What is a Classical and Christian School? Part II

When capitalized, the word "Classical" refers to the language and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. You can major in Classics or Classical Studies at the university. Of course, you often hear people refer to classic literature, classic cars, even classic rock 'n' roll, so what exactly does this term mean in the title of a Classical and Christian school (hereafter CCS)?

In part, it carries with it the connotations of that which has to do with ancient Greece and Rome. A CCS, for example, typically teaches Latin from the third grade onward. There is an emphasis on understanding the Greco-Roman culture because it was into this world that Jesus was born, and within this world that Christianity first flourished. This world also provided the foundations for Western civilization in its language, architecture, laws, art, and literature.

There is much more, however, to the word "Classical" in a CCS. It also refers to the structure of the education, one that draws its inspiration from the Medieval Trivium and fits amazingly well with the natural cognitive development of children.

The first stage of the Trivium is the grammar stage and corresponds to what Dorothy Sayers called in her essay "The Lost Tools of Learning" the poll-parrot stage. Young children like to memorize things. They naturally enjoy rhythms and rhymes. In his poem "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot," Alexander Pope once wrote:

As yet a child, nor yet a fool to fame,

I lisp'd in numbers, for the numbers came.

Here "numbers" refers to poetic meter. If you don't think children enjoy meter, try listening to children who have watched Barney even once. They know the songs because of their heavy rhythms, which make them memorable. At the grammar stage, children learn the grammar of the different subjects. In other words, they learn the basics. They learn the grammar of history...that there are dates and places and people of importance. They learn the grammar of mathematics...that there are numbers and these can be added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided.

The second stage is the logic stage, corresponding to what Sayers calls the pert stage. Anyone who has dealt with a pre-teen or early teen knows that young people of this age have a natural talent for arguing. The logic stage teaches children how to argue well. Rather than becoming argumentative, children learn to argue their position, to spot weaknesses in an argument, and to make that argument stronger.

The final stage of the Trivium is the rhetoric stage, which fits in with what Sayers terms the poetic stage. You may think that rhetoric is simply about public speaking, and that is the word's original sense, but used here it takes on a broader meaning. This is the stage, approximately high school, where students begin to synthesize what they have learned and to present that information to others. Clear communication is key, and a valuable skill for any occupation or relationship in which the child will find himself as an adult.

In summary, a Classical and Christian education is one that explores the wisdom of the past, in the light of the One Who is the truth, Jesus Christ, to enable children to fulfill their God-given purposes for the future.