Notes on Classical Education

As I prepared to attend an open house at our Classical Conversations, I was blown away with how much I do not know about classical education - the stages, the trivium, the terminology, the Latin.  As I researched this, I realized that to do a great review of my day at Classical Conversations Campus in Beckley, I needed to share the thoughts behind this different method of education.  Here are my notes, most of which are from Wikipedia for the preciseness of the information.  Enjoy.  I'll be back soon to discuss the actual visit to the campus.

Stages of our current education system date back to "Classical Education"

1. Primary education teaches students how to learn (k-12th grades)
2. Secondary education teaches a mental framework that can contain history, understands basic facts and practices of multiple subjects, and also develops the skills of these subjects (undergraduate degree)
3. Tertiary education then prepares a person to pursue a profession (graduate education)

Primary education

In classical terms, primary education was the trivium comprising grammar, logic, and rhetoric.

Grammar

Grammar consists of skills such as reading and writing - to acquire as many words and manage as many concepts as possible.

Logic and rhetoric were often taught by the Socratic method. (A form of discussion between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas)

Logic

Logic is the process of correct reasoning and refers to the  middle school aged student, who developmentally is beginning to question and enjoys debating or arguing with others. Practice in logic lets students evaluate arguments. The goal is to train the student's mind not only to grasp information, but to find connections between different ideas, to find why something is true or false.

Rhetoric

Rhetorical debate and composition are taught to high school students, who by this point in their education have the concepts and logic to criticize their own work and persuade others.  The student now learns to articulate answers to important questions in her own words, to persuade others with facts, and to defend ideas against rebuttal.