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Classical Education

Classical education draws on an approach to education that is tried and true and can be traced back through history.  This approach, known as the Trivium, honors a child’s natural development.  It is age-appropriate at each of the three levels: grammar, logic and rhetoric. 

 

Grammar Stage

Younger students have the ability to learn songs and rhymes and recite facts with relative ease.  They are taught the fundamental facts of each subject with various tools of memorization. 

 

Logic Stage

As children begin to think more independently, they are often inclined to be argumentative.  This is common in the preteen and early teen years.  At this time, in addition to being taught facts, they are also encouraged to question, reason and analyze.  Logic classes help students understand the fundamentals of a good argument.  These skills are put into practice in the classroom as students participate in debates, oral presentations and classroom discussions. 

 

Rhetoric Stage

In the upper grades, students have an increased ability to learn effective communication skills.  During this period of time, all students learn the fundamentals of rhetoric, the art of communicating well.  Rhetoric classes equip students to communicate their beliefs clearly, beautifully and persuasively.

Curriculum

Classical education is also defined by the curriculum choices.  Besides the obvious additions of logic and rhetoric classes, core classes include Latin and Greek.  There is also a heavy emphasis on literature and history.  Although these two subjects are taught as separate classes, the curriculum is synchronized.  For example, students learn modern history at the same time they study modern literature.

Learn more:

Myths About Classical Education
"Classical Christian Education" from the Assoc. of Classical & Christian Schools
"Why Only the Trivium" from the Assoc. of Classical & Christian Schools
"What is Classical Education?", an essay by Susan Wise Bauer
"The Lost Tools of Learning", an essay by Dorothy Sayers
Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning by Douglas Wilson
Repairing the Ruins by Douglas Wilson
Seven Laws of Teaching by John Milton Gregory