Liberty Distinctive #1: The Classical Method
Classical Education
Classical - It's in our name and in the structure of each day, integrating an understanding of Latin and Socratic discussion alongside Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Some come to our school because we are Classical. Some learn about it after they start. Ultimately, it's the core method by which we teach our students.
The Classical Method
In short, Classical education is structured around a child’s natural cognitive development. This system for learning, called The Trivium, considers what children do best at various stages of growth and engineers the classroom experience around it for optimal learning.
Grammar: The first component of the Trivium is called the Grammar stage, and it encompasses students in grades Kindergarten through 5. The Grammar stage is the first stage of learning; the foundation. At this age, children love repetition and routine, and naturally acquire facts and information. They develop the disciplines of learning (times tables, fundamentals of reading and grammar, common chemical elements, etc.) through techniques like chants, songs, and memorization to build their foundation of knowledge. Students are then able to use the techniques learned to recall the information in the later stages.
Logic: The second stage of learning within the Classical model is Logic. Here, students in grades 6-8 take the knowledge learned in the Grammar stage and begin to analyze it and ask questions. Students at this stage are naturally more inquisitive; they seek a deeper understanding; they want to know why and how. What they had formerly accepted without question they now begin to push back against. Therefore, students at this stage receive the tools for reasoning, as well as an introduction to research and formal logic.
Rhetoric: The final stage is the Rhetoric stage. Students in grades 9-12 hone critical thinking skills through not only a deeper level of analysis but through strong written and verbal communication and debate. They’re formulating arguments, and they learn to assess and defend these arguments through sound reasoning and knowledge gained in the earlier stages. They then go on to apply what they’re learning in the classroom to everyday life. You’ll see the Rhetoric phase most poignantly and brilliantly demonstrated through the Junior and Senior Theses.
The Results: Building Lives That Inspire
Ultimately, the value of a Liberty education is revealed over the course of a lifetime. It's in standardized test scores like the ACT, SAT, and CLT, where our students are consistently high above state and national averages. It's in the way you see a student able to speak clearly and articulately and engage socially. It's in the words we hear from graduates about how they entered the world prepared for what was next regardless of what career they chose, whether it be science, medicine, engineering, or education.
We are committed to the Classical model for education because we are committed to the cultivation of wisdom and virtue in the hearts, minds, and lives of our students. We are committed to making education, as William Butler Yeats put it, not a bucket we fill but a fire we start. The Classical method for learning meets students where they're at and gives them the tools they need to understand and interact with truth. Ultimately, we're equipping students for a world in desperate need of things that are True, Good, and Beautiful.