Classical education has been around since the Greeks and Romans and trained many of the greatest thinkers, and it’s just as effective and needed today.

The form, content, and purpose of classical education is designed to teach students how to think well. The full scope of a good education includes courses in literature, music, science, history, Latin, math, logic, art, Bible, and rhetoric. The goal is not simply acquisition of knowledge but the cultivation of worldview that seeks to honor Christ with renewed minds (Romans 12:2).

Classical education transcends grades, programs, and even the worthy goal of preparing students for college. Education is not a means to an end (e.g., “to get into a good college.”). Rather, education becomes an end in itself when the goals converge on being like Christ.

The Trivium

To accomplish this, the three parts (“trivium”) of a classical education concentrate on the liberal arts and match students’ cognitive development and teach grammar, logic, and rhetoric so that students first gain knowledge, then understanding, and finally wisdom in accordance with their maturing abilities.

Grammar (Pre-K – 6)

Students receive the necessary tools and facts of learning in a variety of subjects such as history, science, Latin, math, music, grammar, and reading.  Memorizing through chants and songs equips students with the foundational building blocks of learning while their minds are most receptive to memorization and observation.

Logic (7 – 9)

Students take the mastered information from the Grammar Stage and bring it into ordered relationships. They begin to apply logic to assess the validity of arguments and learn to view information critically with a more discerning mind. This stage of dialectic learning takes advantage of a student’s need to know how and why in addition to what.

Rhetoric (10 – 12)

Students learn to articulate eloquently and persuasively, and to use the tools of knowledge and understanding acquired in the earlier stages.  This is the point at which the strength of a classical education is made fully visible. In addition, students take a tour through Europe as a capstone experience to their rhetoric years, and conclude their senior year by writing, presenting, and defending a thesis to a panel of faculty and expert judges.

Liberal Arts

Along with the trivium approach, a classical education at Providence incorporates a strong core liberal arts curriculum as students study the great works of the Western World. Our focus on the core curriculum includes Latin in grades 4-10; ancient and modern history; science classes including biology, chemistry, and physics; math courses including calculus; logic; 2 years of rhetoric; 6 years of art; music theory and choral music at every grade level; and literature including Homer, Milton, Shakespeare, Dickens, and Twain.

More resources

To learn more about the foundation of the Classical Education movement, read how others describe it:

• “The Lost Tools of Learning” essay, by Dorothy Sayers
• A Parent’s Guide to Classical Education
• What is Classical Education? (blog post by Providence Headmaster, Ryan Evans)
• Common Objections to Christian Classical Education (Peter Hansen, Headmaster, Annapolis Christian Academy)