What is Classical Education?

HCA takes its definition of "classical" education from The Lost Tools of Learning (1947) by Miss Dorothy Sayers and subsequently popularized in Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning (1991) by Douglas Wilson. The classical curriculum is the Trivium: grammar (grades 1-6), dialectic (grades 7-9), and rhetoric (grades 10-12). The Trivium emphasized the liberal arts and as Miss Sayers observed, this generally coincided with a child's natural mental development. An educated mind was free and not a slave to the polis or state; a citizen, not a worker.

As part of the liberal arts, students read the "great books" by the authors that made western civilization great. These books provide the classical content. Such books are necessary to appreciate the culture that has formed the way we think. This is so that our children can participate in what Mortimer Adler called the "Great Conversation" and find their identity in our Western, Christian heritage. The following chart is a breakdown of the classical teaching methods derived from The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy Sayers (compiled by Tom Garfield of Logos School, Moscow, ID)

Beginning Grammar
(Pre-Polly)		 GRAMMAR
(Poll-Parrot)		 LOGIC
(Pert)		 RHETORIC
(Poetic)
Grades K-2 Grades 3-6 Grades 6-9 Grades 10-12
Approx. ages 4-8 Approx. ages 9-11 Approx. ages 12-14 Approx. ages 15-18
Student Characteristics Student Characteristics Student Characteristics Student Characteristics
  1. Obviously excited about learning
  2. Enjoys games, stories, songs, projects
  3. Short attention span
  4. Wants to touch,taste, feel, smell, see
  5. Imaginative,creative
  6. Likes chants, clever, repetitious word sounds (e.g. Dr. Seuss)
  1. Excited about new, interesting facts
  2. Likes to explain, figure out, talk
  3. Wants to relate own experiences to topic, or just to tell a story
  4. Likes collections, organizing items
  5. Likes chants, clever, repetitious word sounds
  6. Easily memorizes
  7. Can assimilate another language well
  1. Still excitable, but needs challenges
  2. Judges, critiques, debates, critical
  3. Likes to organize items, others
  4. Shows off knowledge
  5. Wants to know "behind the scenes" facts
  6. Curious about Why? for most things
  7. Thinks, acts as though more knowledgeable than adults
  1. Concerned with present events,especially in own life
  2. Interested in justice, fairness
  3. Moving toward special interests,topics
  4. Can take on responsibility, independent work
  5. Can do synthesis
  6. Desires to express feelings, own ideas
  7. Generally idealistic
Teaching Methods Teaching Methods Teaching Methods Teaching Methods
  1. Guide discovering
  2. Explore, find things
  3. Use lots of tactile items to illustrate point
  4. Sing, play games, chant, recite, color, draw, paint, build
  5. Use body movements
  6. Short, creative projects
  7. Show and Tell, drama, hear/read/tell stories
  8. Local field trips
  9. Lay conceptual understanding of letters, numbers, associated meanings
  1. Lots of hands-on work, projects
  2. Field trips, drama
  3. Make collections, displays, models
  4. Integrate subjects through above means
  5. Teach and assign research projects
  6. Recitations, memorization
  7. Drills, games
  8. Oral/written presentations
  1. Time lines, charts,maps (visual materials)
  2. Debates, persuasive reports
  3. Drama, reenactments, role-playing
  4. Evaluate, critique (with guidelines)
  5. Formal logic
  6. Research projects
  7. Oral/written presentations
  8. Guest speakers, trips
  1. Drama, oral presentations
  2. Guide research in major areas with goal of synthesis of ideas
  3. Many papers, speeches, debates
  4. Give responsibilities, e.g. working with younger students, organize activities
  5. In-depth field trips, even overnight
  6. 6. World view discussion/written papers

The Trivium in Perspective

The Trivium (grammar, logic and rhetoric) is the part of the liberal arts curriculum in preparation for the university (traditionally, the "quadrivium" of arithmetic music, astronomy, and geometry). The following table is illustrative of a modern adaptation/expansion of the historic Trivium/Quadrivium discussed in Robert Littlejohn's Wisdom and Eloquence.

The Language Arts
(The Trivium Expanded )
Grammar Dialectic Rhetoric
  • Reading, writing, spelling & vocabulary
  • English grammar
  • Literature
  • History (historic literature)
  • Foreign and classical languages
  • Computer navigation (i.e. basics)
  • Logic
  • Debate
  • Civics
  • Disputatio
  • Persuasive speech
  • Progymnasmata
  • Composition
  • Theatrical performance
  • Thesis writing and defense
The Mathematical Arts
(The Quadrivium Expanded)
Arithmetic Geometry Astronomy
"natural sciences"		 Music
  • Elementary math through Algebra
  • Statistics
  • Calculus
  • Computer science
  • Plane Geometry
  • Solid Geometry
  • Geography
  • Visual Arts (painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.)
  • Geology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Biology
  • Theory
  • History
  • Appreciation
  • Performance
  • Dance
  • Sport (gymnasia)
The "True Sciences"
  • Philosophy
  • Theology