The goal of a humanist education was to prepare students for everyday life. When humanism emerged, education was logical and preparatory. Humanist educators sought to provide the Italian nobility and upper class with the skills and knowledge needed to make moral decisions in all situations. The disagreement in education between humanists and scholars was rooted in the importance placed on facts and certainties. The leaders of this new way of teaching claimed that rarely does one know concretely what one is doing is right. This instilment of sound morals and the ability to speak and read outstandingly allowed the student of a humanist education to make the correct decisions in life on judgment, not concreteness, and then elegantly express those judgments. Humanist education was revolutionary, not only in it's ideas, but also in the way it provided an education which supported the much needed civic activity in fifteenth century Italian society.
The humanist education emphasized the mastery of Latin, moral philosophy, and history. The essential first step in this new form of education began with learning to speak and read Latin. "In the case of Italian society, mastery of classical Latin was highly prized, as was the knowledge of the ancient civilization it unlocked"(Schiffman, 170). The study of moral philosophy gave students a strong foundation in making proper judgments. History emerged as a strong point and was stressed heavily. Historical texts, especially classical historical texts, served as a handbook to be meticulously followed. The texts used to gain knowledge of these areas were in their complete form. This was a major change from medieval education, which used only excerpts from texts compiled to support one idea. The humanists considered it very important that each idea be kept within its full context.
Perhaps the most influential aspect of humanist education in preparing a man for a life of civic duty was rhetoric.
