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Roman Philosophy

The Educational Philosophy of Quintilian

Philip Vassallo learns from a classic of Classical education.

What could be more important for the future of any society than the education of its children? Innovative theories abound. Educators are constantly presenting groundbreaking new paradigms for improving a child’s academic achievement. In the past quarter century or so, these have included:

• Expanding educational opportunities for preschoolers

• Selecting the best teachers for a child

• Making instruction more relevant

• Establishing or strengthening character education

• Providing a multidisciplinary education

• Defining the boundaries for student-teacher relationships

• Approaching literacy from a whole language perspective

• Fostering critical thinking skills

• Engendering independent learning

• Teaching politically incorrect content

Not so fast. Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (35-95 CE) would say to all this noise: “Been there, done that.”

Quintilian, as he is now better known, was born in Spain and raised in Rome at a time when education had a far narrower scope.

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