Teleology concerns the explanation of a thing by means of the end result it is to achieve. With respect to teleology, a baseball bat is the producer of runs, and a pot is the means by which we get our spaghetti cooked. And, so, classical education as a whole, with respect to its teleology, asserts that it is the way in which humans can achieve goodness.
But I must be clear and specific in what I mean, because the idea of goodness comes in different flavors.
Secular Classical Education
Within the scope of a non-religious classical school, the goodness which that kind of classical education seeks to form in a student is that which will allow them to enjoy the most out of life as is naturally possible. It is the good of functioning well within the boundaries of society, and the good of maintaining solid relationships at home and at work, and the good of living up to the approximate sense of morality around them. Being educated classically in the non-religious sense aims at liberating the student to become this kind of good person in life.
And it is at this point (among others) that I believe the non-Christian classical school model actually falls short.
Time will tell, but I think that modern secularized classical movements will prove to be less effective than imagined in the long run. The reason for this contention has to do with their fundamental inconsistency in both foundation and goals. Secular classical approaches are built upon a non-Biblical truth foundation and aim at a not-Biblical picture of goodness in the student.
One example of such a movement is the model proposed by Hillsdale College. For all its practical helpfulnesses,1 Hillsdale's model fails to explicitly declare that God alone is the standard of truth, goodness and beauty. They do not assert that God’s idea of truth is the only definition of truth, and that God’s idea of goodness is the only definition of goodness. A clear example of this is seen in their statement concerning the "goodness" they would like to see formed in their students:
“By teaching students to cultivate moral virtue, classical education guides us into freedom by making us self-reliant and responsible, capable of governing ourselves and taking part in the self-government of our communities.”
What they’re saying is that natural moral virtue (or, fruitfully good human character that anyone can naturally achieve) yields freedom for students. And this freedom causes one to be self-reliant, responsible, self-governing and community-minded.
Christians should be able to see through the theological problems with this end, and to conclude that it is in no way Biblical. I'll point out just a few errors: First, true virtue is only achieved as a result of saving faith (2 Peter 1:5). Thus, anything that’s called a virtue that a non-Christian could attain is actually not one. Second, Christians understand that education does not liberate ("guide us into freedom"), but rather it is Christ himself who liberates (Galatians 5:1). The kind of natural liberation to which Hillsdale refers is one which allows a student to remain enslaved to spiritual depravity with all its noetic effects. And, third, any system that seeks to create self-reliant humans is one that leads souls away from the truth of the Gospel. Christians are not self-reliant in any way; we are Christ-reliant in everything.
Christian Classical Education
Whereas non-Christian Classical education can only aim at the telos of natural goodness, Christian Classical schools can seek to lead students to a goodness of supernatural and eternal quality. This ought to be a cherished distinctive.
As Christians, we affirm that "no one is good except God alone." (Mark 10:18) So, any concept of human goodness must be necessarily derived from an understanding of divine goodness, as there is no true goodness in any other source. And I must point out a vitally important implication which falls from this idea: The telos of CCE for the student can never be merely natural in nature — it is, rather, a supernatural goal that's in mind. CCE aims not only at the mind but also at the heart. The goal of CCE is not merely to make a bright and outwardly good U.S. citizen; the goal is to make a God-fearing and God-loving citizen of the Kingdom of Christ.
It is at this point that classical Christian schools must understand their distinction from non-religious classical institutions. Classical Christian educators have in mind the eternal goodness of their students, not merely the transient goodness of a life which conforms to societal norms. The equipping that CCE seeks to perform pertains to a student’s heart and soul, and not just his mind.
One vital clarification remains. And here are some biblical texts which should make the need for this clarification obvious:
1 Corinthians 1:18
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:14
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Romans 8:7
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
Scripture indicates that humans do not naturally receive the Word of Truth in order to be made good by it. And, no matter how much teachers long to see their students receive and embrace the life-giving elements of Christian doctrine which underly a Christian Classical approach, there is no natural means by which supernatural change for good can occur. The verses above indicate that fallen humanity lacks the ability to understand (in a transformative way) the things of God. And this means that a supernatural work of God must occur in order for the fullness of Classical Christian Education to be formed in the student. Teachers are part of a student’s transformation, in that they teach Truth and point attention to Beauty and model Goodness. But the real work is God’s. God alone can fashion Goodness in a person.
But this leaves the Classical Christian teacher with such a hope!
If only by the testimony of our own lives, we realize that God is presently and actively working to turn unworthy people into new creations that demonstrate his divine Goodness. And by the testimony of Scripture in 1 Peter 1:23 we realize that this new life is wrought “through the living and abiding word of God.”
So, as students are taught how all academic pursuits are built upon a foundation of God’s Word, and as they are directed to know their Creator by a loving teacher, they are actually being equipped with that which can transform them into truly good humans. The teacher fuels the mind of the student with that which God’s Spirit can use to transform his heart.
What a noble task and partnership this is.
Let it be known that I’m deeply thankful for (and, in some ways, indebted to) the work that Hillsdale is doing in the realm of classical education. They are aiming at providing a classical kind of education that “works” regardless of a student’s religion, and as such it is a commendable alternative to a public school education. I simply am trying to point out the fact that secular classical education is, ultimately, an inconsistent approach because of its inability to point to God as foundational to all things.