Why Classical?

We teach to cultivate wisdom and virtue through the classical method. The classically educated Christian does not ask, “What can I do with this learning?” but “What will this learning do to me?” The ultimate end of classical Christian education is to enable the student (disciple) to better know, glorify, and enjoy God. Our enjoyment of God is derived from our ability to see Him and to see His handiwork.

We teach to nurture our student’s souls. At The Geneva School, learning is not an end in itself.  Instead, our teachers ask God to use their knowledge, character, and deeds as instruments in His hand to cultivate the students’ souls toward holiness.

We teach to create life-long learners. Classical education is set apart from modern education in that its focus is to impart the tools of learning and tailor teaching so that they correspond to the developmental stage of each child.

We teach students using a developmental pathway referred to as the classical “Trivium,” which means the three ways. The three ways track with the natural stages of learning. The first stage is learning the grammar or basic facts (what) of a particular subject. The second stage is learning the logic or internal relationships (why) within and across disciplines. The third and final stage is the rhetoric stage (how) that explores how to practically apply the knowledge that has been gained.

We teach using the classical method because it is a proven form of education. It is the highest standard of education and has produced many of the world’s greatest thinkers, authors, scientist, inventors and politicians, such as Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Galileo, Copernicus, Johann Gutenberg, Martin Luther, William Shakespeare,  Isaac Newton, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and the rest of our country’s Founding Fathers. Classical education’s developmental wisdom has stood the test of time; it not only creates lifelong learners, but empowers these learners to apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.