Educational Philosophy
Classical Education
What is classical education? Dr. Christopher Perrine aptly summarizes by saying, “it is a long tradition of education that has emphasized the seeking after of truth, goodness, and beauty and the study of the liberal arts and the great books. What are the liberal arts? They are the verbal arts of the Trivium and the mathematical arts of the quadrivium. The trivium is grammar (the tools of knowledge), logic (the tools of reasoning), and rhetoric (the tools of written and verbal discourse) The quadrivium is arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. This approach to education also includes the study of Latin, so as to be able to study classical books in the original lanuage. The classical approach teaches students how to learn and how to think.”
Classical education has its roots in the classical world of Greece and Rome. It was here that the seven liberal arts were born. The verbal arts of grammar, logic, and rhetoric are studied in order to use language to discover and communicate truth about the world around us; and the four mathematical or rational arts of arithmetic, geometry, music (harmonics) and astronomy so that we could know the nature of the world outside our minds.
Classical education sage Andrew Kern lists rhetoric as the crowning glory and purpose for studying the verbal arts.
“Thought breeds thought; children familiar with great thoughts take as naturally to thinking for themselves as the well-nourished body takes to growing. ”
Charlotte mason
Charlotte Mason was a British educator and reformer who affirmed the humanity of a child as a person, and that we should educate the whole person, not just the mind.
She used Living Books instead of dry textbooks to both instill knowledge and make the story “come alive.” Children would Narrate or retell the story, not give a summary, which results in a dry synopsis, devoid of any meaningful relationship with the book. Instead, the child would relive the experience rich with the relationships that he or she formed when reading the story.
There are three pillars on which her educational approach stands: discipline, atmosphere, and life. Do not confuse the idea of discipline with punishment. Her approach respects the child.
Discipline, according to Charlotte Mason, is similar to the way an athlete would exhibit discipline toward his craft. This would be the discipline of good habits such as character development and building of habits.
Atmosphere is the “ideas that rule your life.” When you walk into a room, you can fell the atmosphere. Parents create the a positive atmosphere at home. As our core values would indicate, we provide an atmosphere of curiosity, kindness, excellence, and perseverance.
Life. She taught ideas, not merely facts. Although there are some facts children must know, it is the ideas that shape who we are.
The apprenticeship model
During the time of the Italian Renaissance, art apprentices would study under a master artist. This was derived from the practice of master craftsman of the Medieval period taking on an apprentice and teaching him the craft. At the end of the apprenticeship, students often had to show a piece of work to the guild to demonstrate that they had mastered their craft. This is the origin of the term masterpiece.
An art apprentice would begin with less important and tedious tasks such as preparing panels and grinding pigments. They then learned to draw, first by copying drawings made by their masters or other artists. They would also, oftentimes, go into the city and copy celebrated works. Once the apprentice was ready, he would move to statuettes or casts, attempting to make a three-dimensional object two-dimensional, and finally to painting. Once they painted their “masterpiece” they could gain journeyman status.
The apprenticeship model flows through our educational philosophy. In obvious areas such as art, music, and crafts of trade, but also in writing and science. Students learn first by watching and copying a master. They then practice using the tools of the master. Only after they have the foundational skills, are they ready to create on their own masterpiece.