Education as Christian Formation: Part II of The Benedict Option

The Benedict Option: Education as Christian Formation

Part II of the book review: The Benedict Option, by Rod Dreher

Dreher devotes chapter seven of his book to the topic of Education as Christian Formation. He begins by referencing Václav Benda and the failure of the dissident movement to establish a schooling system that would provide an alternative education to the state’s. He draws a parallel with Christianity in America for the need to establish an alternative to the public education system that will allow believers to preserve their religious beliefs, moral values, and cultural memory.

Michael Hanby, professor of religion and philosophy of science at Washington’s Pontifical John Paul II Institute, declared:

The point of monasticism was not simply to retreat from a corrupt world to survive, though in various iterations that might have been a dimension to it. But at the heart of it was a quest for God. It was that quest that mandated the preservation of classical learning and the pagan tradition by the monks, because they loved what was true and what was beautiful wherever they found it.

Dreher argues for a return in the Christian community to classical Christian education. One of the hallmarks of the Benedict Option movement is the spread of classical Christian schools. Here, Dreher makes an impassioned plea for Christian parents to remove their children from public schools and provide them with he calls “a rightly ordered education.”

For Dreher, the mainstream model of education is geared towards equipping students to succeed in the workforce, to provide a pleasant, secure life for themselves and their families, and reach their goals. The standard Christian education model today takes this and simply adds religion classes and prayer services.

In Dreher’s thought this traditional Christian model is based on a flawed anthropology (what a person is). In traditional Christianity, the goal of the soul is to love and serve God with all one’s heart, soul, and mind. To prepare for eternal life, we must join ourselves to Christ and strive to live in harmony with His divine will.

In the Benedictine tradition, learning is wholly integrated into the life of prayer and work. Monasteries became places in which monks undertook the painstaking work of copying by hand Holy Scripture, prayer books, and patristic writings. To compartmentalize education, separating from the life of the church, is to create a false distinction. For Benedict, discipleship was a matter of pedagogy, of training both the heart and mind to grow beyond spiritual infancy.

Classical Christian education, which reigned from the Greco-Roman period until the modern era, was about passing on a culture and one culture in particular: the culture of the West, and for most of that time, the Christian West. The goal was to product another generation with the same ideals and values based on a vision of what a human being was.

Dreher advocates a return to the classical, Christian education of the Greco-Roman world. But what does this look like?

·         It emphasizes study of the Scriptures that integrate Bible knowledge and meditation into their lives.

The Rule of St. Benedict prescribes set daily times for engaging in reading Scripture and contemplating it. It also encourages other forms of reading. For example, during Lent the Rule directs each monk to read a book from their monastic library. The Rule also instructs monks to read the Church Fathers and the lives of the saints. Dreher believes that this will help bind young Christians together to stand against the onslaught of secularism.

·         Immersion into the History of Western Civilization.

Classical Christian education proceeds from the conviction that God works through art, literature, and the philosophy of the past, both Greco-Roman and Christian. One cannot understand the West apart from the Christian faith, and we cannot understand the Christian faith as we live it today without understanding the history and culture of the West.

Dreher does offer a caveat that must be considered:

1.      Christian schools are not necessarily a “safe space.”

In many Christian schools, Christianity is merely a veneer over a secular way of looking at the world. Many parents use Christian schools as a way to shield their children from what they perceive to be harmful effects of public schools, only to find the same problems exist in Christian schools.

In The Benedict Option, Dreher offers some practical help to those who wish to start classical, Christian schools. He advocates using The CiRCE Institute, a North Carolina based Christian organization that trains teachers in the classical model. This model:

·         Orders everything around the Logos, Jesus Christ, and the quest to know Him with one’s heart, soul, and mind. Classical education accepts the Great Tradition’s fundamental understanding that all of reality is grounded in transcendental ideals.

·         The cultivation of personal devotion to Christ. In this model, a searching love of Christ undergirds and harmonizes all classroom learning. The end is to nurture graduates whose hearts desire truth, goodness, and beauty and who use their minds to discover these things.

·         A Great Books approach to the curriculum. It presents the canonical Western texts and works of art to students using a medieval structure called the Trivium, which corresponds to the mental capacities of young people at certain ages of development.

Typically, a student’s classical school career begins with the Grammar school, in which a student learns and commits to memory basic facts about the world. The second part is the Logic school, which corresponds to the middle school years. This is when students learn how to use reason to analyze facts and discern meaning from them. The third and final stage is the Rhetoric school, which focuses on abstract thinking, on poetry, and on clear self-expression.

Dreher is very anti-public school. While I believe he presents some solid arguments for his classical Christian approach, he is overly critical of the public-school system. I have many teachers and administrators that serve within my congregation. I know of no other people who are more selflessly committed to the well-being of children than they are. While there is no doubt there are things within the public-school curriculum that can be addressed, there are issues with Dreher’s approach as well.

The main issue with Dreher’s classical education model is finances. It is very expensive to have a proper space, hire the qualified teachers, and have supporting materials. Most families cannot afford the tuition associated with classical schools. While homeschooling is an option, that requires a parent to stay home with their child, unless they are part of a homeschooling group. I know many families that homeschool and do a fine job. However, it does require aptitude and the commitment of a parent.

A second issue with Dreher’s model is the lack of practical training. I believe an emphasis on the arts is beneficial and necessary. I also believe that vocational training is a vital aspect of education to help our children become productive citizens. There is a huge gap in Dreher’s model that does not address this need for students.

A third issue is Dreher does not address Christian families who have special needs children. There is no element in Dreher’s model to meet the needs of students who may have a learning disability, may be on the autism spectrum, or have another need that may require accommodation. Where are they to go? Is classical Christian education not an option for them?

A final issue is Dreher’s model only addresses urban/suburban areas and neglects rural ones. The examples Dreher cites as successes are all urbanized or suburban areas where there are large, professional populations. But what about rural areas that do not have this type of demographic? Where do they go? What are their options?

While I applaud Dreher for his stance and believe many of his theories have merit, there are inherent weaknesses that must be addressed for this to be a viable, realistic option for Christian families.