The Trivium

Grammar State: Poll-Parrot Age

In this stage of learning, memorization is easy and enjoyable, while reasoning is difficult. A child readily memorizes the shapes and appearance of things, likes to recite facts like multiplication tables, and rejoices in chanting rhymes. Observation and memory are the faculties most lively at this period. This is a time to gather in facts and information for the use in later stages of education. Dates, events, names, places, and other basic facts form the foundation of this learning stage. It is not as important that the full import of these facts be understood at this stage as they should be known and remembered. This foundation provides the basic building blocks upon which all future leading will be based. In the elementary years of first through fourth grades, students are able and willing to absorb information. The rules of phonics and spelling, rules of grammar, poems, vocabulary of foreign languages (Latin), the stories of literature and history, descriptions of plants and animals and the human body, and the facts of mathematics are some of the areas to be memorized by the use of songs, chants, rhymes, and recitation of facts.

Dialectic (Logic) Stage: Pert Age

This age is characterized by contradicting, answering back, and arguing. The key element at this stage is logic that is the art of arguing correctly. Teachers use essays, debates, criticism, and performances to develop this natural argumentative ability. At this time, the ability for abstract thought begins to mature. The logic of writing (paragraph construction, supporting a thesis), the logic of reading (criticism and analysis of texts), the logic of history (examining the reasons behind events), and the logic of science (learning the scientific method) are the essential ingredients of education at the dialectic stage. The student learns to order facts into coherent and logical statements, to argue effectively and to think independently. They examine the cause and effect, the relationship between different fields of knowledge, and the fitting of facts in a logical framework.

Rhetoric Stage: Poetic Age

The rhetoric/poetic stage occurs during the "difficult teenage years". The child is usually self-centered, restless, and seeks independence, but creativity often blossoms along with the ability to explain what is known. A student learns to write and speak with conviction, ,clarity and originality while applying the rules of logic to the foundational information. They learn the art of communicating well and thinking analytically.

In summary, classical education gives a child the necessary tools to master subject of fundamental learning so that they are free to enjoy their exploration into the world of ideas.