I often reference classical education without fully defining it. To assist in understanding the difference between modern education and classical education, here are 5 key differentiators that serve as a starting point for comparison.

1) The goal of classical education is cultivating wonder and virtue in students (think of the 4 cardinal virtues and the 3 theological virtues). The goal of modern education is “College and Career Readiness”.

2) Classical education aims to pass down wisdom and build upon the work of previous generations. Modern education just doesn’t do this.

3. Integration - Classical education prioritizes a comprehensive approach where all academic disciplines are connected by a unifying "whole truth." In contrast, modern education often teaches subjects in isolation from one another.

4. Classical education follows a structure called the Trivium, which consists of Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric, aligned with a child's developmental stages. In contrast, modern education prioritizes skill development.

5. Classical education has been the dominant form of education in the West for millennia. Modern education, on the other hand, is a 20th-century invention, a departure from tradition, and the result of trying to apply industrial revolution factory efficiencies on humans.