What is a Classical Christian Education?

A classical Christian education is made up of three distinct elements:
  • God is the foundation of ALL teaching.
  • The proven method of the Trivium is followed and dictates what is taught and how it is taught.
  • Great Works are read and used.

The Trivium includes three stages:

Stage 1

The Grammar stage studies the fundamentals of disciplines in order to build a framework of knowledge on which later information can be hung. Questions of who, what, where, and when are the focus. Teachers at this level act as lecturers and coaches. They transmit information, plan and supervise the practice of that information, motivate and tutor until the skills are mastered.

Stage 2

The Logic stage brings the grammar of disciplines into ordered relationships. The goal is to equip students with the thinking skills necessary to recognize sound arguments and ideas and to detect and correct fallacious ones. This stage addresses the questions of how and why. Teachers at this level act as midwives. They use the Socratic method (leading questions) to help students give birth to an idea.

Stage 3

The Rhetoric stage seeks to produce students who can use language, both written and spoken, to express their thoughts eloquently and persuasively. Teachers at this level act as tutors. They set students on their own, supervise, and give feedback.

The goal of the Trivium is to educate students not in what to think primarily, but in how to think, thoroughly, maturely and biblically.

We highly recommend that you read Douglas Wilson’s book Recovering The Lost Tools of Learning for a complete understanding of the benefits of and methods unique to a classical Christian education.