In the growing world of Catholic homeschooling, families seeking to educate their children with both intellectual rigor and spiritual depth are often drawn to programs that promise to restore classical education. Among the most well-known are the Classical Liberal Arts Academy (CLAA) and Memoria Press. Both claim to offer a “classical” education, yet their philosophies, curriculum structures, and ultimate goals diverge in significant ways. This article aims to provide a clear, detailed comparison between the two, examining how they serve Catholic students, how faithful they are to the actual history of Catholic education, and how they differ in execution and emphasis.
I. Foundations and Philosophical Roots
CLAA: Restoration of the True Catholic Tradition
Founded by William Michael, the Classical Liberal Arts Academy exists not merely to participate in the classical education revival, but to restore the authentic curriculum of the Church’s educational tradition. The CLAA builds its program on the medieval and Renaissance educational structures found in the Church’s schools and seminaries—most notably, the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum, the writings of the Doctors of the Church, and the comprehensive liberal arts system of the Trivium and Quadrivium.
The CLAA’s philosophy holds that modern classical education movements often misrepresent or dilute the tradition by substituting Protestant influences, simplifying curricula, or ignoring subjects essential to the original Catholic model (e.g., Scholastic logic, classical arithmetic, music theory, astronomy).
Its mission is not innovation or adaptation but continuity—to restore the academic content and structure preserved by the Church from the time of the Fathers to the early 20th century, before the dissolution of classical schooling by modernist educational reforms.
Memoria Press: A Traditional Protestant Classical Model
Memoria Press was founded by Cheryl Lowe and is widely respected in conservative Protestant and ecumenical homeschooling circles. It emerged from the Christian classical education revival of the late 20th century, particularly through the influence of Douglas Wilson and others who developed classical Christian schools inspired by ancient education, yet interpreted through a modern Protestant lens.
Memoria Press embraces a three-pillar model: Christian, Classical, and Traditional. It seeks to combine a love of ancient literature, logic, and language with a strong emphasis on virtue formation and structured schooling. However, while the curriculum includes some Catholic-compatible literature (Augustine, Dante, Chesterton), its roots are not distinctly Catholic in their theological or philosophical grounding.
In its Catholic version, Memoria Press adds Christian Studies and sacramental theology but retains the underlying framework of a generic “Christian” classical approach.
II. Curriculum Content and Structure
CLAA: Comprehensive and Historically Complete
The CLAA curriculum offers a full liberal arts education, including:
Grammar, taught through Latin, Greek, and English classical texts
Logic, based on Aristotle’s Organon and Scholastic commentaries by Aquinas and others
Rhetoric, taught in the context of Catholic reasoning and writing
Arithmetic, not merely modern arithmetic, but classical number theory based on Nicomachus and Boethius
Geometry, including Euclid’s Elements, taught with original proofs and Scholastic commentaries
Music, as a theoretical liberal art, not just performing arts
Astronomy, following Ptolemaic and Thomistic cosmology, before any modern or speculative science
Philosophy, through Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, and the full Scholastic tradition
Theology, firmly grounded in the Catechism, Bible, Aquinas’s Summa Theologica, and the Church Fathers
In short, CLAA offers the entire integrated curriculum historically offered by the Church to future priests, monks, scholars, and laymen.
Memoria Press: Practical, Accessible, and Structured
Memoria Press structures its curriculum around grade levels (K–12), with a firm commitment to:
Latin, beginning in second grade, progressing through forms and translations
Classical literature, including abridged versions of Homer, Virgil, and classical myths
Christian Studies, focused heavily on Scripture memorization using the King James Bible
Logic, using introductory texts like Traditional Logic I and II
Classical composition, emphasizing paraphrase, amplification, and summary
Mathematics and science, outsourced to modern textbooks (e.g., Saxon Math, Novare Science)
Though Latin and logic are emphasized, subjects like classical arithmetic, music theory, or Scholastic theology are absent. The program is highly structured and methodical, but selective in what it includes from the classical tradition, often omitting material foundational to the historical Catholic model.
III. Religious Integration and Theological Foundations
CLAA: Thoroughly and Systematically Catholic
At its heart, the Classical Liberal Arts Academy is an explicitly Catholic institution. Its curriculum is permeated with the authority of the Catholic Magisterium, the Catechism, the Church Fathers, and the Doctors of the Church. Every subject—whether grammar or arithmetic—is taught in harmony with Catholic theology.
CLAA makes no attempt to cater to a broad “Christian” audience. It assumes the authority of the Catholic Church in every matter of truth, and integrates religious life with intellectual formation in a way reflective of monastic and Scholastic models. Students are not merely taught Catholic doctrine—they are formed in Catholic reasoning, learning to think with the mind of the Church.
Furthermore, CLAA explicitly critiques and rejects Protestant and Enlightenment distortions of classical education, arguing that modern classical education movements have been derailed by secular or non-Catholic assumptions.
Memoria Press: Morally Conservative, Theologically Ambiguous
Memoria Press offers a version of classical education that is Christian in its moral tone and spiritual language, but not explicitly Catholic in its framework. Even in its “Catholic package,” the curriculum:
Uses the King James Bible for Scripture memory
Offers no comprehensive treatment of the Catechism or Church Fathers
Draws heavily from Protestant authors (e.g., C.S. Lewis) while minimizing Scholastic sources
Though Memoria Press encourages virtue and character formation, its theological vision is broadly conservative Christian, not sacramentally or liturgically Catholic. For serious Catholic formation, this leaves a major gap in both content and educational method.
IV. Methodology and Pedagogy
CLAA: Mastery-Based, Self-Paced, and Meditative
The CLAA emphasizes a mastery-based approach, allowing students to progress through lessons only after demonstrating full understanding. The pedagogy is modeled after the medieval tutorial model, encouraging deep learning through repetition, memorization, and logical development.
Courses are self-paced, with no artificial grade levels. Students may spend years mastering Latin Grammar before moving to logic, just as a monk or seminarian would have in the traditional curriculum. The approach demands intellectual discipline and promotes contemplative learning.
Furthermore, CLAA rejects modern school-like pacing, bells, worksheets, or shallow comprehension exercises. Its goal is not simply “college prep” but the cultivation of wisdom and virtue in the Scholastic sense.
Memoria Press: Structured, School-Style, and Accessible
Memoria Press emphasizes a traditional classroom structure, even for homeschoolers. The curriculum is arranged by grade level, with daily lesson plans, review exercises, and clear goals. This makes it easy for parents to implement, especially for large families or those seeking order.
There is an emphasis on memorization, narration, and formal recitation. Students follow a set path with weekly lessons, assessments, and review. This predictable and structured method is reassuring and effective for many families, especially those transitioning from public or parochial schools.
However, because of its grade-based structure, the learning pace can become shallow or rushed—especially in deeper subjects like logic or Latin, where mastery often requires years of concentrated study.
V. Alignment with the History of Catholic Education
CLAA: Full Continuity with the Historical Catholic Model
No other curriculum available today follows the exact sequence and content of the historical Catholic schools like the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. It draws from:
The Ratio Studiorum (Jesuit plan of education, 1599)
The writings of Aristotle, Cicero, Boethius, Aquinas, Augustine, Ptolemy, and others
The traditional seven liberal arts
The full Catechetical tradition of the Church
The moral and spiritual formation goals outlined by the Church Fathers
In this regard, CLAA is unmatched. It does not imitate classical education—it is the Catholic classical curriculum restored and adapted for modern use.
Memoria Press: Selective and Eclectic
While Memoria Press presents itself as “classical,” it offers a selective imitation of classical Catholic education, filtered through modern Protestant and American educational lenses. Its strongest classical elements are:
Structured Latin instruction
Great Books-inspired literature study
Emphasis on virtue and discipline
However, it omits or simplifies major components of the historical model, particularly in theology, philosophy, and the mathematical arts. It is best seen as a Protestantized version of Catholic classics, rather than a continuation of the Church’s educational tradition.
VI. Suitability for Different Catholic Families
Who Should Choose CLAA?
Families seeking complete continuity with the historical Catholic curriculum
Students who want deep, lifelong understanding, not just test performance
Parents willing to embrace a slower, deeper, and more challenging academic path
Catholic parents who see education as a form of discipleship, not just schooling
Families preparing children for Catholic religious vocations, philosophy, or theology
CLAA is best suited to families who are intellectually serious, spiritually committed, and who want to align every subject with the mind of the Church. It is a long, difficult, but profoundly rewarding journey.
Who Should Choose Memoria Press?
Families seeking a practical, structured, and easy-to-follow curriculum
Those transitioning from public or modern Catholic schools
Parents wanting a morally conservative, classically flavored curriculum
Families who appreciate pre-written lesson plans, review sheets, and tests
Students preparing for college, standardized exams, and broad Christian formation
Memoria Press works well for parents who need more support or want the appearance of classical education without committing to the demands of the historical curriculum.
Conclusion: Two Different Roads
At first glance, the Classical Liberal Arts Academy and Memoria Press might appear to offer similar products: both emphasize Latin, logic, and classical literature within a Christian framework. But underneath, they follow two different roads.
Memoria Press offers a structured, Protestant-informed approximation of classical education—clean, manageable, and rooted in a modern understanding of schooling. It provides a helpful introduction but stops short of full integration into the Catholic intellectual tradition.
The Classical Liberal Arts Academy offers the real thing: a rigorous, theologically grounded, philosophically coherent restoration of the Church’s historical curriculum—not for convenience, but for truth, sanctity, and wisdom.
For the Catholic parent who seeks not just excellence, but authenticity, and who wants their children to grow in the wisdom of the saints, the choice is clear. The CLAA offers not only an education but a formation in Catholic truth, drawn directly from the wellsprings of the Church’s own past.
Mr. William C. Michael, O.P.
Headmaster
Classical Liberal Arts Academy