Education methods - Classical

Method - Classical
Source - The Well-Trained Mind : A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer.

Classical education is broken down into three parts - the pattern that is called the Trivium. The first is the Grammar stage. This is were the foundation for learning is laid. Instead of focusing on creative expression, the grammar stage student (approx. 1st though 4th grades) learns facts: rules of spelling, phonics, grammar, the facts of math, stories of history and literature, names and descriptions of plants and animals and human body, and the vocabulary of foreign languages. At this age the child's mind is a sponge ready to absorb information and even finds memorizing fun. "Your job, during the elementary years, is to supply the knowledge and skills that will allow your child to over flow with creativity as his mind matures."

The second stage is the Logic stage when a child's mind begins to think more analytically. The middle school age student wants to know why and can think more in abstract. Here the student learns how the facts learned in the Grammar stage fit together. For example, the child learned of the war of 1812 in the Grammar stage, now he uses those facts to learn why the war was fought. Now is the time for critical thinking.

The third stage is the Rhetoric stage. "The student of rhetoric applies the rules of logic learned in middle school to the foundations information learned in the early grades and expresses her conclusions in clear, forceful, elegant language." Now is the time for self-expression.

The authors also stress that a classical education is more than a pattern of learning. It is also language focused vs. image focused which causes the mind to be active vs. passive. Also, all knowledge is interrelated.

In summary: "The mind must first be supplied with facts and images, then given the logical tools for organization of those facts and images, and finally equipped to express conclusions."