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Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning
Public education in America has run into hard times. Even many within the system admit that it is failing. While many factors contribute, Douglas Wilson lays much blame on the idea that education can take place in a moral vacuum. It is not possible for education to be nonreligious, deliberately excluding the basic questions about life. All education builds on the foundation of someone's worldview. Education deals with fundamental questions that require religious answers. Learning to read and write is simply the process of acquiring the tools to ask and answer such questions.
A second reason for the failure of public schools, Wilson feels, is modern teaching methods. He argues for a return to a classical education, firm discipline, and the requirement of hard work.
Often educational reforms create new problems that must be solved down the road. This book presents alternatives that have proved workable in experience.
"Good at diagnosing our educational afflictions, Douglas Wilson is still better at finding remedies. His Logos School provides a model, a practical design, for the restoration in the curriculum of Christian humanism--as contrasted with what Christopher Dawson called secular humanism." --Russell Kirk, D. Litt., editor, The University Bookman
A second reason for the failure of public schools, Wilson feels, is modern teaching methods. He argues for a return to a classical education, firm discipline, and the requirement of hard work.
Often educational reforms create new problems that must be solved down the road. This book presents alternatives that have proved workable in experience.
"Good at diagnosing our educational afflictions, Douglas Wilson is still better at finding remedies. His Logos School provides a model, a practical design, for the restoration in the curriculum of Christian humanism--as contrasted with what Christopher Dawson called secular humanism." --Russell Kirk, D. Litt., editor, The University Bookman
215 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1991
122 people are currently reading
2221 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Wilson
313 books4,462 followersI write in order to make the little voices in my head go away. Thus far it hasn't worked.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
October 16, 2018
I last read this in 2011. Looking back, it's amazing to me how much this book affected me as a teacher. I thought that I only remembered a few basic things about the book. Rereading it, however, I've repeatedly encountered little examples, phrases, and ideas that I use all the time as a teacher without realizing where I got them.
September 6, 2011
This is an excellent primer for understanding the reasons for Classical Christian education. He argues that parents have the obligation to instruct their children in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord. This requires that all education be Christian in nature. He then argues that the best--most proven method of education is the classical model--following the trivium.
Doug Wilson contends that "All the instruction received by the children should be permeated with God's Word." He adds, "...we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our minds...If our children do not think like Christians when they study history, math, or science, then they are not obeying the command to love God with all their minds. And if they are not obeying the command, parents should ask themselves why they are not."
Wilson argues, "The Biblical educator must not only have a Christian understanding of the material, he must have a Biblical understanding of the student. If he does not, then the result will be a hybrid Christian methodology employed to achieve a humanistic goal." Education is not simply something we do to get jobs, or even to be smarter. Education is meant to glorify God.
The Trivium is the preferred method for educating our children as it best suits the maturity of the student in the three distinct phases of maturity. The grammar stage of the trivium maximizes the young student's ability and desire to memorize information. The dialectic or logic stage harnesses the junior-high age student's inclination for argument and questioning. The rhetoric stage helps older students to express themselves when students seek avenues for self-expression.
But classical education is also 'classical' because it studies the classics of Western civilization. Classical education cherishes the heritage of Western culture. It is a discerning appreciation--embracing the best, but still seeking to an understanding and familiarity with the rest.
This is an outstanding introduction to the topic of Classical Christian education and is highly recommended.
Doug Wilson contends that "All the instruction received by the children should be permeated with God's Word." He adds, "...we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our minds...If our children do not think like Christians when they study history, math, or science, then they are not obeying the command to love God with all their minds. And if they are not obeying the command, parents should ask themselves why they are not."
Wilson argues, "The Biblical educator must not only have a Christian understanding of the material, he must have a Biblical understanding of the student. If he does not, then the result will be a hybrid Christian methodology employed to achieve a humanistic goal." Education is not simply something we do to get jobs, or even to be smarter. Education is meant to glorify God.
The Trivium is the preferred method for educating our children as it best suits the maturity of the student in the three distinct phases of maturity. The grammar stage of the trivium maximizes the young student's ability and desire to memorize information. The dialectic or logic stage harnesses the junior-high age student's inclination for argument and questioning. The rhetoric stage helps older students to express themselves when students seek avenues for self-expression.
But classical education is also 'classical' because it studies the classics of Western civilization. Classical education cherishes the heritage of Western culture. It is a discerning appreciation--embracing the best, but still seeking to an understanding and familiarity with the rest.
This is an outstanding introduction to the topic of Classical Christian education and is highly recommended.
May 17, 2016
If you ever have the privilege, as I have, of conversing with Douglas Wilson you will quickly discern that he has a thorough and comprehensive grasp of what Education can and should look like (hint: Classical and Christian). This is a MUST-read for any parent who has wrestled with the Public vs. Private vs. Home education dilemma. (And if you haven't thought twice about it, this would be a good time to do so.) Each system is approached objectively and dissected with painstaking accuracy. Devote a few afternoons to reading this book. It will likely shape the academic and spiritual future of your children.
April 21, 2013
I was excited from the first lines. However, as I progressed, the arguments supporting classical education became weaker and weaker. It ends up becoming a brochure of his school rather than being a legitimate model. His rhetoric appeals to emotion hidden in hollow "logic." The cracks became chasms. The house of cards could not stand.
Great book to demonstrate a mix of great rhetoric and faulty logic.
Great book to demonstrate a mix of great rhetoric and faulty logic.
November 5, 2024
Spectacular. Without giving into sentimentalism, Wilson lays down the foundation for a lasting christian heritage. Why do we need the christian education to be classical? Because we want the christianity of the future generation to be deeper than a puddle.
November 28, 2022
I enjoyed this book and struggled through it. The struggle was with acknowledging the lack in my own education in developing the skill to think and to actually learn for myself. The enjoyment of the book was knowing that there is still time to learn and to raise up the next generation with the tools of learning.
August 23, 2016
So happy I read this again (after way too many years!); and I must say that even after being involved with Classical education for 17 years, I still learned many great things.
It would be awesome, however, if Pastor Wilson and Crossway Books plan the release of a second edition soon (the first and only one was published in 1991). The book needs to be updated (urgently) in relationship to many social issues that are pressing on heavily on Christian education.
It would be awesome, however, if Pastor Wilson and Crossway Books plan the release of a second edition soon (the first and only one was published in 1991). The book needs to be updated (urgently) in relationship to many social issues that are pressing on heavily on Christian education.
June 3, 2015
If Classical Christian Education is a cult, I want to join it.
November 20, 2023
More reading for my ACCS certification! This might be the best book on the subject I’ve read. And I’ve read several!
August 4, 2009
A very good book on the importance of Classical education based partly on Dorothy Sayers' essay, "The Lost Tools of Learning." Written from the perspective of a Christian school administrator, there are several chapters that apply directly and exclusively to that area of education. Wilson does a good job of pointing out the places where public school fails, and discussing what, if anything, can be done. One chapter does address "The Homeschooling Alternative," but from an outsider's perspective that makes certain assumptions that may not apply. More recently, Wilson collaborated on a book called The Classical Education at Home, which I have yet to read. A great book for those interested in Classical homeschooling is The Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. Wilson's book is a good and informative read, though, and very biblical.
November 2, 2009
Through this book, Doug Wilson has shaped my thinking about what education is, and what it should be.
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June 22, 2018
We cannot have a rightly ordered educational system that is built on faulty foundations. While many people see the need for educational reform in America, unanimous agreement on a solution to these woes seems to be lacking. In this book, Douglas Wilson seeks to expose the misdirected aims and goals of our educational reform by showing that we are asking schools to do something that, by nature, they were never meant to do—our schools and teachers cannot save us or our society. Met with this unwelcome realization, what are we to do? Wilson makes the case for our educational approach to be distinctly Christian and to be distinctly classical. Here’s what he means:
For education to be distinctly Christian, families must be reoriented so that they bear the primary responsibility for teaching and directing their children. According to Wilson, this does not mean that all parents must be teachers and educators in the strict sense of the word, but it does mean that they must provide oversight in regard to what and how things are taught. In addition, a coherent Christian worldview must be taught that places Jesus Christ at the center of all things—the place where all wisdom and knowledge find their end. Schools should teach that all subjects are connected as an “integrated whole with the Scriptures at the center.” Contrary to common belief, there is no such thing as a neutral, secular education because all education is religiously charged. A Christian view of education must also have a correct understanding of the nature of man. Human beings are not essentially good people who can be set free with the right kind of education (an idea taught by many of the social/educational reformers of the early 1900s). By changing our environment, educational process, or curriculum, we cannot be saved. Improvements and changes are sometimes warranted; however, we must recognize that education has its limitations and its limits must be acknowledged. Lastly, children are not innately disciplined to learn well. Parents and instructors must teach students to love learning. Left to their own devices children will tend toward laziness and foolishness, but with the loving correction of parents and teachers, the desire and discipline of learning can be imparted to the student. These factors, among others, capture the essence of a distinctly Christian education.
For education to be distinctly classical, the content of learning must take into consideration the history of Western thought—the high points and low points of what is considered the “great conversation”. Classical education does not encourage an inordinate infatuation with the past nor does it endorse/agree with all the great minds of history, but to be a classicist does require that you listen to the past and learn from it. There must be a familiarity with where you came from and where you are going. One crucial component to learning about the past entails that you also learn the language of the past. The study of Latin is an important element of a classical education and Wilson explains why he views it beneficial. Perhaps the most important aspect of classical schooling is its emphasis on the teaching method. Classical schooling adopts the tried-and-true educational model of the Middle Ages—the Trivium. Novelist and writer Dorothy Sayers, in her essay titled The Lost Tools of Learning, argued that a return to the Trivium was necessary if our children were ever going to learn to think critically again. Utilizing the learning stages of grammar, logic, and rhetoric, Sayers argued that children will learn best when these stages are paired with the developmental phases of a child’s brain and character. Wilson wholeheartedly agrees. So, for a school to operate in a distinctly classical way, it must be conversant with the past, include the study of Latin, and employ the educational model of the Trivium.
While this book is somewhat outdated (as it was written in the early 90’s), anyone interested in thinking deeply about education and the underlying foundations that direct our approaches to education would probably enjoy this entrance into the conversation.
For education to be distinctly Christian, families must be reoriented so that they bear the primary responsibility for teaching and directing their children. According to Wilson, this does not mean that all parents must be teachers and educators in the strict sense of the word, but it does mean that they must provide oversight in regard to what and how things are taught. In addition, a coherent Christian worldview must be taught that places Jesus Christ at the center of all things—the place where all wisdom and knowledge find their end. Schools should teach that all subjects are connected as an “integrated whole with the Scriptures at the center.” Contrary to common belief, there is no such thing as a neutral, secular education because all education is religiously charged. A Christian view of education must also have a correct understanding of the nature of man. Human beings are not essentially good people who can be set free with the right kind of education (an idea taught by many of the social/educational reformers of the early 1900s). By changing our environment, educational process, or curriculum, we cannot be saved. Improvements and changes are sometimes warranted; however, we must recognize that education has its limitations and its limits must be acknowledged. Lastly, children are not innately disciplined to learn well. Parents and instructors must teach students to love learning. Left to their own devices children will tend toward laziness and foolishness, but with the loving correction of parents and teachers, the desire and discipline of learning can be imparted to the student. These factors, among others, capture the essence of a distinctly Christian education.
For education to be distinctly classical, the content of learning must take into consideration the history of Western thought—the high points and low points of what is considered the “great conversation”. Classical education does not encourage an inordinate infatuation with the past nor does it endorse/agree with all the great minds of history, but to be a classicist does require that you listen to the past and learn from it. There must be a familiarity with where you came from and where you are going. One crucial component to learning about the past entails that you also learn the language of the past. The study of Latin is an important element of a classical education and Wilson explains why he views it beneficial. Perhaps the most important aspect of classical schooling is its emphasis on the teaching method. Classical schooling adopts the tried-and-true educational model of the Middle Ages—the Trivium. Novelist and writer Dorothy Sayers, in her essay titled The Lost Tools of Learning, argued that a return to the Trivium was necessary if our children were ever going to learn to think critically again. Utilizing the learning stages of grammar, logic, and rhetoric, Sayers argued that children will learn best when these stages are paired with the developmental phases of a child’s brain and character. Wilson wholeheartedly agrees. So, for a school to operate in a distinctly classical way, it must be conversant with the past, include the study of Latin, and employ the educational model of the Trivium.
While this book is somewhat outdated (as it was written in the early 90’s), anyone interested in thinking deeply about education and the underlying foundations that direct our approaches to education would probably enjoy this entrance into the conversation.
February 4, 2022
The good thing about reading a book about classical education is that even if you're reading a book from 1991 in 2022 the core of the details won't really change.
Wilson breaks up the book into three main parts. The first part is the declining nature of public education and the failure of the American education system. This was in a day without critical race theory or pushing of trans/gay embracement. Where the biggest thing to worry about what only drugs and violence and no school-led prayer. Ah, the good ol' days. There are some good statistics that are still available here and even 20 years removed have probably gotten only worse. It does not get bogged down in trying to prove the terribleness of government schools but highlights main areas where the call to go towards classical education is necessitated.
The second part is a call for Christian education. The need to build one's education platform is highlighted on the need to have a Christian worldview foundation. The separation between what a Christian worldview looks like and an American view is probably better highlighted today and the expanse between the two is divided further. This is where classical education is introduced and rightly so as some might view the topic as just "reading the old stuff". So the need to view "the old stuff" and even the secular stuff, both old and new, needs to be filtered through the Christian worldview. With presuppositionalism/Greg Bahsen/Van Til being more known today, or maybe more known to me, this is also an evergreen idea.
The final part is seeing what classical education is like and the case study of Wilson's Logos school is used to show as the model. This was probably a foreign idea in 1991 but as an introduction to the topic in 2022 where you're audience is probably more acceptable to the idea, more details of what it looks like would probably be beneficial. I would have liked to have seen some more direct contrasts between the public education model and classical model in coverage than in outcomes. It is there, but further detail would have been nice. A portion that was really beneficial was on seeing why learning Latin was an important tool. It's not just to learn it so one can brag about knowing but the utility in both reading and other subjects are improved in learning Latin.
Probably the least helpful section was Wilson's critique of homeschooling. Again, charity should be granted for a book from 1991 where an increase in even knowing about homeschooling to the reader was probably low. However, Wilson doesn't really make his case for homeschooling and especially those that homeschool in a classical curriculum or co-op. While this is the least helpful section, it's an ancillary topic to the more important goal to learn about classical education.
This is a quick read for someone to get a primer in understanding or being convinced of classical education. Even with 1991 statistics, one can skip the first part of the book and read the part about Christian worldview education (the second part) or what is classical education (the third part). The appendix offers some tools and example curriculum to get a direct showing of what's involved in classical education. Still a good introduction book on a classical approach to education. Final Grade - B+
Wilson breaks up the book into three main parts. The first part is the declining nature of public education and the failure of the American education system. This was in a day without critical race theory or pushing of trans/gay embracement. Where the biggest thing to worry about what only drugs and violence and no school-led prayer. Ah, the good ol' days. There are some good statistics that are still available here and even 20 years removed have probably gotten only worse. It does not get bogged down in trying to prove the terribleness of government schools but highlights main areas where the call to go towards classical education is necessitated.
The second part is a call for Christian education. The need to build one's education platform is highlighted on the need to have a Christian worldview foundation. The separation between what a Christian worldview looks like and an American view is probably better highlighted today and the expanse between the two is divided further. This is where classical education is introduced and rightly so as some might view the topic as just "reading the old stuff". So the need to view "the old stuff" and even the secular stuff, both old and new, needs to be filtered through the Christian worldview. With presuppositionalism/Greg Bahsen/Van Til being more known today, or maybe more known to me, this is also an evergreen idea.
The final part is seeing what classical education is like and the case study of Wilson's Logos school is used to show as the model. This was probably a foreign idea in 1991 but as an introduction to the topic in 2022 where you're audience is probably more acceptable to the idea, more details of what it looks like would probably be beneficial. I would have liked to have seen some more direct contrasts between the public education model and classical model in coverage than in outcomes. It is there, but further detail would have been nice. A portion that was really beneficial was on seeing why learning Latin was an important tool. It's not just to learn it so one can brag about knowing but the utility in both reading and other subjects are improved in learning Latin.
Probably the least helpful section was Wilson's critique of homeschooling. Again, charity should be granted for a book from 1991 where an increase in even knowing about homeschooling to the reader was probably low. However, Wilson doesn't really make his case for homeschooling and especially those that homeschool in a classical curriculum or co-op. While this is the least helpful section, it's an ancillary topic to the more important goal to learn about classical education.
This is a quick read for someone to get a primer in understanding or being convinced of classical education. Even with 1991 statistics, one can skip the first part of the book and read the part about Christian worldview education (the second part) or what is classical education (the third part). The appendix offers some tools and example curriculum to get a direct showing of what's involved in classical education. Still a good introduction book on a classical approach to education. Final Grade - B+
January 9, 2023
I had a very distinct impression of what this book would be, perhaps because of Wilson's firebrand reputation, but it was straight up scholarly and even handed. We've been classically educating our kids for eleven years, so none of this was new for me, but it shows that Wilson truly was one of the pioneers of the neoclassical Christian education movement, and the book is well worth reading.
Some things have changed a lot since the early 90s--references to George Roche and Gregg Harris are a bit awkward for those of us who attended Hillsdale College after the scandal and have followed the trajectory of Josh Harris--and technology has mitigated some of his concerns about homeschooling -- my son took a biology class online from Logos School last year. Maybe half a star off for the homeschooling concerns chapter, which was the weakest. I was being homeschooled when this book was written, and we had plenty of options even back then to share the burden of labor and handle classes parents aren't equipped to teach. But the book is really about his vision for Christian schools, so I don't fault him for giving homeschooling short shrift. And I actually really liked his critique of the unschooling philosophy and what it believes about human nature.
My biggest takeaway is in thinking how much of Wilson's vision actually has worked. One of the biggest problems I have with today's classical education movement is how we're still not very equipped to be teaching the unfamiliar subjects like Latin. Having studied Latin for two semesters in college, I am more qualified to teach it than almost all of the CC tutors and small Classical Christian school teachers I know. Yikes! Places like Hillsdale and NSA are doing their best to improve that situation, but it's a long way from being fixed.
Some things have changed a lot since the early 90s--references to George Roche and Gregg Harris are a bit awkward for those of us who attended Hillsdale College after the scandal and have followed the trajectory of Josh Harris--and technology has mitigated some of his concerns about homeschooling -- my son took a biology class online from Logos School last year. Maybe half a star off for the homeschooling concerns chapter, which was the weakest. I was being homeschooled when this book was written, and we had plenty of options even back then to share the burden of labor and handle classes parents aren't equipped to teach. But the book is really about his vision for Christian schools, so I don't fault him for giving homeschooling short shrift. And I actually really liked his critique of the unschooling philosophy and what it believes about human nature.
My biggest takeaway is in thinking how much of Wilson's vision actually has worked. One of the biggest problems I have with today's classical education movement is how we're still not very equipped to be teaching the unfamiliar subjects like Latin. Having studied Latin for two semesters in college, I am more qualified to teach it than almost all of the CC tutors and small Classical Christian school teachers I know. Yikes! Places like Hillsdale and NSA are doing their best to improve that situation, but it's a long way from being fixed.
February 21, 2025
Probably the best Doug Wilson book I have read. Wilson in other books tends to collect his thoughts around a topic in a fairly unorganized manner, in my opinion. In this book, he does a good job of building his argument, defining the problem, and characterizing a solution. Additionally, this book doesn’t address certain controversial subjects that Wilson is known to advocate for, which makes the book a bit more broadly useful.
So what is this book? An argument for private, classical Christian eduction. It is, essentially, an expansion and an application of Dorothy Sayers masterful essay “the Lost Tools of Learning” (included in an appendix of this book. The essay is a must read in its own right). At this point the book itself is a bit dated but a lot of the principles and arguments still hold. His chapter pushing back on homeschooling I found balanced, well written, and worthy of consideration for parents trying to compare and contrast private and home schooling (and that is coming from someone who was homeschooled for a good portion of his eduction).
There is also a delightful little “history of public school systems in America” appendix that had some thoughts I had not considered before.
My personal opinion: start with Sayers essay. Consume it slowly and carefully; it really is the “shot heard round the world” of the classical Christian education movement. After you have a grasp of Sayers argument, read through Wilson’s book to start thinking through what “classical Christian” can and should look like in the real world. I already was leaning heavily towards classical Christian before reading this book and I think I am even more so after completing it.
So what is this book? An argument for private, classical Christian eduction. It is, essentially, an expansion and an application of Dorothy Sayers masterful essay “the Lost Tools of Learning” (included in an appendix of this book. The essay is a must read in its own right). At this point the book itself is a bit dated but a lot of the principles and arguments still hold. His chapter pushing back on homeschooling I found balanced, well written, and worthy of consideration for parents trying to compare and contrast private and home schooling (and that is coming from someone who was homeschooled for a good portion of his eduction).
There is also a delightful little “history of public school systems in America” appendix that had some thoughts I had not considered before.
My personal opinion: start with Sayers essay. Consume it slowly and carefully; it really is the “shot heard round the world” of the classical Christian education movement. After you have a grasp of Sayers argument, read through Wilson’s book to start thinking through what “classical Christian” can and should look like in the real world. I already was leaning heavily towards classical Christian before reading this book and I think I am even more so after completing it.
July 13, 2024
This book would probably get four stars if I counted the appendices, and if I read it without my own home education experience, and if I wasn’t born a couple of years after it was first published. I enjoyed it, but I would be hard pressed to recommend it as useful today. Wilson is an excellent writer But everyone knows US public schools are awful. I didn’t need pages of (now) outdated research indicating that. Nor did I find the biblical information on parental responsibility any more than what I grew up hearing and knowing.
The (gracious) anti-homeschool chapter does not sound like something Wilson would write today. As an aspiring home ed mom, I also have concerns with all the pitfalls he lists, except for his argument that an education at home is limited in its depth by the fact that only the parent is the teacher. He is encouraging classical education, but Wilson seems to have forgotten that the Ancient Romans and Medieval Scholastics probably didn’t have one teacher for English, one for Math, one for Chemistry, and one for History. Classical education is supposed to teach the student how to learn, and I think few students are hampered by their parents’ bandwidth (which is Wilson’s concern), if the student has a thirst for knowledge and their parent is willing to help.
I greatly appreciated the information directly on the trivium and the benefits of teaching Latin in the grammar stage, especially since I aim to teach Latin to my own young children, however, I believe that there are other resources today for this information, without a lot of the other outdated chapters.
The (gracious) anti-homeschool chapter does not sound like something Wilson would write today. As an aspiring home ed mom, I also have concerns with all the pitfalls he lists, except for his argument that an education at home is limited in its depth by the fact that only the parent is the teacher. He is encouraging classical education, but Wilson seems to have forgotten that the Ancient Romans and Medieval Scholastics probably didn’t have one teacher for English, one for Math, one for Chemistry, and one for History. Classical education is supposed to teach the student how to learn, and I think few students are hampered by their parents’ bandwidth (which is Wilson’s concern), if the student has a thirst for knowledge and their parent is willing to help.
I greatly appreciated the information directly on the trivium and the benefits of teaching Latin in the grammar stage, especially since I aim to teach Latin to my own young children, however, I believe that there are other resources today for this information, without a lot of the other outdated chapters.
January 19, 2018
Not sure what to think of this book overall. The beginning was interesting -- lots of statistics on the current (as of publication) state of education. I'd like to know what has changed in the last 15-20 years since most of those numbers were recorded. The core of the book was somewhat frustrating; head-scratchers abounded. Wilson would go along quite convincingly, then inform me in a tangent that proper parenting leads to Christian children. Every time. That's just how God has set up parental authority! I also didn't buy some of his arguments. For example, he basically says that memorizing the multiplication table (instead of just learning why/how multiplication works) is the BIBLICAL thing to do. Really? Why can't he just say the obvious -- that memorizing the table works 100x better -- instead of making a stand on such an extreme statement? I was interested to see what he would have to say about homeschooling (especially after reading his warnings to mothers in another book) and found cautious support. That's understandable given his position on the importance of a teacher having a thorough understanding of Latin. My favorite section was the essay by Dorothy Sayers that the book was based on. I loved her tone, her humor, and her message.
All in all, I'm still interested in learning more about this method of education, but I doubt I would ever earn Wilson's approval.
"A book from a library"
All in all, I'm still interested in learning more about this method of education, but I doubt I would ever earn Wilson's approval.
"A book from a library"
September 14, 2022
I want to give this book to every Christian who believes that sending their children to public school is a viable option. Doug does a wonderful job of diagnosing the problems with our current education system, examining the causes, and challenging Christians with a biblical solution. I really appreciated his emphasis on parents being the ones with the responsibility to educate their children in a Christian way, whether home schooled or Christian schooled. He laid out a solid case for abandoning the public education system as a salvageable institution and rather what the Christian education ought to be. I do not necessarily agree with all of his critiques of homeschooling, but he made some valid points in that section as well. Overall, a great resource for the Christian to think through the issue of education.
March 4, 2022
This book is a fine introduction to classical Christian education. I would give it 4 stars, but I felt like several of the studies mentioned and methods of discipline are outdated now since its original publication in 1991. Despite this, I can see how this book started a small revolution for tens of thousands of Christians and their families around the U.S.. There’s a lot at stake in the education of our children as culture continues to disintegrate into a postmodern landfill
December 30, 2022
This was a fascinating read. As someone who attended a public school, I always interjected with the “I turned out fine” argument. This isn’t sufficient. As Christians, if the education we provide isn’t towards the goal of teaching a full-orbed Biblical worldview, our labors are in vain. As is common from Wilson, his arguments are compelling. Great read for any Christian regardless if they have kids or not.
September 26, 2019
This book was my introduction to Douglas Wilson somewhere in the mid-90s. Perhaps the best recommendation I can give this book, is that since finishing this book, I have read every other book he's written.
July 10, 2021
My friend said she felt like she was in the cage stage of Christian education after reading this book 😆. I can think of no better review. Wilson says there is no neutrality in education, and I wholeheartedly agree. Don’t skip appendix C. It’s fascinating.
October 5, 2024
He made some good points throughout the book so the book was fifty-fifty for me. I liked his main message across the book but I didn't like how he would phrase or talk about certain parts of the point.
June 6, 2020
Convincing. Though I would advocate home school over Christian school, the principles, warnings, and insights of this book need to be adopted by all faithful Christians.
Read
October 7, 2020A real throwback to my mom reading this when I was in 6th grade—I felt like her as I read passages out loud to Joshua. Really good. Surprisingly funny.
August 8, 2021
Wow. Maybe I won’t homeschool after all.
April 19, 2022
Every Christian parent should read this. Anyone thinking about parenting should read this.
September 22, 2022
Outstanding
February 1, 2023
only good book by douglas wilson
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