What do we really want?

I am very proud of my kids. All the credit goes to my wife, Stacey.

This is a photo of 4 of our 5 kids.

Our kids have been educated “Classically”. If you are not familiar with the classical education method here is a very short (not exhaustive) explanation.

There are 3 parts of Classical Education (Again, not-exhaustive)

Grammar – This is when we learn facts and terms etc. Think of this as getting to know the names of things. It is hard to get on the same page and communicate if you don’t know what to call the items we want to communicate about.

Dialectic – This is a fancy word for logic or reasoning. This is when we learn how things work together with one another. How elements we learned in the grammar phase interact and work with each other.

Rhetoric – This is where we learn how to express ourselves. We know the name of things (Grammar), we know how they work together (Dialectic), now it is time to have an opinion and be able to communicate what we know or feel about the subject. This is about being articulate and persuasive.

DONE! whew! Now that we have that out of the way.

What do we really want?

I think we should start with the end in mind. What does that look like?

Christian, gracious, smart, discerning, understanding, successful, fun, happy, hardworking, healthy, and wise. Ok, you get the idea.

I love Classical education but while I can make a great case for classical education it by itself won’t get my kids to the end result I really want.

The missing piece is…..

“The Word”

Yep, the Bible, Jesus, God is the key to what I really want and it works in concert with classical education.

Grammar – Knowledge – relationship with Christ (get to know Him)

Dialectic – Understanding – wrestling with what scripture (interpretation and application)

Rhetoric – Wisdom – Good judgment (sound application of knowledge and understanding.

Yes, this is what I really want not only for my kids but for myself.