What is classical education?
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It’s important to realize that classical education is not the same meaning as “standard education”; it is classical in a much older sense.
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Classical education goes back, way back, think to when Plato and Aristotle lived. In fact, much of how classical education is taught is based on Plato and Aristotle!
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The short answer to what is classical education is that it is a method of educating that involves training the mind in three stages. These three stages are referred to as the trivium.
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Grammar Stage:
(No, this is not years of just English lessons) The grammar stage is where the building blocks/the basics are learned. Memorizing facts and rules are a foundation of the grammar stage. Grammar stage is roughly grades 1-6.
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Logic Stage:
The logic stage takes advantage of middle school kids love of arguing and focus on the why’s, the cause and effects, and how subjects all fit together. Logic stage is roughly grades 7-8.
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Rhetoric Stage:
The rhetoric stage is where the student takes what they’ve been taught so far and learns how to express it. This is when students learn to be independent thinkers and persuasive communicators. Rhetoric stage is roughly grades 9-12.
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There is much more to classical education but these three stages give you the basic framework to what is classical education.
For more reading and information about classical education, please check out the following links and books:
Links:
What Is Classical Education? by Susan Wise Bauer
What is Classical Education? by Peter Kreeft
The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy Sayers
Why Study Latin? by Cheryl Lowe
Books:
The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
The Introduction to Classical Education by Christopher A. Perrin
The Case for Classical Christian Education by Douglas Wilson
The Latin Centered Curriculum by Andrew A. Campbell
The Liberal Arts Tradition by Keven Clark & Ravi Scott Jain