Classical Conversations

Last night, I attended a meeting to learn more about Classical Conversations (which I briefly discussed in this post).  I began exploring the classical model of education as an option when I first started homeschooling Noah and quickly realized that while it was a method that I wanted to emulate in our home...I didn't know how to go about doing it.  Yikes! This is where CC is brilliant - it equips parents with the classical tools of learning so that they may share that knowledge with their children. Awesome! :)  

For those that may be unfamiliar with the trivium, you can think of it as "three roads" or stages of learning that coincides with your child's cognitive development as he or she matures.  First is the grammar stage - which is when our children have a natural affinity for memorizing facts and soaking them them up in a sponge-like fashion; second is the dialectic stage - when your child is learning and discovering how facts relate and his or her powers of reason are sharpened; and third is the rhetoric stage - the period when we are capable of self-discovery and expression and we learn how to apply the facts.  We all naturally follow these stages of learning, some individuals moving into the various stages earlier or later than others.  The issue is just a matter of whether we're taught in this fashion. 

There is a big push in modern education to attempt to teach children at a very young age abstract concepts that their minds simply aren't developmentally ready to handle. This method is "outcome based" and while it has great looking results and the child may obtain the information faster, it doesn't STICK (how many of you remember the "memory dump" after a big test???).  On the other hand, the trivium may take longer to understand, but you are given the basic tools of education and are not always dependent upon a teacher for your next "lesson."  The ultimate goal is the ability to teach yourself.  

So, we're doing it....we're going "classroom." :)  The plan is to start Noah in the Fall in this once a week program, which will supplement our current curriculum.  I'm really excited.  In addition to learning how to use the trivium, I'm very interested in Noah engaging with other students in an information sharing environment...something that is very hard to replicate at home when you only have one child.  This way, I am still in charge of Noah's education, but he also learns how to make presentations, speak in front of others for "Show and Tell," and work in groups.  The best of both worlds, so to speak.  

I leave you with a little video of some of the extensive memory work accomplished in the CC setting.  The following is a video of a young girl who has memorized a history timeline, from Creation to Modern America.  I think it's absolutely amazing...but I'll let you decide that for yourself. :)