PAIDEIA TUTORIALS Supporting Parents in Christian and Classical Education   “And, you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath:  but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”  Ephesians 6:4 (ESV)   Our Philosophy   We believe that parents (especially fathers) have been charged with the responsibility of educating and equipping their children to serve the Lord in love and faithfulness.  The Greek word “paideia,” translated “discipline” in the passage above, is an idea that involves the enormous task of shaping for their future as an ideal citizen.*  Thus Paul, in Ephesians, instructs fathers to raise their children in the “paideia of the Lord,” preparing them to be faithful citizens in the kingdom of God and preparing them to engage the enemy with the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.  Since Christ’s lordship extends to every corner of the earth and every area of life and culture, it is indeed an enormous task.   We utilize the enduring method of the Trivium, three stages that correspond to the natural growth of ability in children.  The Grammar stage involves learning the who, what, when, and where of a subject.  The Dialectic stage builds on these basics and involves the how and why of a subject.  Logic is studied, training the student to discern sound arguments and ideas from the fallacious.  In the Rhetoric stage, the students learn to express their ideas with clarity, learning skills of eloquence and persuasion in their speech and writing.  It is the hope that these tools of learning will equip students to think Biblically and with discernment and to communicate effectively.   We emphasize that all of creation and all areas of learning are subject to the authority of our Lord and creator.  As such, all teaching is in light of the Holy Scripture as contained in the Old and New Testaments.  We believe the fullest expression of this is found in the historic reformed and covenantal doctrines of the church.   We pray that Paideia Tutorials will be used by the Lord to assist parents in their task of “bringing up their children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord.”  We pray that “our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace” (Psalm 144:12 ESV).   *See The Paideia of God by Douglas Wilson, © 1999 Canon Press.   Click here for a printable version of this document.