s life is communicated “to some in one way and to others in another”.

Each of us has a special and unique role to fill in the Body of Christ; nevertheless, we are all called to renew Catholic education in our time. May the blessed Virgin Mary enfold us in her Mantle, as we strive to do God's will as best as we understand and are able to live the Gospel and bring the Gospel to those whom God hands over to us.