Philosophy of Classical Education Titles

The top 20 books (no particular order) are the most important to understanding the philosophy of classical education. If you read at least three of these titles, you will begin to grasp the path of a liberal arts education. 

1. The Liberal Arts Tradition: A Philosophy of Christian Classical Education by Ravi Jain and Kevin Clark & published by CAP (For 15% off CAP products use discount code CEPODCAST15 at checkout)

2. The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis

3. Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper

4. Norms & Nobility by David Hicks

5. Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Liberal Arts Tradition by Karen Glass

6. In Vital Harmony by Karen Glass

7. A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason  (OR the abridged version, Mind to Mind by Charlotte Mason and Karen Glass )

8. Poetic Knowledge by James Taylor

9. The Death of Christian Culture by John Senior

10. The Restoration of Christian Culture by John Senior

11. Beauty for Truth’s Sake: On the Re-enchantment of Education by Stratford Caldecott

12. Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education by Stratford Caldecott

13. Awakening Wonder: A Classical Guide to Truth, Goodness & Beauty by Steve Turley

14. The Great Tradition: Classic Readings on What It Means to Be an Educated Human Being by Richard Gamble

15. The Love of Learning and The Desire for God: A Study of Monastic Culture by Jean Leclercq O.S.B.

16. The Republic by Plato (Translated by Allan Bloom)

17. The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

18. The Seven Liberal Arts in the Middle Ages by David L. Wagner

19. Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy by Mortimer Adler

20. Confessions by St. Augustine (translated by Maria Boulding)

Books on How to Teach

These books are excellent for beginning to understand how to teach classically. They are great for both at home educators and classroom teachers.

1. A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason (Centenary Expanded Edition | Smidgen Press)

2. Know and Tell: The Art of Narration  by Karen Glass

3. When Children Love to Learn compiled by Elaine Cooper

4. Something They Will Not Forget by Joshua Gibbs

5. How to be Unlucky by Joshua Gibbs

6. The Seven Laws of Teaching by John Milton Gregory

7. Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child's Moral Imagination, 2nd edition by Vigen Guroian

8. The Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart

9. The Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto by Mortimer Adler

10. The Giants of History Series by Classical Academic Press (For 15% off CAP products use discount code CEPODCAST15 at checkout)

11. Lost Seeds of Learning: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric as Living Arts by Phillip Donnelly & CAP (For 15% off CAP products use discount code CEPODCAST15 at checkout)

12. Common Arts Education: Renewing the Classical Tradition of Training the Hands, Head, and Heart by Chris Hall & CAP (For 15% off CAP products use discount code CEPODCAST15 at checkout)

13. An Experiment in Criticism by C.S. Lewis

14. The Educated Imagination by Northrop Frye

Short Readings 

These are short readings or essays that are online for free or in the public domain. A general search will locate these titles. 

“A Short Introduction to Classical Education" by Joshua Gibbs (this pamphlet was discussed on the Classical Educaiton Podcast, Season 3 Episode 12.)

“So Your Parents are Thinking of Sending You to a Classical School” by Joshua Gibbs.

Notable Short Dialogues of Plato (esp. Georgias, Theaetetus, Cratylus, Meno, Apology, Euthyphro, Crito) or Middle Platonic Dialogues Collection

“Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God” by Simone Weill (the Lit Life podcast did an excellent episode on this essay, Episode 51)

“Reclaiming Childhood Through Poetry” by Anthony Esolen

"The Aims of Education” by Alfred North Whitehead

“Classical Schools Are Not Really Classical” by Jonathan Roberts (This essay was discussed on the Classical Education Podcast, Season 3, Epoisode 9.)

“What’s Virtue Got to do with it?” by Andrew Ellison

“Education by the Muses”  by Dennis Quinn

“A Defense of Poetry” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

“The Fantastic Imagination” by George MacDonald (this essay was discussed on the Classical Education Podcast, Season 3, Episode 8.)

“On Fairy Stories” by J.R.R. Tolkien

Educators of Young Children

Notable titles for teachers, home educators, or caregivers for toddlers-5th graders.

For The Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay 

Home Education by Charlotte Mason (Volume 1 of the Home Education Series)

A Thinking Love by Karen Glass

In Vital Harmony by Karen Glass

Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classical Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination (second edition) by Vigen Guroian

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Anthony Esolen

Simply Classical: A beautiful Education for any Child by Cheryl Swope