The noblest aim of Christian classical education is to cultivate wisdom and virtue in students. The CiRCE Institute Teacher Apprenticeship Program exists to set teachers free to focus on this aim.

How does a teacher cultivate wisdom and virtue? By nourishing the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty. 

How does a teacher nourish the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty?  By means of the seven liberal arts and the four sciences. 

How does a teacher present the seven liberal arts and the four sciences? Through two modes of instruction: the Mimetic and the Socratic. Mimetic instruction applies the Christian classical idea that humans learn and become virtuous by imitation, while Socratic instruction applies the idea that truth is knowable. 

Why would teachers develop Mimetic and Socratic teaching skills? So that the student is enabled to better know, glorify, and enjoy God.

To this end, the CiRCE Institute mentors teachers in the art of classical instruction, equipping you to:

• Teach facts, skills, and ideas classically
• Assess students with confidence and grace
• Practice classical rhetoric effectively and clearly

You will learn that classical teaching is about embodying truth, goodness, and beauty for students. You will learn to energize your classroom and engage the attention and imagination of your students through Mimetic and Socratic instruction. And you will learn to improve both your writing and your teaching using The Lost Tools of Writing, a classical composition curriculum rooted in the canons of classical rhetoric. 

For fifteen years, the CiRCE Institute’s Apprenticeship has mentored teachers in the art of classical instruction by providing an in-depth, personal, teacher training experience. We lead groups across the nation including the East Coast, the MidWest (Ohio and Kansas), the Gulf Coast, and the Mid-Atlantic. 

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“The knowledge that I’ve gained here is not just about education . . . I’m experiencing a formation.” 

– Chris, an apprentice from Georgia

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