The Lost Method – How does it work?

Thousands of parents are rediscovering what education can mean.

Rather than assuming a full classroom, a good teacher, and 7 hours at school equates to “education,” these parents realize that what happens in those 7 hours matters.

The Foundation

The educational system called “classical education” was developed over two millennia with the goal of developing young minds to be wise. At the core of classical education is the trivium. The trivium’s three phases of learning are adapted to three phases of development in children – grammar, logic, and rhetoric.

Grammar

Young children (grades K-6) are uniquely adapted to memorize. They learn chants, songs, and rhythmic verse well, and can absorb an enormous amount of information, much of which is retained for a lifetime. By exercising this ability, students remain practiced in the art of memorizing and retaining information. Modern educators often overlook memorization once the students learns to read and write well in about the third grade. As with many skills, if you don’t develop memory at this phase, you’ll lose it. Students at this stage so enjoy memorizing that they will make up playground songs or chants on their own!

Logic

Early adolescent children (grades 7-8) become argumentative. Their ability to draw conclusions from a series of facts begins to develop. This is called the dialectic or logic phase. Most modern educators will overlook this phase, except with regard to higher math. Classical schools teach formal logic, logical fallacies, and reasoning skills through tools like the Socratic method and Aristotelian logic. These subjects are foreign to most of us unless we learned them in college. They practice students in the science of accurate thinking. In this phase, the subject matter is not as important as what conclusions the students may draw from their knowledge.

Rhetoric: An Essential Skill

In high school, students begin to develop a sense of how others perceive them. They become self-conscious about fashion, vocabulary, mannerisms, and various other forms of expression. Classicists called this the rhetoric phase and saw a window of opportunity to infuse wisdom and eloquence in students. These last a lifetime. Students in this phase learn to speak and write well. They learn to relate to their audience with clarity and persuasion. Without the ability to communicate, the best ideas go unheard and are impotent.

Inspired to Learn

Beyond the foundation of the trivium, the classical method inspires learning. Because classical education cuts with the grain through the developmental phases of the trivium, it naturally appeals to students. Rather than “bawling words into the ears” of students, classical education engages their minds. Gifted classical teachers inspire students to investigate, contemplate, debate, and pursue knowledge. By encouraging students to love learning, a lifelong gift is communicated.

Integration

Finally, integration between subjects makes sense of the world. Math, science, philosophy, and history are interwoven in a way that relates all subjects to a whole. As students integrate subjects, scriptural truth is integrated as well. This affects students deeply. The continuity between a student’s faith and his rational mind is a reward few Christians enjoy. Classicism provides this perspective unlike any other form of education. The peace of knowing Christ’s truth as it integrates with His world provides a powerful shield against the hostile questions posed in college and later in life.

The Lost Content

Great Minds

Great minds begin by reading great books. Progressive educators see the great minds of history as simply stair-steps toward our present enlightened society. As such, they are behind us and irrelevant. Classical Christian educators view history as a valuable learning tool.

Literature

Literature brings the great ideas of history alive. Students who read great literature write better because they have history’s best teachers. Great books let you think and feel the brilliance of history’s most influential people.

Philosophy

Philosophy asks the foundational questions about man, God, and nature. Schools today barely brush up against philosophy. For them, philosophy points to religion – a place they cannot go. But in Christianity, we have the answers. Classical Christian education sets students on a firm foundation for understanding and integrating all of life.

Theology

Scripture provides us with everything we need to know about God. Theology organizes it. Students who know their theology have a better grasp of the Bible. Classical educators call theology the “Queen of the Sciences” because all knowledge begins with God.

Art

People’s beliefs about the world are reflected in their art. By studying music, theater, and the fine arts in their historical context, we come to know the view that produced them.

Science and Math

From Archimedes to Newton, from Galileo to Pascal, the golden era of science belonged to classicists. One distinction between classical education and a liberal arts education is our emphasis on science and math. Students at classical schools perform well in advanced science and math.

Logic and Rhetoric

Logic and rhetoric are not only methods, they are also subjects. Aristotle systematized logic and rhetoric. We study these to learn the science of thinking and the art of verbal and written communication.