A classical education has a history of over 2500 years in the West. It began in ancient Greece, was later adopted by the Romans, faltered with the fall of Rome, began to recover during the Middle Ages, and was again brought to perfection during the Italian Renaissance. Eventually the classical heritage passed to England, and from England to America through colonial settlement. At the time of our country’s founding, classical education was still thriving. Our Founding Fathers’ education was steeped in the classics. Thomas Jefferson recommended heartily the study of Greek and Latin for young children. George Washington reminded his fellow revolutionaries of the Roman patriot Cincinnatus. It could easily be argued that the rise and success of civilization in the West parallels the vibrancy of the classical schools.

How does a classical education work?
In classical schools, one will find that many of them follow what is called the Trivium.  The Trivium is Latin for “the place where three roads meet.”

If you have young a child (aged 0-10), you know that much of their learning happens through repetition and memorization.  A classical education, understanding how humans learn, capitalizes on this time in a child’s development.  While they are young, the elementary years are focused on the mechanics of language, memorization, grammar.  This is known as the Grammar stage and covers grades K-6.

When your child hits those early teen-age years, they often become argumentative, though sometimes lacking logic (ahem).  So, in grades 7-8, students following the trivium, are ready to be taught logic and critical thinking. This is called the Logic stage.

By the time they hit high-school, in grades 9-12, students are becoming independent thinkers and communicators.  Assuming a child has been educated classically using the trivium, they’ve now absorbed content (K-6), learned to reason logically (7-8), and are ready to persuasively argue their point of view (9-12).  This stage is called the Rhetoric stage.  Thus, in the final high-school years, these three “roads meet,” allowing students to eloquently master the art of speaking, communicating, and writing.

Through a pioneer’s eyes….
In 1947, Dorothy Sayers, a pioneer in the return to classical education, observed, “although we often succeed in teaching our pupils ‘subjects,’ we fail lamentably on the whole in teaching them how to think.”  Beyond subject matter, a classical education develops those skills that are essential in higher education and throughout life – independent scholarship, critical thinking, logical analysis, and a love for learning.

For education to be effective, it must go beyond conveying fact. Truly effective education cultivates articulate, thinking students who are able to develop facts into arguments and convey those arguments clearly and persuasively. Rigorous academic standards, a dedication to order and discipline, and a focus on key, lost subjects (grammar, geography, and Latin) is fueling the rapid growth of the nation’s classical schools.

Standardized Test Scores from
The Association of Classical and Christian Schools

Graph source: http://www.ascensionclassicalschool.org/statistics-supporting-classical-education/

Christopher Perrin, PhD, is the publisher with Classical Academic Press, and a national leader, author, and speaker for the renewal of classical education.  He reports, “The word is out among many colleges that classical students are generally great students, well-prepared for high-level college work.  I know from talking to professors firsthand how this seems to have worked:  about ten years ago various colleges began to notice that classically-educated students were excelling at college.  K-12 schools (and home-schools) from which these students came where identified as small but rich sources of great students.”

Word seems to be getting out that a classical education has substance and is affording our students a bright future!