When comparing the classical Christian classroom to any other, the differences arise when we ask: how do we view our pursuit of knowledge? Each day in class, the students begin with a catechism. This catechism both asks and answers some “big questions”. Let’s break down just a few parts of the catechism I use in Algebra 1, answer the question “how do we view our pursuit of knowledge”, and examine its impacts on the classroom. The catechism begins with:
What is mathematics?
Mathematics is the science of patterns and the art of engaging the meaning of those patterns (Francis Su).
From a classical perspective, mathematics is not just arithmetic; it’s a science and an art! It is developing the ability to reason, recognize patterns, and engage meaningfully in difficult content. This is an important distinction. It follows that we ask:
What does it mean to be a mathematician?
A mathematician appreciates the value and beauty of mathematics and is able to assess the validity of quantitative arguments.
The classical classroom introduces the appreciation for the beauty of mathematics. This classification of mathematics, perhaps thought to only be understood by the “true mathematician”, is the hinge on which we begin to change our view on what math really is. Can we find beauty in simplicity? Can we find beauty in complexity? Can we find beauty in our struggle to understand? The answer: Yes! Our students are then challenged on their idea of a “mathematician”:
Who can be a mathematician? (To whom is mathematics accessible?)
Since God has given everyone the ability to reason, God has made everyone a mathematician.
This assurance from God gives motivation to those who have previously decided that math is not for them. In the classical Christian classroom, everyone is a mathematician. This title is no longer reserved for only the few. This title is God given to all. What, then, are a group of mathematicians meant to do? We answer this also:
If everyone can be a mathematician, what are mathematicians supposed to do?
The chief aim of all investigations of the external world should be to discover the rational order and harmony which has been imposed on it by God and which He revealed to us in the language of mathematics. (Johannes Kepler)
At the crux of classical education, is the purpose that we find while studying mathematics. We know that the heavens declare His glory, but is His glory not also declared in numbers? In algebraic manipulation? In calculus? Yes. We see mathematics declare God’s glory every day in the classroom. Studying God’s world and the ways he has revealed it to us is a form of worship. Our pursuit of knowledge, therefore, assuredly, has a profound purpose.
Our students have been introduced to the idea that math is beautiful, told that they are mathematicians by nature, and encouraged to pursue the Lord in all that they do (yes, even in math class). It is evident to me that these words and assurances have impacted our students deeply. They have been filled with excitement, awe, and wonder through the mathematical concepts they have been introduced to. And their questions are evidence of their deep thoughts, curiosity, and care for the things they are learning. All glory to God!
