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The Trouble With The Trivium: Overcoming The Conundrums Of A Classical Education

26 May 2015

Sean Fields

Whether you're using the Classical education method as your main curriculum, or to supplement the body of knowledge you teach, you may find some pitfalls in this approach. The Trivium, the 3 phases of grammar, logic, and rhetoric that comprise a Classical education, may be problematic for certain students. Before you abandon Classical studies, however, try some creative angles to retain your students' curiosity and focus.

Grammar Stage: Elementary Frustration

Some students are frustrated with this phase of the Trivium, mostly due to their difficulty with memorization of facts, dates, and grammar rules. Taking a more informal approach may be the best answer.

Younger children normally love repetition. They'll watch the same movies or read the same beloved books over and over. Use this to your advantage by using chants, songs, and poems to teach the required facts. Every subject, from geometry rules to the periodic table of the elements, has been turned into a jingle or chant.

Let creative students compose their own chants and songs, and they may be more likely to retain the knowledge you want to impart. In addition to spoken or musical methods, find games and puzzles that make learning rote facts fun.

Logic Phase: Middle School Gender-based Boredom

Female students may lose interest in Classical studies at this stage, since nearly all of the ancient scholars, statesmen and heroes studied are male. The Classical method relies partially on the examination of the lives of role models, so girls may feel left out or detached by the all-male focus of studies.

Find biographies about notable women of the past and present. Adapt the reading list to include prose and poetry written by female authors. Use movies and documentaries about heroic girls and women to show the qualities and virtues that made these women exceptional.

When a student can imagine herself in the role of a hero, she will be more interested in the cultural and political times in which the role model lived.

Rhetoric Phase: High School Stage Fright

This phase of the Trivium is a challenge for some teens. Learning to express one's opinions and ideas with confidence isn't easy for older students who are shy or who have speech difficulties.

One way to encourage the improvement of debate and presentation skills is to let students make videos of themselves. They might record themselves debating another student, reading a research paper aloud, or performing a famous soliloquy.

Super-shy kids may want to review their videos in private. That's okay. Let them re-record their performances or debates until they're happy with the results. They'll self-correct their own mumbling or excessive movements, and will feel more comfortable being their own critics. To find out more, speak with a company like Classical Academic Press.

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