| Modern Education | Classical Christian Education |
| PHONICS | Emphasizes "creative" interaction with words – look/say & whole language. | Emphasizes a thorough mastery of the units of sound. |
| READING | If literate, the student progresses from basal readers to popular trade books. | When literate, the student begins reading the "great books." |
| MATHEMATICS | Emphasizes trying to get the student to understand the concept. Discourages rote learning of tables, rules, etc. | Emphasizes mastery of tables, rules, etc. as well as repetitive drills to make certain math processes habitually. |
| BIBLE | Bible? Come on? Bible. | Emphasizes systematic Bible reading and study as soon as students are literate. |
| SPELLING | Allows inventive spelling. The focus is not on rules, but fostering creativity and maintaining the student’s self-esteem. | Concentrates on being prescriptive, is unyielding, rigid, rule-guided, –If its not spelled right, its spelled wrong! |
| HISTORY | Debunks or ignores the achievements of Western civilization. Uses history to support the ideological agenda currently in vogue. | Emphasizes the fact that history is under the providential hand of God, and that it therefore has a purpose. Holds that our heritage should be understood, and unless at variance with Scripture, appreciated. |
RHETORIC/
SPEECH | As with many subjects, the "Creativity" and self-expression resulting in a stream of consciousness approach, as opposed to the more rigorous discipline of wordsmithing. | The point is to teach the student to recognize the structure of available means of persuasion (the science of Rhetoric), and avail himself to them. |
POLITICAL
SCIENCE | One of the largest liberal political organizations in the U.S. is the NEA. The students are the NEA auxiliary. Their grasp of politics is limited to whatever the current "issue of the month" may be. | The emphasis is on the history of constitutionalism, and the application to current events. |
THINKING
SKILLS/LOGIC | Concentrates on getting the student to express an opinion, along with whatever reasons he may have for holding it. The key is self-expression. | Emphasizes the differences between truth and validity. Teaches the student to identify fallacies of form and distraction –logic as science. |
| LANGUAGES | Modern languages are not required for the non-native speaker. They are present, however, because a zeal for "multiculturalism" and "diversity" insists that non-English speakers shouldn’t have to learn a foreign language either. | Foreign languages are taught to those who are not native speakers as a form of intellectual discipline, which has certain practical side-benefits. |
| LATIN | Once fairly common in the government schools. Latin is now virtually extinct, and is viewed as monstrous irrelevance. | Latin is seen as foundation for precise thinking, English vocabulary study, appreciation of classical and English literature and the study of the Romance languages. |
| LITERATURE | The purpose is to bring books down to the level of the contemporary student – books that will not overwhelm a limited vocabulary, limited fluency, cultural isolation, and reluctance to read anything unfamiliar. | The object here is to bring the student to the level of the great and classical literature, to teach appreciation of challenging books from all ages.
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