MMM - Classical Education
Classical Education. I’ll admit that this is one method that I am not very familar with, so this will be a learning experience for both os us. If anyone has any more info on classical education please share it!
What is classical education? There is a great article here that describes it quite well. Classical education is a literature based learning process, the written word is taken very seriously as the basis of learning. Also all subjects are taught as interrelated. Nothing is taught in isolation, but instead is braided together with everything else.
In Classical Education there are three phases that children are taught though. In the younger years the time is spent absorbing facts and building up a knowledge base for the child to use. In the middle years this knowledge base is used as the child begind to learn more abstractly and analytically, instead of just absorbing facts now the child is learning “Why”. And in the final phase children are taught to express themselves, to be able to write and speak intelligently.
Many homeschoolers love using the Classical Education method because it teaches children how to learn rather than just expecting them to be able to do so on their own. This is a great article on why some use classical Education.
In searching through the web it does seem to be a predominately Christian method, though it can easily be adapted to secular needs.
The stages of Classical Education
The Grammar Stage
The Dialectic Stage
The Rhetoric Stage
Some helpful links
Classical Homeschooling
Classical Curriculum Guide
Classical Tutorials
Suggested Course of Learning
Classical Conversations
The Lost Tools of Learning
A gallary of work
Suggested books: The Well Trained Mind - Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer, The Trivium - Miriam Joseph, Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum - Laura Berquist, Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning - Doug Wilson
homeschool, homeschooling, curriculum, Classical Education, Method Madness Monday
February 14th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Actually, what you’ve described is neoclassical education. Traditional classical ed is a Latin (and sometimes Greek)-centered approach. You can learn the details at latincentered.com, through the book The Latin Centered Curriculum (available at Memoria Press as well as amazon), and the book Climbing Parnassus.