Wednesday with Words: Trivium Skills and Humor: Essential for Teachers

This past week I read the first section of Trivium Mastery by Diane Lockman.  I appreciate her no nonsense approach and obvious study of classical education from the roots up.  She rightly questions Dorothy Sayers' but especially the "neo" -classical education movement with it's 3 step approach that grew out of her essay (which Andrew Kern's recent talk is trying to encourage me to think of a different term for it).  She clearly explains why this interpretation is not what those of the past would have understood education to mean.

I do understand why she is not a "mainstream" classical education author because she reduces everything to skills.  There is a classical body of knowledge worth learning but she seems willing to forgo that as long as we are teaching children how to read, think and speak.  For me, who can get lost in big ideas and love it, her simplification is helpful.  Her reduction to skills provided the tools I need to better see the path and coach my children in these skill areas.  I have a pretty good handle on facts and enjoy discussions about truth and have tons of thoughts about worthy content - but skills - a bit tougher for this mama. So, God provides!

She also does a GREAT job breaking down the 5 Cannons by tying it to the historical practice but also helping you realize what that means for speech and composition today. I see many curricula try to simplify these ideas or give you bite size pieces but this is the best overview.

I am also reading through The Art of Teaching from Gilbert Highet (a more philosophical approach to teaching).  Be warned, some of the examples early in the book might grate against our politically correct norms, but that doesn't invalidate his experience.  He seems like the traditional classics professor in an overstuffed chair with a pipe giving you advice from his years of experience at Columbia - but he is the good kind - who tells stories.  He had a whole section on humor which was refreshing. 

He asserts that a sense of humor is a necessary quality of good teacher, but not for the reasons I would have assumed.  His reasoning is wonderful. 

The real purpose of humor in teaching is deeper and more worthy.  It is to link the pupils and the teacher, and to link them through enjoyment.  A very wise old teacher once said: "I consider a day's teaching is wasted if we do not all have one hearty laugh."  He meant that when people laugh together, they cease to be young and old, master and pupils, workers and driver, jailer and prisoners, they become a single group of human beings enjoying its existence. 

Isn't that good!  Then I reflect on my own teaching and our atmosphere around here and well . . .  I need to loosen up a bit.  We have been laughing more recently and it is good for us (my oldest and I watched The Sandlot on Mother's Day and that won me HUGE points).  Highet recognizes gregariousness and love of play as inherent characteristics of students and encourages the teacher to use this to his advantage. This is a small section, soon he dives into more traditional material about concentration and preparation, etc.  He does see it as key to doing what comes next well though. 

He ends his exploration of humor and teaching (where, among other things, he explains that sarcasm and belittling are NOT the humor he is advocating) with this thought: 

Togetherness is the essence of teaching. 

Thinking about that makes me reconsider my priorities!  It makes me think of the Ambleside International people's refrain  "It is good to be me here with you."   I think we all need that in our lives.

See what others are reading over at Ladydusk.

  

Wednesday with Words: Gymnastics and Music

I am knee deep in books about preschool philosophy and program activities and loving it.  I love the planning stage (it's all so perfect) but am not so great at implementation. That's why I need a community to make sure it gets done (I am an obliger).

In high school, people would ask me what I wanted to do (as I was taking 5 AP classes).  I always responded teach preschoolers and I got the STRANGEST looks.  God has a sense of humor because in the end I will have preschoolers in my house for almost 15 years!! Although classroom is VERY different than living with them. Actually, my full dream is coming true - I get to teach preschoolers and middle and high school history next year!

Weird - yes.  Ideal for me - YES!

I will share resources as I figure out both of these paths.

My favorite preschool activity books - so far!

Although I have looked down upon activities I realize that they provide essential experiences for kids - if you choose good ones.  I have been reading through all of the resources by the author of Let's Play, Jeff Johnson and they are original and boy friendly.  My 4 yo spent 20 minutes looking at the black and white pictures and text heavy book asking when we could do these things.  PERFECT!

Although these are activity books, they are still firmly rooted in the Classical Tradition as I implement them.  I am re-reading Clark and Jain's The Liberal Arts Tradition because I am so tired of hearing about inappropriate approaches to early childhood education touted as the only way for those who are classical (read straight memorization).  I will never be a pinterest mom with tons of projects but young kids do learn best through experiences. This is another reason for a co-op so that I know that my kids are getting some hands on experiences.  We also have moms working on music, poetry, drama and art appreciation to make sure that they have exposure to real beauty.  It seems to me that early childhood could be brought down to 2 words - experience and exposure.

I digress. Clark and Jain explain that gymnastics and musical education are the foundations (after piety) of a classical education.  Our modern definitions of these words are too narrow and they suggest:

Gymnastic training is concerned with the entire physical conditioning of a child.  It culminates in competitive running, swimming, wrestling, etc. but includes the rudiments of control over the body as well. 

This reminds me that I don't do this intentionally enough.  I am excited about reading Balanced and Barefoot which argues that as a culture (in the past 20 years) we have really dropped the ball on this issue. I also enjoy Afterthoughts' recent posts about physical education and Charlotte Mason (here and here). Our co-op group started as a park day group so that our kids could get together and really play outside in the "woods".

Music is similarly broad and treats of what the ancients believed to be inspired by the Muses. This aspect of education includes what we now call music, but also poetry, drama, the fine arts and literature. . . . history, geography and even astronomy are "musical " subjects as well. 

In case you missed it:

In classical antiquity a major portion of of the education of children (throughout many of the years we devote to our pre-K through 12th grade programs) consisted of physical training, singing, memorizing poetry, acting/ imitating, drawing, sculpting, learning of the deeds of great men of the past, reading great literary works, and experiencing and observing the natural world. 

Did you see that - throughout many of the years - meaning more than just a year or two?! In the end the whole point is

Kids will imitate and learn and come to know things "by heart" but this is accomplished through a sense of wonder and love.

For Lewis, musical education is not window dressing for our educational program it is essential and foundational.  Without a well stocked moral imagination, without trained sentiment, without a heart there is no human flourishing.  

I am so glad that we have Artios Academies in our midst here because they provide music, drama, art, literature and the great stories of history throughout the grades (the other co-op I enjoy). They realize that the arts aren't extra and are key to developing the heart (thus their tag Art. Heart. Smart.).  I am so lame in these areas but I am glad that, in community, my children don't have to be.

My kids are helping me rediscover wonder and enjoy the world He has created in new ways.  Thank you for the blessing of new eyes (and various personalities) to help me see and re-form my heart as I look with them!  I am learning to love new things, question and enjoy.

See what others are reading over at Ladydusk.

Weekly Resource - An Outline of Classical Education

We are excited that our city will be home to a new public, charter Classical school this fall.  There is a good chance a few of our friends will be attending.  I was seriously tempted by it, but in the end it is not the right time for my kids.  I was very encouraged recently when I read an address (full text at link) that Martin Cothran (of Memoria Press) gave to the teachers of Great Hearts Academy.  The fact that the two are connected in any way made me excited about the impact that this school could have in our community.

If you want a great explanation of how Classical educators view the liberal arts, reading stories and why we study Latin I suggest you read this article.  The beginning uses a lot of vocabulary that might be new to you - but not too difficult.  Below are some highlights of the article.

An introduction to the main concepts

By the term “classical education,” I mean the system of education that emphasizes this culture [of Rome and Greece and subsequent cultures] and attempts to pass it on to the next generation. This system of education has two chief and theoretically distinct components: the liberal arts and the humanities—the traditional set of learning skills and classical content. In other words, when we say “classical education,” we mean the liberal arts and the humanities—language, mathematics and science on the one hand, and, as Matthew Arnold put it, the best that has been thought and said on the other.

What does "liberal arts" mean? 

The liberal arts consisted of the three language arts of the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the four mathematical arts of the Quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music). 

“We should not be learning the liberal arts,” explained Isocrates, making the same point, “we should have learned them.” They don’t make students better speakers or counselors, just “better learners.” “By studying them,” continues Mulroy, “one could discover thought’s basic patterns, which are what bind the seven liberal arts together. In contemporary terms, their subjects are the procedures that are hard-wired in our brains and do not differ from topic to topic.”

What does humanities mean? 

The humanities consists primarily of literature and history. They are not a means to anything else other than wisdom and virtue. They are not quite an end in themselves, but they are a very fundamental means. It is through history and the humanities that we find out what we are as human beings. They tell us the story of who we are and how we should act.

Why do we read aloud? 

In literature we simply read—and read aloud—classical children’s books. Children’s literature is largely a modern invention and it may be the one area (other than technological science) that we have a cultural advantage on our forebears.

One of the distinctives of our literature program is that we don’t try to smother it with analysis. I think we sometimes overdo the integration thing. When they are young children, we need to focus on a story without being called upon to impose a bunch of abstract considerations on it.

A classical teacher is called upon to teach, to delight, and to move. But when it comes to literature for young students, the greater emphasis should be upon the delight they receive from it.

Critical Thinking Skills

My thesis is that classical educators are the only ones who have a critical thinking skills program. They are the only ones who have it, but most of them don’t know they have it—at least they don’t know to call it that.

I will give you the classical critical thinking skills program in seven words. Commit it to memory. Here it is: Grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. And you can, if it makes you feel better, as Mulroy points out, replace astronomy and music with algebra and calculus.

In any case, when people ask you, as a classical educator, what you do about critical thinking skills, you can reduce it to three words: The liberal arts.

Forming and Filling Minds

The filling of the mind is the business of the humanities, but the forming of it, the liberal arts, Pycroft maintained, was the chief business of education. “The cultivation of the mind,” he said, “like that of a field, requires that we should first prepare the soil, and then sow the seed.” “You must sharpen the tools,” he says, varying the metaphor, “before you can make any progress in your work.”

If the instructor does not form the mind of his pupils before he starts filling it, said Pycroft, then “the labour of the instructor is like that of the Danaids, in mythological story: doomed to fill leaky vessels.”

 What is the Trivium?

When we talk about language arts in a classical setting, we are concerned with the first three of the liberal arts: the trivium—the traditional set of linguistic mental skills. The trivium, we might say,is the classical language arts program. Grammar, the structure of language; logic, the structure of rational thought; and rhetoric, the art of persuasive expression—these are the traditional linguistic skills.

Now since we are talking here in the context of lower schools, there is not a whole lot we can say about logic. It is a subject that, because of its necessary dependence on abstraction, cannot be profitably attempted before 7th or 8th grade.

Why Latin? 

So what about this problem of grammar being too abstract for students in lower elementary grades? We can help ourselves in thinking about this by properly stating what the problem is. The problem is this: It is not grammar that is too abstract for younger elementary students, but English grammar that is too abstract—or, I should say, grammar taught in English. Grammar itself is universal, and manifests itself in different languages.

English grammar is unduly abstract for anyone, much less younger students, for two reasons: First because of the nature of the English language itself, and secondly because it is our own language.

and later . . . 

A foreign language solves some of our grammar problems. An inflected language solves some more. But a regular inflected foreign language—what a tool that would be! And it just so happens that we have one. And as luck would have it, this language not only provides us with a regular, structured grammar, but it happens to have provided our own language with over 60 percent of its academic vocabulary since it is the mother tongue of the culture to which we are all heirs.

It is, of course, Latin.

When to begin Latin? 

Using Latin to teach grammar allows you to begin to teach grammar through Latin to students as young as 3rd or 4th grade. This is what we do at Highlands Latin School. And those schools who work with us are doing it too. Latin is to our language arts program what math is to our math/science program: It is the core subject.

From there he talks about the historical debate that led to the downplaying of Latin in the curriculum because some argued that the exactness and percision of the language would not transfer over into other areas of study.  I love reading about this debate in the early 1900's it is fascinating. 

Results of Studying Latin

Today you can look at the studies that indicate how well students do on the SAT verbal section according the language they studied. These studies consistently show that students who study inflected languages do better than those who study non-inflected languages. In fact, one year the top three languages were Hebrew, Greek, and Latin—all, incidentally, dead languages.

and finally 

The fact is that, as much as we might like to teach our students to read Latin, most of them will never do this. But every child who studies Latin—if it is first taught as a liberal art—will achieve the mental discipline that is the most valuable result of the study of an inflected grammar.

Brander Matthews, one of the great English teachers of the 20th century, once said, “A gentleman should not be expected to know Latin: But he should at least have forgotten it.” A student who has studied Latin will probably forget his Latin. But he won’t forget his grammar.

It is a different way of thinking about education and its purposes and procedures.  I am fascinated and drawn to it's simplicity and yet strength.  It endured in various versions until the last century and I think it is worth considering its arguments and strengths as we think about renewing education in America.  I am glad that we will have this as an option in our city.  

Weds. with Words The Liberal Arts Tradition - Math

I raced through The Liberal Arts Tradition because it was so interesting and answered many questions that I have about how to approach the disciplines more classically.  One of the primary lessons for me was how differently they viewed math.  The overview of the history of math was quick and inviting.

In Book VII of the Republic, when he introduces the central place of the Quadrivium in his educational program, he [Plato] tells Glaucon that the students must not pursue it with an eye toward useful business as shopkeepers do.  

In fact, before the seventeenth century, scholars did not consider mathematics as widely applicable to the real world at all.  

Thus the original role of the Quadrivium, to lead the mind to the realm of eternal and unchanging truths, was eventually displaced by the amazing power of mathematics to describe the physical world.  A traditional liberal arts education should encompass both of these perspectives: the useful and the formative. 

Below is a good reminder, for all subjects:

Students who encounter mathematics with wonder are far more likely to commit to the rigors of its work. 

Here is a whole new way to think about the implications of geometry:

In fact, the story of modernity has at times been told as the rise and fall of the geometric paradigm. 

From there he goes into the history of Euclid's Elements and why it is such a crucial text, greatly influencing Descartes and philosophers after him.

So, for those searching for a classical liberal arts paradigm for the study and teaching of geometry, the answer is found in a return to Euclid.  

While Euclid's Elements has a total of thirteen books, a normal high school geometry class will usually cover only material from books I-IV and VI, representing under 100 propositions.  

I was a little shocked to read this:

Because historically geometry provided the foundation for the very concept of proof in mathematics, and because its constructions make it a more concrete subject, it should be placed as the next subject in mathematics after elementary arithmetic.  (Yes, before algebra 1).

The answer regarding how to cover algebra and calculus is also unexpected:

This is not a call to jettison the integrated corpus of material called algebra or calculus; it is instead a call to resituate them in a more connected context by exploring how they grew out of the study of discrete arithmetic or continuous geometry.  

Cleaving to the traditional distinction between arithmetic and geometry, the difference between discrete quantity and continuous magnitude will indeed lead to wonder, wisdom, and worship.  

With quotes it is difficult to go into the deeper philosophical discussion around the idea of the one and the many that is essential to the development of math and geometry and ties into the contributions of Christian thought to mathematics.  So, I encourage you to read the book to get the sense of wonder, rich history and essential questions in math. You can also see the outline of how the author's school introduces math and science here (pp 13 - 15).

I might try to summarize the science but you start getting into really deep waters there!

See what others are reading at Ordo Amoris.

Reconciling my Montessori past with a Classical future

I am actually a part of two coops.  Yes, I am insane - this is the expression of my honey bee, extrovert personality.  This is my first year with Classical Conversations, in part, to find other people interested in Classical education.  The second coop focuses on art, music and Montessori.  I started it in my home 6 years ago (yes my oldest had just turned 1).  One of my friends was crazy enough to buy the materials so that I could try Montessori on their kids.  I took two years off of the coop (it continued without me), one to have a baby and one year I was an assistant at a new Christian Montessori School (now closed, they are starting a mission school in El Salvador - I have their elementary library let me know if you want to buy some books). We were there 8 to 1 pm, 5 days a week.  We have been back at coop for the past three years. 

I finally had my "aha" moment about Montessori last year.  

The Good 

First, it teaches skills well.  In fact, it does this better than any other curriculum.   Today, as I was getting ready for coop #2 I realized that it follows the model that Andrew Kern discusses in his talk "Assessment that Blesses" to a tee!  

First you imitate the master.  The teacher presents the material to a student individually or in a small group exactly the way that it should be done.  Then the child works with it - once, for an hour, for months; whatever amount of time it takes for them to internalize the lesson.  This ability to let children to move at their own pace is one of the amazing things about Montessori.  Once you reach that milestone the teacher introduces the next step in the progression.  Eventually, step by step, you master skill based areas - mathematics, grammar, etc.  

In fact, a student can just look around the room and get an idea of what he will learn over the course of the next six years. Motivation is built in because you see the goal and know the next steps.  In the multiaged classroom you are constantly exposed to the next level and reviewing previous levels as you help younger students.  It truly is genius. Teacher training is the key to success here.  Teachers spend years developing their understanding of the progression of lessons and their ability to evaluate students and move them along in the progression.  It is academic coaching at its best!  

If the heart of education is teaching skills then this is the way to go. 

However, education is not about skill building - education is about soul shaping. 

I now desire my education to look more Classical, more like this: 

EDUCATION is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by nourishing the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty.  It should be distinguished from training (for a career), which is of eternal value but is not the same thing as education.  Circe Institute 

The Bad (in my estimation)

I wondered why this program could cross borders so easily.  You see, Montessori does have a few great lessons that frame the elementary years.  Although Montessori was Catholic and probably pretty faithful, her education system does not require a certain story or perspective on life to be effective.  Her "soul shaping" great lessons are so universal and general that you can overlay your own philosophy or creed and get one of the best skill building frameworks - ever!    

This is most evident in her curriculum design.  There are 5 areas of study: practical life, sensorial, language, math and cultural (art, music, science and geography).  She does not outline stories to read and her history curriculum is the great lessons mentioned above (she had the original social studies).  In the most blatant terms - she doesn't even aim at teaching wisdom and virtue.  Although she is strong on aesthetics there isn't any ultimate truth that she points towards.  The soul shaping stories that the children hear are left completely to the discretion of the teacher and the school.  Although, as we'll see, she did have some thoughts about the type of stories children should hear.   

I often got frustrated at the school because on the rare occasions when we read aloud to children it was mostly non fiction books.  I constantly wondered how children were introduced to the ideas of love, jealousy, faithfulness, greed, etc.  They never really heard stories that dealt with these issues. Montessori focused on the reality of life. She had strong feelings about fantasy and fairy tales.  She basically said they were inappropriate for children.  For a while I could see her point, but I still read Peter Rabbit and St. George and the Dragon to my kids.  I'm glad I did. 

I understand the concern about kids not understanding fantasy and reality - but now, after reading books like Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Esolen, and trusting in quotes like these: 

"Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.” -C.S. Lewis

 and  

Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.  G.K. Chesterton 

and from one of my favorite bloggers:

Music is for listening. Art is for seeing. Poetry is for loving. History is for tethering. Stories are for virtue. Let's not make this harder than it has to be.

"Stories are for virtue."  Virtue is key to soul shaping.  Virtue is "moral goodness; the practice of moral duties and the abstaining from vice, or a conformity of life and conversation to the moral law. “ (1828 dictionary)   If stories are not a critical and clearly outlined element of your educational curriculum; you are leaving it open to chance, whim or intentional design by the individual user.  

Montessori wanted her children grounded in reality and she is often discredited for this reason.  However, it is not just that they don't engage in fantasy play.  It goes beyond that. They aren't even introduced to fantasy story.  Truly, this might be okay if parents rebel and don't follow this creed at home.  But, without a good story how do you learn about heroes? Where do you overcome villains?  Maybe through history?  But that is also missing from her core curriculum. 

Montessori focuses on culture studies and geography - you don't learn the history of your nation or people as a part of the curriculum.  Of course you can add it - if you like - how you like.  If history is for tethering - giving you a sense of rootedness and connection - here it is totally open to interpretation.  

So the two key parts of a curriculum that are truly soul shaping are not outlined specifically in Montessori training.  In some ways, this is genius because anybody can add what they like with an excellent core in skill building.  In some ways it leaves the “real education” the “soul shaping” up to the discretion and beliefs of the teacher and school – often without parents realizing it.

My Personal Conclusion

For me,  Montessori will always provide excellent tools for skill building - especially in math and grammar.  Truly, it is amazing!  But for forming a soul, a full education, it is lacking.  Honestly, in many ways, true Montessori kids are more open to suggestion because they lack the sense of direction and rootedness that story and history provide (if teachers strictly follow Montessori teachings). Of course, probably not more so than public school children.  At least Montessori kids have skills!  

I will discuss Montessori materials often, but I can't adhere to a Montessori philosophy.  I use the tools and the progression of skills because they are excellent.  Plus, I am still part of a coop where LOTS of the materials are available to my family.   At coop, I know what philosophy people believe and how it influences their teaching.  

In the end, soul shaping will happen.  That's why I don't think Christian Montessori is necessarily an oxymoron (which some believe) - but it isn't a given, just because of the founders' faith.  I intend to be intentional in the stories I read and history I tell.  I want my sons learning lessons in virtue and rootedness that will serve them well.  This is also why many curricula are a list of books and Montessori provides a room full of materials.  Heart versus skill.