“But,” the worried mom says, “is classical Christian education needed if my son wants to enter the trades?” The same has been said about daughters who want to attend cosmetology or culinary school. I hear this question more often than ever—and for good reason! Most colleges are currently pulling off something of a miracle. Their product is decreasing in value, and their cost is rocketing. Most American colleges and universities have become the equivalent of the restaurants in town that used to serve great food but have started charging more while cutting the quality of their dishes. (Many of our colleges add poison to the dishes as well!)

Throughout the history of the West, colleges have been places of learning that have enabled students to attain helpful knowledge that helps them love God more, love their neighbors through their calling, and prepare for the gainful employment that leads to the possibility of family life. Now, colleges too often impede commitments to a spouse, children, and a house because the colleges that used to free people with training in the liberal arts now saddle their charges with crippling debt. Alma mater has become avarus mater. In this setting, it is not shocking that many students choose trade schools, apprenticeships, and The Common Arts.

These arts have a solid Christian heritage. Our Lord was a carpenter. The monks of the Middle Ages did not just pray. They did engage in ora (pray), but their motto was Ora et Labora (pray and work). Luther and the other reformers said all lawful callings were spiritually valid, setting aside the sacred/secular distinction.

But back to the question, “Do people going into the trades need a classical Christian education?” I recently discussed this question with several people. I conclude that classical Christian education is more necessary (and maybe more of an advantage) to those who go into callings in the Common Arts. Here are three reasons:

The Value of Critical Thinking to Those Called to the Common Arts

In a recent conversation with my board chairman, Kevin Ream, he mentioned that the critical thinking taught in a classical Christian education is more needed by those going into the Common Arts than those headed to college. He convinced me. He pointed out something I never considered: some college-bound students might run into or develop critical thinking skills at the collegiate level. Those entering the trades do not benefit from another opportunity to gain these skills. Also, in the trades, you often solve problems. Logic and critical thinking have immense value in these settings.

The Value of the Liberal Arts for Those Called to the Common Arts

Those in the trades with a Christian liberal arts education have a purpose for work that many others might lack. The liberal arts protect the value of the trades. They teach that all callings are for free people and that, as Joseph Pieper, might say: “Leisure (or being at liberty) is the end of all callings.” Too many people in our culture consider trade drudgery. Those in the trades who possess a liberal arts education have the tools to aim their work and their businesses toward the service of God and neighbor. (Anyone who has had a plumbing problem knows that a plumber can be the one who “brings good news!”) The liberal arts are not for professionals, nor are they for clerics. The liberal arts, like a free life lived well, is a life to which all should hope to attain.

The Value of Omnibus for Those Called to the Common Arts

“Okay,” you might say. I get it. Critical thinking and the liberal arts might suit those headed into the trades, but what about Omnibus?” Again, I would argue that Omnibus, or learning the content of the Great Books, is just as crucial for those in the trades as for those in any other walk of life.

“The Omnibus teaches you to listen to the wisest voices in history and think through the most essential issues to answer the most critical questions all humans face.”

Here are a few:

• How am I?

• Where am I?

• What am I doing here?

These are not musings of erudite sophistry. Everyone has to know them. Shockingly, so few in our day consider them with the depth and attention they deserve. Why must Leonidas hold out in Thermopolyae as long as he did? How would our world look different if he had saved himself and run away? Am I an autonomous being who can create his or her or their or (insert pronoun of your choice here), or am I a creature who has a Creator and Lord to whom obedience and honor are owed? What basis do I have to show grace and mercy to others? Is this based on my feelings? What happens if I don’t feel this someday? These questions—and so many more—are examined in the Omnibus. One wise man said that an unexamined life is not worth living. I am not sure of that, but I am sure that an examined life can be more fun and should be more joyful.

So, if God calls you into the trades, work hard in your studies, learn the liberal arts, master critical thinking, and math, born out of logic, and read deeply from the Scriptures and the Great Books to know God and yourself rightly.