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The Science Behind a Classical Education:
A Doctor and Parent's Perspective
By Dr. Mark Mosley
Imagine a map of the United States. We used to think of the brain as this type of map. If you got shot in your Kentucky, we believed Kentucky was destroyed, we now know Florida, California, Texas and a dozen other states can replace Kentucky. This is called brain "plasticity".
The best recent example of brain "plasticity" is Congresswoman Gifford. She was shot in her speech center. By our old understanding, she would never speak again. However, through the use of music, art and physical activity, other areas of her brain were used to retrain her brain to speak.
Why am I talking about brain plasticity? Even though brain plasticity is our newest understanding of neurodevelopment and learning; somewhat miraculously, the classical education approach has used this truth for millennia. Classical education fits with the best way we know to train the brain - by integrating multiple areas of the brain.
Theory only takes us so far. I would like to share my personal experience with a classical education. Many of you may know that Jane and I have five children: four of which are currently in different private Christian schools. We have had a lot of experience with private schools. They teach using a traditional approach where each particular subject is handled separately. You go to math class with your math book and learn about numbers from the math teacher; then you go to your English class with your English book and English teacher; then your music class and so on. The information is not integrated and not multi-sensory. The information is taught as if the brain were a map. The exception is our 7-year-old daughter who is receiving a classical education.
I must be honest. The teachers at the classical school are not necessarily better. Our daughter, who is a bright girl, is not necessarily brighter than her three older brothers who have been schooled with a traditional approach. However, there is a distinct and marked difference in what she is able to accomplish in her classical education compared to her brothers. My mouth literally gapes open at the complexity of the concepts she is able to master with relative ease. I believe that this is because classical education integrates math, literature, music, art, and science into a common unified goal using the whole brain just as you have witnessed here tonight.
So why not keep my daughter in a private, Christian classical school that is already established? Well, the only thing better than a classical education, which integrates logic, math, music, art and physical activity, is one that integrates the Orthodox Christian faith. In fact, the Orthodox liturgy is the perfect icon of a classical education approach, which teaches God?s presence through sound, smell, sight, reason, music, taste and movement all with a unified purpose. The brain and the mind do not function like a map - they function best like a type of liturgy.
Brain plasticity, classical education, and the Orthodox spiritual life are the complete materials for training up a child. By the grace of God, may we build this together at Christ the Savior Academy.