Classical Liberal Arts
Education
Classical Education in the
Catholic Tradition
All education culminates in the formation of each student in the Catholic Tradition, through which supernatural revelation is communicated to man for the sake of his salvation. Students will learn the truths contained in Scripture and Tradition, as handed on and guarded safe from within the bosom of the Magisterium (teaching office) of the Catholic Church. Moreover, students will move from the symbols (dogmas and doctrines) to the experience of the realities to which these symbols point by frequent participation in the Church's liturgy, through which the presence and actions of God are communicated to their souls.
Classical education consists of teaching students within the framework of the trivium: grammar (how to use symbols to express thought), logic (how to think), and rhetoric (how to communicate). Together, these three dimensions of the liberal arts pertain to the formation of the human mind. They are the foundation of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and persuading.
The Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools
1
Inspired by a Supernatural Vision
The foundation on which the Catholic Church builds her educational philosophy is the conviction that it is a process which forms the whole child. The specific purpose of a Catholic education is the formation of boys and girls who will be good citizens of this world, enriching society with the leaven of the Gospel, but who will also be citizens of the world to come. Catholic schools, therefore, have a straightforward goal and moral obligation: to foster the growth of good Catholic human beings who love God and neighbor and thus fulfill their destiny of becoming saints.
2
Founded on a Christian Anthropology
A Catholic school must be founded on Jesus Christ the Redeemer who, through his Incarnation, is united with each student. Christ is not an after-thought or an add-on to Catholic educational philosophy but the center and fulcrum of the entire enterprise, the light enlightening every pupil who comes into our schools
3
Animated by Communion and Community
That the Catholic school is an educational community “is one of the most enriching developments for the contemporary school. The community aspect of a Catholic school is rooted both in the social nature of the human person and the reality of the Church as both home and school of communion."
4
Imbued with a Catholic Worldview
Catholicism should permeate the entire curriculum. The teachings of the Catholic faith should not be confined to one single religion class but sould be the lens through which the entire curriculum should be viewed.
5
Sustained by Gospel Witness
The careful hiring of men and women who enthusiastically endorse a Catholic ethos is the primary way to foster a school’s catholicity. Catholic education is strengthened by its “martyrs.”
Adapted from the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education for more information Click Here
Etymology of Education
Etymology is the study of the history and original meaning of words. When we stop to think carefully about the words we use, we understand those words and what the mean in a deeper way.
In studying the word education, it comes from the latin noun educatio, which stems from the verb educare. Educare referred to the raising of children. Specifically, it had to do with nourishment and training. Therefore, St. Augustine could write that the people of Isreal were educated (educati sunt) by God Himself (City of God 4.34). Educare seems closely related to the word educere, which means "to lead out".
Given these meanings, we can gain a better sense of what education is really about. It is about leading children out of darkness by nourishing them and training them in truth, beauty and goodness of God. As the Church teaches, parents are the primary educators of their children. Here at Archangels Academy, we are honored to support that education in the true sense of the word.
Dr. Timothy Warnock
Academic Dean
Archangels Academy
Five Intellectual Virtues
Three Speculative and Two Practical
Art
The virtue of art pertains to the use of reason to create and make things in imitation of the Creator.
Click on the link below for a brief explanation.