With so many new families joining Classical Conversations, we’re often asked: What is classical education, and what core differences distinguish CC from other learning methods or communities? Good questions.
First, the classical education model identifies three stages of learning: grammar, dialectic and rhetoric. But those are often unfamiliar words. When we mention them to someone new to the model, the usual response is: “Huh?”
So let’s clarify.
"Grammar" simply means the facts and vocabulary of any subject. The grammar stage is usually associated with the elementary years when children are sponges who soak in any and all information they hear, from skip counting to Scooby-Doo. The Biblical equivalent of grammar is knowledge, and the goals are memorization and recitation.
The "dialectic" stage refers to the time when students take the vocabulary and facts they have memorized and begin to reason through them logically. Instead of just knowing that World War I started in 1914 and ended in 1918, they connect the dots of world events during that time and gain understanding of why the war began and what actions were necessary to bring it to an end. This stage is associated with the middle school years when students ask “Why?” and are eager to “argue” through a subject. The Biblical equivalent of dialectic is understanding, and the goals are comprehension and assimilation.
"Rhetoric" pertains to the time when students can demonstrate mastery of a subject by using it ― to communicate, to debate, to influence, and to effect change. Usually associated with the high school years, rhetoric gives idealistic youths the tools they need to strike out independently and impact their world. The Biblical equivalent of rhetoric is wisdom, and the goals are utilization and integration.
At its core, Classical Conversations is built on this three-stage learning model, which is often called the "trivium". Additionally, as a Christian curriculum, CC integrates a Biblical worldview throughout and strives in its Foundations, Essentials and Challenge programs to promote classical learning within the nurturing atmosphere of Christian community.
But beyond the three C’s ― classical, Christian and community ― what sets our program apart from other offerings in today’s educational market? We believe it’s our one-room schoolhouse approach, modeled after America’s early schools where one teacher, equipped with the tools of learning, taught multiple subjects to multiple students of multiple ages and abilities at the same time. This is the approach that produced many of our nation’s greatest thinkers, innovators and leaders! And on shoestring budgets, no less!
Sadly, however, most modern institutions have discarded this successful early approach. Instead, they employ master teachers specialized in one subject, resulting in the stagnant compartmentalizing of subjects that are meant to be assimilated and integrated in celebration. Experiential learning has replaced the idea that to master a subject, students must learn the grammar of that subject, then the related logic and application. In other words, students are no longer taught how to master the skills of learning.
-Leigh Bortins, CC Founder
First, the classical education model identifies three stages of learning: grammar, dialectic and rhetoric. But those are often unfamiliar words. When we mention them to someone new to the model, the usual response is: “Huh?”
So let’s clarify.
"Grammar" simply means the facts and vocabulary of any subject. The grammar stage is usually associated with the elementary years when children are sponges who soak in any and all information they hear, from skip counting to Scooby-Doo. The Biblical equivalent of grammar is knowledge, and the goals are memorization and recitation.
The "dialectic" stage refers to the time when students take the vocabulary and facts they have memorized and begin to reason through them logically. Instead of just knowing that World War I started in 1914 and ended in 1918, they connect the dots of world events during that time and gain understanding of why the war began and what actions were necessary to bring it to an end. This stage is associated with the middle school years when students ask “Why?” and are eager to “argue” through a subject. The Biblical equivalent of dialectic is understanding, and the goals are comprehension and assimilation.
"Rhetoric" pertains to the time when students can demonstrate mastery of a subject by using it ― to communicate, to debate, to influence, and to effect change. Usually associated with the high school years, rhetoric gives idealistic youths the tools they need to strike out independently and impact their world. The Biblical equivalent of rhetoric is wisdom, and the goals are utilization and integration.
At its core, Classical Conversations is built on this three-stage learning model, which is often called the "trivium". Additionally, as a Christian curriculum, CC integrates a Biblical worldview throughout and strives in its Foundations, Essentials and Challenge programs to promote classical learning within the nurturing atmosphere of Christian community.
But beyond the three C’s ― classical, Christian and community ― what sets our program apart from other offerings in today’s educational market? We believe it’s our one-room schoolhouse approach, modeled after America’s early schools where one teacher, equipped with the tools of learning, taught multiple subjects to multiple students of multiple ages and abilities at the same time. This is the approach that produced many of our nation’s greatest thinkers, innovators and leaders! And on shoestring budgets, no less!
Sadly, however, most modern institutions have discarded this successful early approach. Instead, they employ master teachers specialized in one subject, resulting in the stagnant compartmentalizing of subjects that are meant to be assimilated and integrated in celebration. Experiential learning has replaced the idea that to master a subject, students must learn the grammar of that subject, then the related logic and application. In other words, students are no longer taught how to master the skills of learning.
-Leigh Bortins, CC Founder
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