The Seven
Liberal Arts
Grouped into two categories:
The Trivium (language arts) and the Quadrivium (number arts)
There are different opinions on how to pursue a classical education. Our preference is to depend on the tried and true Liberal Arts. So named because they are the educational disciplines of the free man and woman. The name is derived from the Latin Libertas, meaning simply "freedom," and from the same word we derive our term "Liberty." It is the purpose of education to transmit the soul of a people from one generation to the next, to make the students more human, as God intends humans to be, and to pass along the soul of Western Civilization to its sons and daughters. In order to do this, we employ the liberal arts.
Trivium
The trivium does double duty as both academic disciplines worthy of study in their own right, but also as broad categories that help us think about how to approach teaching a subject.
Grammar
The grammar of language is simply grammar, vocabulary, syntax, and punctuation. The grammar of mathematics is numbers. The grammar of music is tempo and rhythm. The grammar of history is names and dates. Not only does grammar denote a type of knowledge, but also a type of knower. The youngest students naturally memorize and absorb data easily compared to older people. They learn the grammar of various subjects through repetition, singing, chanting, and simply performing actions over and over. No stage is able to move totally beyond grammar. Even the oldest students must be conversant with the basic concepts of their study in order to learn.
Logic
Logic is the art of thinking orderly and coherent thoughts. The subject of Logic is taught as a class but like grammar, it is also a stage of learning. While very young students are notorious for rapid-fire questioning of adults in their lives, middle school-aged students begin to ask more challenging questions. They question the nature of the knowledge they are presented with. They challenge the one they are questioning to convince them. This is a normal stage of brain development, and rather than crush this sometimes irksome tendency, classical education seeks to leverage this natural inquisitiveness and argumentativeness by equipping the students to ask the right questions and be able to evaluate the logic and coherence of the answer. They must be taught to do this respectfully and with a desire to uncover truth, rather than to simply be victorious in argument.
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the final stage of learning and it is the stage where a student is expected to not merely know facts and establish logical chains of thought about these matters, but be able to produce novel and original ideas about the implications of the knowledge they gain. They are being equipped to join the Great Conversation, which could also be called the Discourse. They should be challenged with controversial ideas so that they can prepare to defend their positions and develop positions for concepts that they may not have encountered as younger students.
Quadrivium
Music is not an optional program that schools should offer to interested students only, but rather a required part of a complete education. Not all STEM classes taught will have these exact names, but all will fit into one of these categories.
Mathmatics
Numbers in sequence
Music
Numbers in time.
Astronomy (Physics)
Time in space.
Geometry
Numbers in space.
With the mastery of these arts, a student is prepared to approach any academic discipline, common art, or professional challenge with the confidence of knowing they are equipped with the tools to learn nearly anything. A complete classical education creates an agile mind that encourages students to think outside of normal boxes. All doors are open to a student with this kind of education. Students who struggle with math will be challenged, but the door to a career in a mathematically heavy profession will still remain open. No student will say "I never got into music. It's too late now." No student will lack the ability to express themselves in their words, both written and spoken. Truly, these students will become free men and women with the Liberal Arts in their toolbox.