WHAT IS THE CLASSICAL METHOD?
First Baptist Classical Academy relies upon the classical disciplines of grammar, logic and rhetoric, otherwise known as the Trivium, both as the foundation of a thoroughly Christ-centered and classical education. Students who have acquired these disciplines gain the mental acuity needed for further study throughout their lives. They use grammar skills to quickly learn new material, logic skills to understand the relationship of the subject being studied with other subjects, and rhetorical skills to present their educated opinion on matters under discussion within the broader community. This rich and rigorous classical educational produces students who have the ability to learn independently, to analyze logically, to think critically, and to communicate clearly.
GRAMMAR
As Sayers puts it, students up to age eleven are "poll-parrots," having an innate ability to absorb and retain information. They derive great pleasure from chanting, reciting, and memorizing because it is their natural way of learning.
This stage is the Grammar Stage, and grammar is the foundation for all of learning, critical thinking and argument. The Elementary School of Grammar consists of Kindergarten through Grade 6.
LOGIC
As students enter the next stage in Grade 7, they naturally begin to question more and to seek to understand the relationship between the facts they have learned. They begin to move from the "what?" to the "why?." This is the "pert" stage of argumentativeness and inquiry as they question most of what they are told.
In this stage, students are taught how to ask good questions, how to solve problems, and how to argue logically. The development of sound reasoning requires a thorough knowledge of the basic facts, or grammar, of the subject at hand, and so builds upon what was learned in the grammar stage.
RHETORIC
And lastly, by Grade 10, having gained a strong foundation of knowledge, as well as the critical skills of logical argumentation, students enter the "poetic" stage. The Rhetoric stage consists of Grade 10 through Grade 12. This is the time for the maturing scholar to weave together and synthesize the knowledge of the Grammar stage and the reasoning skills of the Logic stage with the craftsmanship of elegant discourse.
Grammar, logic, and rhetoric are not only subjects in themselves; they are the essential tools of learning that students bring to bear on a variety of disciplines (language, math, history, science, etc.).
*Please reach out for more Classical resources and information.