Dear Horizon Prep Family,

What do we mean by a Christ-centered classical philosophy of Education?

When I began the process of defining the philosophy of education that would be in place here at Horizon Prep, I began first by asking which approach to education would both meet the demands of our immediate community as well as make the greatest impact. Potential approaches were analyzed to discover which would best match the goals of both a Christ-centered school as well as the expectations for providing the very best of academic pursuits. It was discovered that the Christian liberal arts approach to education has been most effectively applied throughout the world for centuries.

Specifically, with faith in Christ as the hub of historical education, the seven liberal arts are comprised of two groups of studies: the trivium and the quadrivium. Studies in the trivium involved grammar, dialectic (logic), and rhetoric; and studies in the quadrivium involved arithmetic, music, geometry, and science. These liberal arts made up the core curriculum of the medieval universities and thus have become for many today the mainstay of modern educational philosophy. Today, there is an ever-growing interest and eagerness amongst circles in Christian learning to return to this rigorous application of the seven arts of ancient education and once again allow for the Lord to be found at the center.

The intriguing potential of effectively re-applying the best of both worlds: A classical approach to education provided within a Christ centered context became the cornerstone of HP’s educational philosophy. As a member of the Association of Classical Christian schools, this unique and effective approach to learning sets Horizon Prep in a class by itself as the first of it’s kind in the county of San Diego. The structure of our curriculum is traditional with a strong emphasis on “the basics.” We understand the basics to be subjects such as mathematics, history, sciences and language studies. Not only are these subjects covered, they are covered in a particular way.

For example, in history class the students will not only read their textbooks, they will also read from primary sources. Grammar, logic, and rhetoric will be emphasized in all subjects. By grammar, we mean the fundamental rules of each subject, not limited to simply to language studies. This enables the student to learn the subject from the inside out, and of course at the center of all true and lasting learning is our relationship with Almighty God the creator of all things; our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thus our aim is to provide an educational pursuit where knowing God is applied to and intertwined within, all courses and subjects. The example of this format practically applied would be similar to the follow examples; Exploring the relationship between the Reformation, the colonization of America and the spread of Christianity; the inter-relationship that exists between a mathematical equations and the creation of the universe; or how does the dilemma of cloning in the novel Frankenstein relate both to our world today and the image in which the Bible tells us we were made? As the students learn the underlying rules or principles of any given subject along with how the particulars of that subject relates to other subjects, they are learning to think. This approach is in vast contrast to simply being asked to memorize fragmented pieces of knowledge.

In short, we want our students to be able to see the correlation of education as a whole and clearly be able to express the knowledge of everything they learn. To this end, an essay in history must be written as clearly as if it were an English paper. An oral presentation in science should be as coherent as possible, and an understanding of the Bible as seen through the various lenses of the seven arts of ancient learning will make for a well rounded and effectively educated young mind who has been prepared for all that they have been created to accomplish, for the glory of God.

Dr. Robert N Botsford, DMin, MDiv, MBA, MA
President Horizon Prep
Rancho Santa Fe, CA