The Classical Model

Classical education is not better because it's old.
It’s better because it has been tested in the laboratory of time.
It connects learning with all of life.

To understand the power and potential of Liberty Classical Academy in your student’s life, it will help to know the heart and history of classical education.

The Summary

Classical education is different.

It's often said that years ago most didn’t get beyond an 8th grade education. But that isn’t saying what we might think. Upon completing what modern educators are calling 8th grade, many students were speaking Latin. They were referencing the fundamentals of grammar, logic, and rhetoric, and using their developed skills of critical thinking and reason. They studied virtue and art. They understood Truth as the foundation for knowledge and the source of wisdom. Success was measured in content of character as well as in breadth of knowledge. Learning was a style of living and not a means to an end. Education was, as the Irish poet and writer William Butler Yeats said, “not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.”

Education was...“not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.”
–William Butler Yeats

And that is the difference with Classical Education.

The Learning

Classical education builds the experience of learning around the natural developmental stages of children.

The methodology of teaching that students find at Liberty Classical is modeled after Dorothy Sayers “Lost Tools of Learning." Within this context, education happens with the flow of childhood development, in three distinct phases known as The Trivium (which means "The Three Way Path"). When children are young, they love to memorize. It’s life-giving to them. When they grow to their middle school years, they argue and debate. They thrive within the process of discovery. As they mature into young adults, they want to determine their course and plan their movements. The Trivium becomes the framework for learning within classical education.

The Trivium

Grammar Stage: K-5th Grade

The first stage of the trivium is Grammar and applies to students from Kindergarten through 5th grade. Children at this age love repetition and routine. By making this a part of their daily lives, the foundations for learning are established. They develop the disciplines of learning (times tables, fundamentals of reading and grammar, etc.) through repetition, song, and play.

Logic Stage: 6th-8th Grade

In this stage, the structure and fundamentals learned during the Grammar stage are applied so that students can begin to understand the concepts. Students at this age (middle school years) are prone to debate and arguments more than the early years because of their naturally developing curiosity. Through the Logic phase, then, they develop the ability to distinguish between good thinking and bad thinking. The disciplines of discernment, reason, and logic are taught within a richly discussion-driven environment.

Rhetoric Stage: 9th-12th Grade

The final stage of classical education is where all of learning comes together. It is called Rhetoric. It is within this stage that students learn to synthesize information to form and articulate their own opinions—Opinions that are built upon the rules of learning (Grammar), with sound reasoning (Logic), and within the framework of Absolute Truth.

The Setting

The learning space within classical education reflects each season and style of learning for the student. Some classrooms are activity-based. Others are designed for quiet and careful reflection. They are discussion-oriented. They are designed for self-study as well as formal teaching. They are designed for both independence and collaboration. They give students access to great works of literature and great works of art, helping students to grasp what they've learned through both understanding and through experience.

And learning happens in the classrooms as well as on the stage of performance and the field of competition. It happens in the hallways as well as in the richly social environment.

The Result

Our graduates demonstrate they are prepared for college and the academic and philosophical challenges that come with it.
And the statistics prove it.

They can speak, write, think, debate, and lead.

Because they've learned grammar, logic, and rhetoric, they can identify what is True and how to talk about it and live it out.

Our graduates can create…build…lead…serve...and inspire.

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