K12 Trivium
Based on the centuries old model of education
called the Trivium, Caldwell's goal is to teach students the proper
use of the tools of learning. By mastering the tools of learning,
Caldwell students will be equipped for life as thinkers and learners.
The Trivium divides the school career into three stages according
to the way children naturally develop. The three stages are grammar, dialectic,
and rhetoric.
| Three
stages of K12 Trivium |
GRAMMAR (KINDERGARTEN
THROUGH FIFTH GRADE)
Students begin by learning the fundamental facts and rules
of each subject. Teaching methods such as singing, memorizing,
chanting, and recitation are emphasized. Latin instruction begins
in third grade.
DIALECTIC (SIXTH THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE)
Students are taught how to analyze, reason, question, evaluate, and critique.
Logic, the art of arguing correctly, is taught as a core subject. In addition,
students learn to think about all of life within the framework of a Biblical
worldview.
RHETORIC (NINTH THROUGH TWELFTH
GRADE)
In the study of rhetoric, students learn how to express what they know and what
they are learning. Debate, apologetics, speech, essay writing, and drama are
emphasized during this stage as a means to equip students as effective communicators.
Students are challenged and trained to implement a Biblical worldview by engaging
the culture for Christ. The rhetoric stage is built on a foundation of accumulated
knowledge and is the capstone of the Trivium.
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