At its core, the philosophy, methodology, and curriculum of the Principle Approach is wholly biblical. This synergy produces an authentic biblical worldview of life in the learner. A three-stranded cord is not easily broken (Eccl. 4:12). In short, the Principle Approach is the unfolding wisdom of God as it applies to all of life. It is learning how to live Christianly.
The Principle Approach begins with history itself, which is called Christ, His Story. “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever” (Rom. 11:32, 36).
The Hebrew aim for education was shalom, meaning peace, tranquility, completeness, wholeness, and so much more. It was refined over the centuries and expressed in every aspect of life and learning. The Hebrew people began with the supremacy of God’s Word, followed by the individuality of each person made in God’s image. Ultimately, parents passed their historical and ethical heritage to their progeny. These verses, and others, built the foundation of the Hebrew Republic, supplying knowledge, understanding and wisdom from the heart of God – Gen.18:19, Deut.6:4-10, Psa.78:1-11, Prov. 1:7-9, Prov. 22:6, and Mal. 2:15.
Early Christians fully embraced the Hebraic understanding of education during the early Christian era. Expounding on education principles such as the sufficiency of Scriptural truth for all of life (II Tim. 3:16-17), parental responsibilities embraced in the “paideia and nouthesía of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), the consequences for misguiding children (Matthew 18:5-7), and being not unequally yoked in personal enterprises, including those who teach children the truth (2 Cor. 6:14-16).
As the Church became the repository of truth and knowledge in the early centuries after Christ, one of the earliest philosophers to reject pagan classicism was Boethius, a pagan Roman-turned-Christian in the 5th century A.D. Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophies set the state for Scholasticism, aimed at overcoming pagan philosophy with Biblical truth.
Arguably, it was the Reformation (14th– 17th centuries) that had the most profound impact on Christian thinking and practice in the West. Such luminaries as John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others, brought the Bible to the common man. Less known in that era but no less formidable are two education reformers Peter Ramus (1515-1572) with his “Method” and William Ames (1576-1633) with his Marrow of Sacred Divinity (1627). It was Ames’ direct influence on the Pilgrims and Puritans which established the early America colleges and permeated American culture for 150 years. In large part, Ramus and Ames invigorated the Great Awakening and enflamed the founding generation with truth.
The works of these two reformers set the stage for unparalleled understanding and application in Christian thinking and education in America. Their works influenced hundreds of clergy and educators well into the mid-19th century. Ames fashioned a wheel that showed the whole end of teaching and learning. The wholistic view of the “Puritan Circle of Knowledge”, or Eupraxia, means “living to God.”
- Logic – Discoursing Well
- Grammar – Speaking and Writing Well
- Rhetoric – Speaking and Writing Ornately
- Math – Quantifying Well
- Physics – Analyzing Nature Well
- Theology – Living Well
It is to England that Principle Approach scholars generally look for the roots of America’s Christian history and government. Through Reformation England, God prepared a people who learned to govern themselves according to the principles and precepts of His Word. Not only did they follow Biblical patterns for worship and church polity, but they also made application of these principles to the civil realm. With this foundation, the Pilgrims and Puritans brought the Christian idea of self-government to the shores of North America, sowing the seeds of the world’s first Christian Constitutional Federal Republic: The United States of America.
It is during the American Colonial period that we see the art of biblical reasoning flourishing in homes, churches, and schools. It is in the founding period of America that we see the greatest expression of liberty for the individual the world has ever known. These momentous shifts were not accidental, nor were they merely the product of political evolution. The character of America, as seen in her people, her founding documents, and her institutions, was the effect of years of Bible-reasoned and Christian-patterned education. Principle Approach co-founder Rosalie Slater wrote: “There would be no America, if there were no Christianity.” Such is the indissoluble link between the two.
The Principle Approach is a modern appellation for the American Colonial model of education, which harkens directly from the Hebrew model of biblical education and the Reformers. It is a systematic, Christian approach to education which builds upon a classical Christian philosophy, methodology and curriculum. The aim of the Principle Approach is “living to God” in all of life.
