Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning: An Approach to Distinctively Christian Education

Highly polemical and a very pointed critique of much of modern culture in general, and education in particular. Not as much of a positive account and justification of "classical christian education" as I hoped. Nonetheless, as someone from both a "great books" and "modern evangelical" background, it was a helpful introduction to the approach, and I felt able to read between the lines where needed. Not so sure it would be as approachable to someone who lacked either (let alone both) sets of sub-culture background.

Borrowed from library of Rockbridge Academy in Waterbury, MD.

"Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning" is an evangelical Protestant, albeit Calvinistic, support of Classical Education with the privately run Christian school seen as the preferred vehicle of accomplishing this.

As a look into a particular application of this idea, i.e. Classical Education, via Wilson's 'Logos School' it has value as a concrete real-life example within a private school situation, but doesn't provide enough of a thorough general grounding in Classical Education to be applied easily to a home-school situation.

For those interested in a heavily Scriptural defense - though from a strong Calvinistic interpretation - of private schooling, especially versus public schooling, this book suffices.

The book, being published in show more 1991, is outdated in parts - especially in the area of television, and video stores - but the general message of those sections is still relevant even in the age of the internet and social media.

The including of Dorothy Sayers' essay, "The Lost Tools of Learning" in Appendix A is helpful; especially if one does not already have it.

Overall, I rated this book with 3 stars.

It provides an interesting window into Classical Education as viewed by a Protestant Calvinist running a private school, but it is certainly not a general 'handbook' to Classical Education. show less

I was disappointed with this book. Wilson seems to set up a false dichotomy between classical education and the dreaded public school system. Yes, it's titled "an" approach, not "the" approach, but I found myself waiting for more support in favor of his approach rather than reasons to distrust the public school.

This book gets one star for it's explanation of the Trivium. But I cannot recommend this book. It's based on several illogical premises that seem based purely on faith and personal preferences. I am concerned for the children who attend this school he describes, and was flabbergasted with his description of children as inherently evil. I am afraid Douglas Wilson has not moved out of the Middle Ages in many of his belief systems, and this is ufortunate becuse classical education can do wonderful things for people of all religions and all backgrounds. And nobody need be identified as lacking good character or going to hell in the process. It would be lovely to modify this book and to write about Classical Education from it's original show more roots in Hedonism and some would say the Humanis roots of Unitarian Universalism. See Climbing Parnassus for an understanding of where the Trivium came from originally before the Catholic church stole the philosophy and logic of the Greeks in order to use it to convince people through rhetoric of the value of faith based religions. show less