Have you read The Liberal Arts Tradition by Kevin Clark and Ravi Jain yet? If you are interested in classical education, this book is not to be missed, and if you are interested in Charlotte Mason, you will do yourself a disservice if you dismiss it without a thoughtful reading. (If you just don’t have time, I commiserate!)
As I write this, I have read 50% of the book—on my Kindle. I decided I had to have a physical copy, and so much time elapsed between that reading and now that I need to go back to the beginning. It’s been worth it!
I thought I might blog through it as I read—in a “this is what caught my attention” kind of way, and not systematically. If you’re reading now, or have read the book, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
The Foreword, by Peter Kreeft, explains that the book isn’t just about the seven historical liberal arts alone, but “It is an education of the whole person, not just the calculating intellect.” I hear echoes of Charlotte Mason, already.
Here’s a list of links to all the posts in the series:
3. Clark, Jain, Mason, and the science of relations
14. Seven liberal arts, One long tradition
15. Do you want to know the truth?
16. Natural Philosophy—ask why, not just how!
17. Moral Philosophy—what do you see in the mirror?
18. Divine Philosophy—questions are as important as answers
I read a hard copy a couple years ago. Revolutionary! My book is full of highlights, underlining, and margin notes. I would love to read your thoughts on your blog. I wrote about it on my blog, but I think the biggest takeaway has been the big picture about the progression of a classical education and how the quadrivium and the trivium progress together.
My CM Study Group started reading this in Feb. We are currently reading about Quadrivium for our May meeting. I have much underlining and many margin notes. I intend to blog through, but haven’t found time as of yet. I look forward to reading your posts.
All the marking and underlining is the reason it wasn’t working for me to read this on my Kindle. Plus the footnotes–they are such an important part of the book. I hope you blog through it, too. I feel like this book deserves some exposure.
I totally understand the need for hard copy. The footnotes are invaluable! Thanks for your encouragement 🙂
Looking forward to following this series of blog posts. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom.