I've been doing some research on various educational philosophies because I'll be teaching my first class at a university this fall. I was taught a "progressive," "child first," "whole language" approach to teaching English, but I've been trying to unlearn that secular, humanistically-based method of instruction.
I'm curious what a classical-style curriculum and daily classroom session looks like. How does classical education practically work out into an English composition class? How does the curriculum and classroom structure differ from modern-progressive methods?
Thanks,
Matthew

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Matthew Scheffer
Christ The Redeemer (non-denominational)
http://www.christredeemer.com
Spokane, WA

This is a nice introductory essay to the topic:

The Lost Tools of Learning

It was something of a catalyst for the movement you see in the United States now.

Memoria Press has a number of articles that have been written by their people. You can find these at:

Classical Education, Latin, Logic, Rhetoric Articles

This should give you a good overview of the teaching methods typically employed, and of what some of the curricula might look like.

I hope this helps.

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~Carolyn Martinson~
Covenant Presbyterian - OPC (Baldwin, WI)
River Falls, WI

Classical education is a philosophy that is applied over the whole of one's schooling... you can't really parcel it out and apply it in one class and really say you're doing "classical teaching". So, it's hard to say what one particular class would look like, I think, as it is totally different depending on the year, whether you're teaching grammar stage, logic stage, rhetoric stage. Good pointers by Carolyn above.

Your primary issues in the classroom at university are likely to be just keeping attention of students and helping them actually learn how to read and write and have some concern for spelling and grammar. Standards have slipped to such a degree that you'll be lucky if all of your students can actually read at a high school level and string together thoughts in a coherent fashion at all in their writing.

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Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://inprincipiodeus.solideogloria.com
http://puritanwisdom.blogspot.com

"As God did not at first choose you because you were high, He will not now forsake you because you are low."
John Flavel in Keeping the Heart



Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Thanks Carolyn,
I'll check out those articles this evening.

John,
I'm not overly familiar with the classical method of teaching (never done it and never experienced it), but it sounds like you're saying that there aren't any general principles that I can apply to my English 101 class. Is that correct?

Like I mentioned in the OP, I'm trying to shake off the secular-humanistic educational philosophies that I've been taught, but I need something to replace them with. So far it seems as though something akin to the classical method of teaching is closest to a biblical/Christian method of teaching, but if there isn't anything that I can apply to my 101 class then I'll have to look elsewhere.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Matthew

I would think something you could incorporate into your classroom is some logic. Perhaps the students can have a brief overview and you can train them to depend on logic for argumentation in compositions?
Here's a very good intro book for logical falacies that can be adapted to classroom use.
It is probably intended for much younger kids, but I read it and learned from it as an adult, as I had never learned logic before.

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Shalom,
jessi
PCA
Steelers fan exiled to Virginia


“Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.”
Martin Luther

I agree with Jessi--incorporating logic/logical fallacies is a great place to start since many of your students may lack experience with critical thinking--faulty logic abounds in today's media. Tim's at church right now, but I know he used a fallacy text with middle-schoolers that would work with older students, too. Message him if you're interested.

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Anna
Wife of Tim/Marrow Man
Louisville, KY
Member of Midlane Park Presbyterian (Associate Reformed Presbyterian)

Can you try to point him toward this thread so he can share with us all? Thanks!

Classical education means the teaching of the 7 classic subjects, grouped into 2 categories:

• Trivium - grammar, logic, rhetoric
• Quadrivium - arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy

In contemporary Christian classical education, the trivium is seen as 3 "learning stages," but historically they were subjects.

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Casey, Chicagoland, OPC

True, but they were progressively taught. So, even as subjects, they are also stages. However, your point is taken--that the application of the stages to developmental psychology is modern.

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Clark Brooking
Pastor
Living Hope Presbyterian Church (OPC)
Clarksville, MD

Thanks for all the answers.
I do plan on teaching formal/material logic and rhetoric in the class.
It sounds like that's about all that I can take from the classical approach to education and apply to my composition class in one quarter.

I'm hoping to equip the students with the ability to question their teachers' presuppositions and worldviews as well as their own assumptions about life. I'll probably do that through the daily (5-7 min.) journal entries and during class discussion times.

Thanks again