What is Classical Education?
Classical education is a co
nscious return to the academic disciplines and methodologies that helped spark the great cultural flowering of Western Christendom over the past thousand years. Stressing more than the simple repetition of information, the Classical method focuses on teaching students how to think and learn for themselves, as well as to love learning.
In the western world, our way of life, our theological and intellectual history, and our laws and social customs have all been handed down to us. In other words, our culture has grown from the heritage of the ancient Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans. How would it be possible to acknowledge such a vast heritage by merely adding a Latin class? As the gospel spread throughout the ancient classical world, the early Christians developed a teaching method that revolved around the Seven Liberal Arts. This method grew and developed down into the Middle Ages and had remarkable success.
The first three of these Seven Liberal Arts were called the Trivium and comprised the means by which students were given the “tools of learning.” Our adoption of the Trivium as a method of instruction is essential to the formation of a classical school. The first part of the Trivium, Grammar, concerns the particulars of any given subject. Logic is the second part and deals with the reasoning that ties all the various particulars together. Rhetoric is then used to teach the students how to express what they have learned in a polished and effective way. These concepts of the Trivium correspond to what the writer of Proverbs termed knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.
At Franklin Classical School, we strive to apply these three categories in every discipline, and every discipline can be divided into these categories. But, subjects are only half of the classical approach to teaching. Each child also has an innate affinity for staged learning that corresponds to this division of the Trivium. Consequently, we ensure that students of different ages learn according to those innate abilities. From the chanting grammar of the elementary students, to the logic class in junior high, to the inventive rhetoric and study of literature by the high school students, the various stages of the Trivium are thoughtfully lined up with the abilities and desires of the students.
The Trivium
Grammar:
Facts:
Data
Bits and Pieces
ABC’s
Logic:
Connections:
Abstract Reasoning
Thinking
Rhetoric:
Craftsmanship:
Application
Discernment
The Quadrivium
Arithmetic
Order:
Rational Deduction
Economy
Lists
Geometry
Structure:
Science
Technology
Mechanics
Astronomy
Perspective:
Cosmology
Worldview
Music
Queen of the Sciences
Full Integration
What Do We Mean By Christian?
Education, by its very nature, must address the great questions of life. Who am I? Why am I here? How must I live? Every school must teach on the foundation of some kind of worldview. That worldview may be boldly stated, or it may be implicit—but, it is always present.
At Franklin Classical School, our foundational worldview is the unchangeable Word of God—the Bible. Because God created the world and everything in it, all creation is subject to Him. Because God revealed Himself in His creation, in the Bible, and in His Son Jesus Christ, we may confidently teach all subjects in the light of His Lordship. This, in turn, affects more than mere academics. We strive to practice biblical living and teaching everywhere, not only in our curriculum, but also in our administration and our staff.
We are absolutely committed to the central principles of the Christian faith, but allow for a variety of convictions on secondary doctrinal principles. Our staff represent many different evangelical churches, and the same is true of the vast majority of our student body. The students consequently live in a Christian culture dominated by the authority of the Word of God. As we seek to build Christian unity between the families of the school, we also pray that Franklin Classical School will never drift from stressing the importance of a consistent and personal adherence to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What Do We Mean By Education?
In the modern world, we often see chaotic debate about the nature and design of true education. But even as the debate continues, there is much agreement on one central expectation for the task of education. Virtually everyone holds that students should be given the basic building blocks of knowledge, which they may then use later on in life. This is the point where debate and disagreement usually begins. What are those building blocks? For anyone interested in the work of Franklin Classical School, this should be one of the central questions asked—What do we believe those building blocks to be?
Our first desire is to serve the
parents, who have a God-given responsibility to teach their children. We want what the parents desire, which for our parents is a strong emphasis on teaching “the basics.” From all vocational and educational backgrounds, our parents understand that without a firm grounding in mathematics, English, science, history, and languages, the choices their children will have later in life will be severely limited. We believe that young children are not educated enough to know what they will need to know when they are grown. Consequently, our curriculum is a “core” curriculum, and not an “elective” curriculum. In concert with parents, we seek to provide rigorous training in the basics.
But more is necessary for a quality education. Not only do we seek to impart knowledge in these basic areas, but also an understanding of how to learn, how to teach oneself through the rest of life. This enables a student to handle any new subject that was not covered as the building blocks were taught. The habits of the Trivium give the student the “tools of learning,” and these are tools that do not wear out with extended use.
