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WHAT IS CLASSICAL EDUCATION?

Our Headmaster Randy Frey, wrote a booklet on Classical Christian Education. Download links below in Resources section.

King Alfred Academy is seeking to return to a rich tradition of education which has blessed God’s people for thousands of years.

Classical Christian education believes that Christians must fulfill the command given by God in Ephesians 6:4, “Bring them [children] up in the discipline and instruction [Paideia] of the Lord.” The paideia of the Lord is instruction in all of life with the Lord as the centre and giver of all knowledge. Therefore, at King Alfred Academy, all subjects are taught as part of an integrated whole with Scripture at the centre. Learning should not be compartmentalised; rather all subjects should be integrated as to give a deeper and broader understanding of the world. Students learn to see how literature and history and science and theology are related and are shown how all knowledge ultimately points back to God, the creator of all things. The selection of subjects of a classical school will also be focused so they can be taught with depth and integration.

Classical teachers model a Biblical Christian life, and encourage each student to begin and develop his or her relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ. They have a love for learning and a passion to teach students as they say, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

Classical Christian education encourages all students to develop a lifelong love for learning and attain their academic potential. They are challenged with the great books of western civilization, theology, philosophy, and history. They learn to analyze books through the lens of the biblical worldview. Books are currated in such a way to cultivate the mind and train them in virtue.

Classical Christian education utilizes the trivium (grammar, logic and rhetoric) in all subjects so that the God-given strengths which children display throughout the different stages of their life can be capitalized upon. This not only helps in the gaining of knowledge but also teaches students the process of learning for the future, as subjects are taught from the foundation up.

PURPOSE

The purpose of Classical Christian Education is to cultivate wisdom and virtue in students. It will grant them knowledge and inspire them to love the Lord through what they read and how they are taught, helping students become disciplined, responsible and virtuous adults. Classical Christian education will be a superior foundation in the student’s preparation for college or a career, although its focus is to produce a student who exemplifies a life of wisdom and virtue.

TRIVIUM

In classical Christian education, students move through the stages of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. This progression is known as the trivium. It utilizes the child’s development as it systematically helps the child not only to learn but it gives the student the tools to learn in the future. The trivium works by building on a foundation. Everything to be mastered has the rules or foundational information (grammar), how to utilize the rules properly (logic) and how to be eloquent in the use of that information (rhetoric). In moving through the trivium, students are given the tools to learn for themselves while mastering the skills necessary to be a thoughtful, contributing members of society.

3 STAGES

Grammar Stage

Grades K-4

Who/What/Where/When

Logic Stage

Grades 5-8

Why

Rhetoric Stage

Grades 9-12

How

In classical education, the elements (grammar, logic, rhetoric) of the trivium are designed to match certain stages of child development.

In the grammar stage, children love to chant, memorize and recite. Education in the grammar stage is fact based. This stage is not simply linguistic, but rather the basis of all subjects. The goal is to equip students with the foundational building blocks of education. For example, the grammar of math would be arithmetic and the times tables.

In the logic stage, children become curious and interested in argumentation, wanting to know, “how come”? Therefore, the academy teaches discernment and distinctions. Students begin to apply logic as they evaluate argumentation and learn to view information critically. For an example, Wilson writes, “To see that a horse is not a duck belongs to the grammar stage. To see that a horse is a suitable animal to use in battle, and that a duck is not, belongs to the dialectic (logic) stage.”

In the rhetoric stage, children are concerned with appearances and how they seen by others around them. They are taught how to present themselves – why something matters and how to best apply the two previous stages of learning.

ELEMENTARY PROGRAM

The elementary program is made up of two stages: the grammar stage and the logic stage. Classes are currently made up of split grades as follows: junior and senior kindergarten, grades 1/2, grades 3/4, grades 5/6, and grades 7/8. Our elementary program focuses on solidifying the fundamentals of education while beginning the journey of instilling both wisdom and virtue. As students progress through the elementary program they will enter the logic stage where they will learn to use the knowledge acquired in the grammar stage. The elementary program brings students to the end of the logic stage and prepares them to enter the rhetoric stage as they continue to progress toward mastery.

HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM

The high school program is made up of the final stage, the rhetoric stage. This stage brings students to the culmination of the Trivium as students seek to master the art of persuasion and seek to communicate eloquently. For the 2022-2023 school year, we are beginning with grades 9 and 10. In future years we will add a grade each year until we are fully operational, encompassing JK-Grade 12.

THE CLASSICAL DIFFERENCE

The Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) published a website called The Classical Difference. Note that King Alfred Academy is a Canadian affiliate of the ACCS. The Classical Difference website has produced a 57 page report titled, “Good Soil” which is a comparative study of ACCS alumni life outcomes.

The graph above compares ACCS graduates to other types of schools with respect to “Accepts church authority, family eats, prays and talks about God, reads Bible together, never lived together before married, never divorced.”

The graph above compares ACCS graduates to other types of schools with respect to “Prepared for college & university” prepared for a job, read books, precent that earned a bachelor’s degree or more, collage GPA.”

The above graphs are just two of many graphs contained within the report. The summary website and full report compares many different categories such as, Life Outlook, College & Career, Christian Life, Christian Practices, Influencers, Conservative & Traditional and Independent Thinkers.

SUMMARY WEBSITE

FULL REPORT

LATIN

One subject which is more peculiar to classical education is the study of Latin. As Wilson states, “Latin promotes mental discipline; it encourages literary appreciation; it leads to a mastery of English; it provides a solid foundation for preparation for Christian ministry.”[1]

Latin is a precise language which takes discipline to learn. Wilson continues, “Long experience has shown us that the discipline required for learning another language, particularly Latin, is a discipline peculiarly suited for application elsewhere.”[2] Learning Latin helps students to better understand English grammar. Latin has the added bonus that it is the basis of many of the early great works of theology, classic literature and science.

In addition to English and Latin, French, Canada’s other language will be taught at King Alfred Academy. Latin and French will complement each other well.

[1] Wilson, The Case for Classical Christian Education, loc 2090.

[2] Ibid, loc 2125.

RESOURCES

Pastor Randy Frey, headmaster of King Alfred Academy, wrote a booklet on Classical Christian Education. You can download the PDF here.
To learn more on Classical Christian Education from the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS), Click Here.
The ACCS’s website, The Classical Difference, Click Here.
The Classical Difference website has produced a 57 page report titled, “Good Soil” which is a comparative study of ACCS alumni life outcomes. View summary page here, full report here.
Douglas Wilson wrote a book titled, “The Case for Classical Education” that we highly recommend.
Louis Markos wrote an article Christianity Today titled, “The Rise of the Bible-Teaching, Plato-Loving, Homeschool Elitists“.
Trinity Bible Chapel’s “Parenting Conference 2018“.