Introducing My Senior Thesis

As I have mentioned in a few recent posts, I am taking Senior Thesis with Wilson Hill Academy this year. After I write my thesis, I will condense my arguments from a 15-page paper into a blog post. Because of this, I have decided to start a series of posts that will start with this introduction and detail some of my thoughts, ideas, and processes throughout the year, eventually culminating in a post with my condensed thesis.  

The Topic 

For the past six months or so, I have been thinking about my topic. I am passionate about classical education, but I also really love science and I come from a very scientifically-minded family. In fact, one of the only things that has bothered me about classical education is the lack of emphasis on science. Science is often pushed aside as less important than rhetoric, the humanities, and classic languages.  

Additionally, many classical students I have met generally do not seem to enjoy science as much as other subjects. It often seems like an afterthought to their curriculum choices and just included so that they can graduate and be accepted into colleges. While I love these other subjects, and I definitely see the value in them, I do not think that we should view science as less than them.  

However, we see the opposite problem in public education. Science is given a higher status than many other subjects. STEM is the highest goal and it is distanced from subjects in the Liberal Arts. The problem with this is that science, like other subjects, cannot stand alone. Science is neither greater nor less than other subjects, and it should not be treated as such.  

Thus, my main question is, “How should classical Christian schools treat modern science?”

The Thesis 

My thesis statement, which is still subject to revisions, is “Science education in classical Christian schools should receive an equal emphasis with traditional trivium and quadrivium subjects because classical pedagogy and science studies rely on each other to give students a complete education”.  

This is about the third or fourth version of my thesis. I really want to emphasize the need for science to be connected with the classical topics. We cannot and should not avoid science, especially modern science such as physics, biology, and chemistry. These sciences are dominating the world and classically-educated students need to be ready to take part in them. 

The Research 

Most of my work in Senior Thesis so far has been research. I have been reading books from C.S. Lewis’ Abolition of Man to Nancy Pearcey and Charles Thaxton’s The Soul of Science. I also plan to read The Liberal Arts Tradition and A New Natural Philosophy, as well as Dorothy L. Sayers’ “Lost Tools of Learning” speech, among others. I have also found a few articles from Hillsdale College and The Imaginative Conservative which I hope to use.  

Currently, most of my research has been focused on the history of science, both in terms of discovery (The Soul of Science) and in American education (History of Ideas in Science Education). I have also been looking into arguments for the necessity to study science with a Christian worldview, since I will be describing specifically Christian classical schools.  

Throughout this year I will keep posting updates about how my arguments are coming, revisions to my thesis and the steps along the way!