The Dangerous Business of Going Through the Classical Door

A snapshot from 2022. A mother’s reading life is never lonely.

A question that I have been getting more and more frequently is, “Where do I begin? Where did you begin?” This has had me reflecting back (and checking my Amazon history) to find which books set me on the path to entering the enchanted world of classical education. This will simply be a list, although like any good booklist it is really more of a story. The story of one woman who picked up a book, and then another, and then another. One thing about encountering the magical world of ideas is that you realize there were a thousand doors by which you could have come in. There is not a perfect list, in a specific order, that is a necessary requirement to membership in this community. Every one of these books was purchased simply because I heard someone I respect mention it, and they did not lead me astray. 

What I found delightful upon looking back and compiling this list is that there is not a single dud. I have already re-read many of these books more than once, and I will continue rereading many of them for years to come. Now, that said, there are a number of books I have not included in this list, despite becoming essential parts of my reading life since I first found classical education: fiction, poetry, Christian history, the writings of the church fathers, and health books to name a few. One thing about classical educational philosophy is that it impresses upon you the importance of reading widely. But I recognize that when people ask about where to begin studying classical education, they are asking specifically about educational philosophy, and so I have kept this list to books in that general category. 

 I hope you will find inspiration and encouragement for your journey as a parent looking to the ancient paths of education. I should warn you: it’s dangerous business, going through this classical door.You will not be left the same. In the words of one Bilbo Baggins, “You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

My Books, in the Order I Got Them (2018 to Present):

• The Lifegiving Home by Sally Clarkson

• Teaching from Rest by Sarah Mackenzie

• For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

• The Liberal Arts Tradition by Kevin Clark and Ravi Jain

• The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy Sayers

• The Great Tradition by Richard Gamble 

• The Republic of Plato

• Home Education by Charlotte Mason

• The Case for Classical Christian Education by Douglas Wilson

• Total Truth by Nancy Pearcy

• Ourselves by Charlotte Mason

• Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

• Morning Time: A Liturgy of Love by Cindy Rollins

• A Dish of Orts by George Macdonald 

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

• Tree and Leaf by J. R. R. Tolkien

• Wings and the Child by Edith Nesbit

• Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper

• School Education by Charlotte Mason

• Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition by Karen Glass

• Know and Tell by Karen Glass

• In Vital Harmony by Karen Glass

• Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason

• Tending the Heart of Virtue by Vigen Guroian

• Metaphysics by Aristotle

• Physics by Aristotle

• A Classical Guide to Narration by Jason Barney

• The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis

• Formation of Character by Charlotte Mason

• Norms and Nobility by David Hicks

• The Intellectual Life by A. G. Sertillanges

• You are What You Love by James Smith

• Awakening Wonder by Stephen Turley

• The Four Cardinal Virtues by Josef Pieper

• Poetics by Aristotle

• Love What Lasts by Joshua Gibbs

• The Educated Imagination by Northrop Fry

• The Discarded Image by C. S. Lewis

• Classical Versus Modern Education by Stephen Turley

• The Triumph of Tradition by Stephen Turley

• The Abolition of Sanity: C. S. Lewis on the Consequences of Modernism by Stephen Turley

• Beauty Matters by Stephen Turley

• Patterns for Life by Lisa Rose and Laura Wolfe

• The Medieval Mind of Lewis by Jason Baxter

• Poetic Knowledge by James Taylor

• An Experiment in Criticism by C. S. Lewis

• Death of Christian Culture by John Senior

• The Holy Rule of St. Benedict

• Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis

• On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius with Introduction by C. S. Lewis

• The Restoration of Christian Culture by John Senior

• Foundations of Christian Culture by Ivan Illyn

• John Senior and the Restoration of Realism by Father Bethel

• The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius (Currently Reading)

• Mysteries of Life in Children’s Literature that Inspire a Love of Life by Dr. Mitchel Kalpakgian (Currently Reading)

• A History of Education in Antiquity by H. I. Marrou (Currently Reading)

As a little bonus: Patrick has read a solid number of the books on my list, but there are a few he has appreciated that I have not yet gotten to. Here are their titles.

• When Athens Met Jerusalem by John Mark Reynolds

• The Crisis of Western Education by Christopher Dawson

• How to Be Unlucky by Joshua Gibbs

• Something They Will Not Forget by Joshua Gibbs

• In Defense of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful by Jordan Cooper

• The Roots of the American Order by Russel Kirk

• Rallying the Really Human Things by Vigen Guroian (Currently Reading)

I would love to hear in the comments: which books have captured your imagination as you have sought to learn more about the education and discipleship of children?