"Wow, that's great! Where will you be teaching?"
"I'll be teaching at Providence Classical Christian School."
"Oh, wow!" *insert slight pause here* "What exactly does... 'classical' mean?"
Excellent question. I'm so glad you asked! :)
(Please bear with me as I try to explain it in the best way I know how. I have only just begun to be acquainted with the Classical model... in fact, I've only known of it for a little over three weeks! Refer to the websites at the bottom of this page to peruse through writings that expound upon Classical education much more thoroughly and eloquently than I'm about to do here.)
Classical education dates waaaaaay back to the medieval times. The focus was on training the mind through a process called the "Trivium" which could then be followed by the Quadrivium (but we're not going into that here). Each part of the Trivium directly correlates with the maturity of the brain during that part of the process and plays to the strengths of the young person in that stage. The three schools (or parts) in the Trivium are called the Grammar School, the Logic School, and the Rhetoric School.
The Grammar School is the first stage and is the initial years of schooling, typically grades 1 through 4. During this stage the mind is like a sponge and soaks up information very quickly. Students are highly interested in "knowing things" and it is easy for them to memorize. So the instruction in this stage plays on that strength and requires the students to memorize and learn and memorize and learn. The goal is to build a firm foundation by building a solid skeleton of information.
Students memorize their addition and subtraction, multiplication and division facts. They memorize the process for regrouping and the different shapes in geometry.
They work on memorizing the parts of speech, spelling words, and parts of a story, all while reading good, solid, classical literature. You know, the forgotten books like Little House on the Prairie or the Chronicles of Narnia.
In History they work on memorizing a basic timeline onto which they can quickly and easily attach other dates. Names and events are memorized and put into context on this timeline which they are building in their minds. Focus is put on primary sources and historical literature that exposes what actually happened.
In Science students memorize the basic parts of specimen and the vocabulary which will be so important for them to understand and use later during their education.
The next stage is the Logic stage. Students are ready for this stage at about age 11, around grade 4 or 5, and will continue in this stage until about age 14. You know how students this age are always asking, "Well, why is that like that?" or "How did that happen?" They are no longer satisfied with just knowing things. They want to know WHY the facts are that way. This stage allows students to explore the how's and why's of the facts. They are taught to analyze arguments and to create their own arguments for a point of view. They are also taught the causes and effects as well as how different areas relate to each other, (for example, how the Industrial Revolution effected the job market and thus economics, which includes math). They begin to understand that very few things can stand completely independent of other things. They are given exercises to draw connections between subjects and events, even when those connections may not be obvious.
Once they are able to analyze strong arguments and also create their own solid arguments they begin to ask, "How does this apply to me?" or "When am I ever going to need this in real life?" Why not let them answer those questions on their own? They are ready for the Rhetoric stage. They have been given the tools to learn: the basic foundation of knowledge and the ability to form and analyze arguments that support information. In the Rhetoric stage students are encouraged to begin exploring on their own using these tools. They begin to specialize in whatever branch of learning interests them most and are encouraged to have original opinions and draw well-informed conclusions. They are expected to voice their opinions in clear and elegant language and are expected to be able to back their opinions with solid evidence. Once they are able to do this they are ready to move onto the University (which is like the medieval Quadrivium).
I hope this helps you understand a little bit more of what it means for me to be teaching in a "Classical" school. I'm so excited to have an opportunity to teach in a school that is using a model that has stood the test of time and is focused on developing the mind, not just turning out high test scores.
Read the following sites to get a even clearer idea of what this Classical education is all about. :)
Dorothy Sayers' "The Lost Tools of Learning"
http://www.pccs.org/files/Store%20Downloads/The%20Lost%20Tools%20of%20Learning.pdf
The Well-Trained Mind: A Classical Education
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/classical-education/
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