Classical Education
Classical Education can be divided into two segments. The first segment is a three-part pattern of training. And the second segment is related to the linguistic development of the child. In the early grades, students learn to absorb facts and information for their higher study. In the middle years of school, students learn to think through logic and arguments. And in the high school years, they learn to express themselves. This classical pattern is termed as the Trivium.
Early Years of School (Grade 1-IV)
"Grammar Stage" refers to the early grades of schooling when the building blocks for all other learning are established. At this stage, children actually find memorizing things fun. The mind of a child is ready to absorb facts and information that is delivered to him. Students are taught a variety of interesting topics during this phase. Students are educated about the proper rules and structure that govern language. They learn how to create and understand poems, memorize stories from history and literature and describe and point out plants and animals. During these years, students are also taught about the human body and other important topics like mathematics and geography.
Middle Years of School (Grade V-VIII)
"Logical Stage" refers to the stage in which the child's mind begins to think more analytically and begins to pay attention to cause and effect. This stage begins from fifth grade. During these years, the student begins algebra and the study of logic. Students also learn how to use and apply logic to all academic subjects. Emphasis is given on the logic of writing, reading, history and science which includes patterns, formats, analysis, criticism, reasoning and arguments.
Final Phase of Classical Education (Grade IX-XII)
"Rhetoric Stage" is the final phase of classical education and is built on the first two stages. At this point, the high school student applies the rules of logics and learns to express himself through speaking and writing. They also begin to specialize in the desired branch of knowledge they aspire to. It may either be music, dance, technology, medicine, biology or creative writing. These are the years for art camps, college courses, foreign travel, apprenticeships, and other forms of specialized training.
In classical education, learning is accomplished through written and spoken words rather than through images. According to classical approach, Language requires the mind to work harder whereas, on the other hand, a video screen may cause the brain to sit back and relax.
Classical Education Approach to study History & Science
Classical education provides many benefits. Classical education builds the bridge of understanding and tends to create coherence to study of history, science and literature. Classical education instills this level of communication and logic in the most difficult and fragment subjects and topics. The pattern widens and deepens as the student progresses in maturity and learning.
While pursuing a course in ancient history, students will read and learn about Greek and Roman mythology, the tales of the Iliad and Odyssey, early medieval writings, Chinese and Japanese fairy tales, and the classical texts of Plato, Herodotus, Virgil, Aristotle.
The sciences are studied in a four-year pattern that roughly corresponds to the periods of scientific discovery: biology, classification and the human body, earth science and basic astronomy, chemistry, and then basic physics and computer science (very modern subjects). Classical education is systemic in nature and very unlike the unorganized and scattered course work taught in secondary education institutes of learning. The systemic and rigorous methodology carries two purposes. Firstly, rigor develops virtue in the student. Aristotle defined virtue as the ability to act in accordance to what one knows to be right. Secondly, classical education also enables students to join the 'Great Conversation' -- the ongoing conversation of great minds down through the ages.
The beauty of classical education is that students have the unique opportunity to make connections between past events and the flood of current information.