I first heard about the Calgary Classical Academy in 2021 when Caylan Ford was on The Western Standard and it was like Prometheus just handed me fire. I had been struggling to figure out the educational path that I was going to put my children on. This was exasperated by the actions taken by Alberta’s public education system in 2020-2022. Since that interview, they successfully open the Calgary Classical Academy (CCA) and planning an Edmonton Classical Academy.
So what is a classical education? CCA’s website describes it as “Classical education relies on knowledge-rich curricula and teacher-led classrooms, and is centred on great and enduring works of art, literature, and philosophy. Through the study of classical works from around the world, students become conversant with the past. They learn to inhabit different perspectives, think deeply about life’s most fundamental questions, and develop intellectual and moral discernment.
Although academically rigorous, a true liberal arts education is not limited to making students narrowly useful or equipping them for material success. Recalling Confucius, we hold that “an educated person is not a tool.” Children are not merely future workers; they are future friends, spouses, neighbours, parents, and citizens. They are bearers of souls, which thirst after knowledge of the true and the good. A classical education prepares students not only to live, but to live virtuously and with purpose.”
What is CCA’s philosophy as outlined on their website “The Calgary Classical Academy will deliver a classical liberal arts education, which aims to equip students with the virtues, knowledge, and habits befitting free citizens.
Our philosophy begins with the assertion that truth exists, independent of time or human opinion. In order to acquire the qualities of intellectual and moral discernment, students must first seek a grounding in truth.
The pursuit of truth is a life-long endeavour: it begins with the experience of philosophical wonder, is nurtured through exposure to great ideas and beautiful works of art, is practiced through free inquiry and disciplined study, and is sustained through a love of wisdom.”.
I am very disappointed that education has become so political, and groups have chosen to prioritize money over children’s education. There are so many ways children learn and I do not believe you can scale education. When centralization creates a system so large that it cannot be agile or innovative. In the future, we’ll see more decentralized systems and education could flourish in that future.
Classical Conversations Timeline Song
