What is Classical Education?
By Joanne Mueller
When I first heard the phrase classical education, I imagined it had to do with educating using the classics, but I really didn’t know what was involved. It sounded so grand and intimidating. I thought that I couldn’t implement it in my own homeschool because it seemed time-consuming and complicated. The more I researched it, however, the more I liked what I found.
Classical Education is not simply about the classics, although they are used in this method. It often refers to education that’s based around the trivium – grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Each of these corresponds to a specific developmental period in the student’s life:
The grammar period refers to the earlier years of schooling when learning is filled with the building blocks that will later be utilized. Subject matter is full of memorization and facts. Children soak up knowledge at this stage, and the focus is concrete thinking.
Logic is the next stage. This is when the student is ready to question and debate what he or she has learned. Here the focus is analytical thinking and understanding what the student has already learned.
The high school years typically compose the rhetoric period. The student is now ready to evaluate his or her own work and to persuade others. The focus is now abstract thinking and the ability to articulate ideas.
Curriculum in classical education is tailored to each developmental period with the goal of giving children the tools they need to think as well as the ability to articulate ideas. Latin and Greek are often included in classical education as a means for the student to more fully understand grammar (an essential tool). This education is language based, instead of image based, with an emphasis on the classics. Language based education makes the brain work harder whereas image based methods (such as TV) allows the brain to be passive.
This form of education is orderly, beginning with the ancients and moving forward to modern history. It links different fields of study by including them in the historical sequence. For example, when you study the Renaissance, you learn about great artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Having everything interrelated, the student has a fuller understanding of all subject matter. It is a systematic method of study which develops the ability in the student to pursue and master a subject.
There are a great many resources available for classical education. Dorothy Sayers’ essay on classical education, “The Lost Tools of Learning”, has sparked a return to classical education among many people. You can find it if you search for it on the internet. Another is The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. Their book explains clearly what classical education is and details out a clear plan for how to implement classical education at home.
Included are lists of materials and books that you can use for each age of your child. It was this book that made me first realize that I can integrate classical education into my own homeschool.
The Well-Trained Mind recommends repeating three times the four year pattern of studying the Ancients, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, and Modern Times. You would study these first in grades 1-4, then in more depth in grades 5-8, and then finally in detail in grades 9-12. This would also correspond with the study of science in a four year pattern. You would study biology, earth science and astronomy, chemistry, and physics and repeat these subjects three times allowing the student to build their knowledge each time. By the time the student has completed 12th grade, he or she has a complete understanding of these fields of study. Another top favorite is Mystery of History volumes 1-4 from BrightIdeasPress.com. TriviumPursuit.com by the Bluedorns, includes a wealth of information for Classical educators.
Classical education has a lot to offer our homeschools. It can help our students to gain fundamental knowledge that is crucial for their success in our world, and it most importantly helps them to learn how to think and to express their ideas in a persuasive way. There is much that I’ve gained from my exploration of classical education. It gave me confidence to know that my child was learning what she needed to know, and I gained the structure that I needed to order our studies. As you research it, take from it what can benefit you. Classical education can be a beneficial tool.
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