Homeschooling 101 – Classical Curriculum and Regular School
Can you give your child a classical education while signed up with a regular school?
(University of Pisa, Photo by Max Avans)
I recently was asked how one might incorporate the Classical Curriculum with students who are signed up with a regular school. While, I don’t claim to be an expert in the field, I am a trained teacher and I do have a few years’ experience in homeschooling to offer some tips on how we can give our children the benefits of the Classical Curriculum, alongside regular schooling.
To begin with Classical education is based on the trivium, which consists of three stages:
grammar,
logic,
and rhetoric.
These stages correspond to the natural development of the child’s brain. Therefore, it is a lot easier to implement the Classical Curriculum than one may think.
The grammar stage, corresponds to the elementary years, (your learner is below 12 years of age) so your focus should be to build a strong foundation of knowledge. Memorization is key at this stage, so learning Math tables, definitions of the parts of speech, historical facts, scientific definitions are all part of this stage. As the Latin Proverb goes, “Repetitio est mater studiorum” (Repetition is the mother of all learning). The learner happily learns through repetition and memorizes the basics of subjects such as language arts, mathematics, history, and science. In a way, you are already practicing repetition through rhymes and reading the same stories over and over again to your young child.
The child at this stage cannot understand abstract concepts and so, we can leave out the how’s and why’s of things for now. Use their capacity to memorize through repetition to build a solid foundation for the next stage.
The next stage is the logic stage; typically occurring in middle school, (grades 6-8). This stage emphasizes critical thinking and reasoning skills. The learner is naturally curious and you can make use of this natural curiosity to explain the how’s and why’s of things. Show them the links between the information that they are learning and how they will use it in the future or in daily life.
For instance, today, we were working on the circumference of a circle. First, the formula for circumference of a circle was taught {Circumference = Pi * diameter (Pi = 3.14)}, then a number of practice sums were provided in the text book. The problems given were pretty straightforward so that using the formula given, the student could calculate the circumference of a circle. No big issues there.
Then came some tricky word problems like the following: Find out the distance travelled by a circular wheel in one revolution if the diameter of the wheel is 9 inches. This is where, my learner had to make a logical connection between the formula that he had learned and how to find the distance travelled in one revolution of the said wheel. At first, he couldn’t come up with the answer. He was perplexed because of the word “distance”. He had just learned about circumference, not how to calculate distance. I then took a round object, marked a point as point A on the “wheel” and rolled it on the table once. I asked him, “Now, how far do you think point A has travelled?” He saw the straight path of the wheel and made the connection, “it’s the circumference,” he said – a light bulb moment. He now visualized the connection between the circumference of the circle and the distance travelled by a circular object in one revolution.
If your child is in regular school, you can help him make the connections between what he is learning and real-world scenarios. Draw on the interests of the child and help him make the link. My son is interested in architecture, so explaining math via architecture examples is easy. He understands why he has to learn fractions and how fractions are connected to decimals and that we use them in everyday life – whether it be for shopping, or cutting a piece of fabric, or for building a fence for our plants, I help him make the connection between the concepts learned and real-life scenarios.
Thanks to his interest in architecture, he also understands that everything that he learns in school is like a building block in an edifice. Therefore, he first has to have memorized his tables to be able to calculate fractions, area of a quadrilateral, work with mixed numbers, etc. He has to learn phonics, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar, to write a good paragraph. If he knows how to structure one paragraph, he can write multiple paragraphs and come up with a great book report, and so on.
The logic stage builds upon the foundation laid in the grammar stage and prepares your learner for more advanced study in the upcoming rhetoric stage.
The rhetoric stage, (grades 10-12) usually in high school, focuses on effective communication and expression. You can contribute by helping the student to learn how to articulate their thoughts persuasively, both in writing and speech. Also, encourage his specific interests, the field that he will pursue in the future; you are helping your learner become independent.
This stage also includes the study of classical texts, philosophy, and advanced mathematics and science, preparing students for college and beyond. Provide the material and opportunities needed in this stage for forming and defending opinions; based on what has been learned in the previous two stages. So, while in the grammar stage, your learner memorized his Catechism, (based on these Truths) he should be able to tell you why the reception of Holy Communion requires a proper disposition and prior preparation. Practice debating with your learner, challenge him, teach him Apologetics, he should be able to confidently defend his beliefs or the position he holds when these are questioned. This stage prepares the learner for the real world. A real-life example that I can relate is of a dear friend of mine. He was asked in a college admission interview (he was seeking admission in a Catholic medical college). “What is the difference between a man and an animal?” Without batting an eyelid, he replied, “Man has an immortal soul and an animal doesn’t have a soul.” The bishop seated at the panel was impressed and my friend passed the interview.
As you can see from this short post that the Classical curriculum does have its advantages and is doable. I hope I have been able to persuade you to get involved in imparting this education to your children, even those signed up with regular school.
Thanks
for asking the question.
Good one, very informative and in detail!