My Ideal School—The Classical Model

Where were we? Oh, yes . . . Education in the classical style.

I happened to visit yesterday a home school cooperative that utilizes a classical model of education. The kindergarten classes were learning Latin, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics—albeit it on a very simple level—and a little bit of the history of the Vietnam War, with simple geography lessons about Southeast Asia. The five year-olds were learning to identify the countries by shape and location, and they seemed to enjoy doing it, as the parent/teacher made it thoroughly hands-on and engaging.

The older elementary students were learning the same lessons, but on a higher level, and in more detail.

The high school students had a completely different curriculum, which is to be expected, because they have already learned what the younger students are learning, but when I sat in on a group of 7th graders, they were playing a game of Jeopardy, "hosted" by the parent/teacher, in which there were two teams playing for nothing more than the highest number of points (as opposed to dollars or other prizes). the questions were spread over many different subject areas, and I would have to admit that I didn't know many of the answers myself. Though the middle and high school students only attend school one day per week, the program is strenuous enough that they must make the most of the intervening time to finish the assigned work by the next class day.

The time that I spent observing these students in their respective classes was informative and rewarding.

The classical model of education can basically be broken down into three parts:

The Grammar Stage, in which children memorize and recite their facts. These students are in their earlier elementary school stage.

The Dialectic Stage, in which facts continue to be memorized, but students learn to analyze the information they're taking in and to discuss it in depth. These students are in the upper elementary and middle school stage.

The Rhetoric Stage, in which students study and learn at a higher level, doing research, learning not only to discuss, but to debate, to speak publicly and give oral presentations. I've noticed that students who are educated through this stage tend to be more poised and have more confidence when speaking with and in front of adults. Why? Simple. Because they've practiced.

By the time the student has matriculated, he/she is pretty well prepared to move into adulthood, which is no small accomplishment in today's culture, in my humble opinion.