The Classical Model of Education

Did you know Julie wrote a whole book about teaching art using the classical model of education?

Check it out and download the first few chapters free here!

It’s great that you’re interested in learning more about the Classical Model of Education to teach art. It’s the model we use here and it shapes how we approach every new subject (not just art)!

What is the Classical Model of Education?

The Classical Model of Education is often described in slightly different ways, (with a wide variety of intensity!) but the three things we all seem to agree on are:

Methods before Content: This means we focus on teaching students HOW to learn. The subject matter (like the 7 Elements of Art or the Chronology of WWII) is important, but less important than the skills of learning (like how to memorize, or organize information, and how to approach a new subject). We emphasize the skills of learning by using the Trivium.
The Trivium: This is the three types/layers/stages of learning:
- Grammar: Gaining a foundational knowledge of the facts for the subject
- Dialectic / Logic: Analyzing and experimenting with the knowledge to gain understanding- The Riches are in the Wrestling! Here we use the 5 Common Topics.
- Rhetoric / Poetic: Applying the knowledge and understanding for communicating truth, goodness, and beauty with others. here we use the 5 Cannon of Rhetoric.
Subject integration: Avoid siloing each subject away from all the other subjects. Every area of study naturally overlaps with other areas. Embrace these overlaps!

What are the Five Common Topics?

In the dialectic layer of education, we are primarily training the brain to think and reason. It’s only through wrestling with ideas that students can arrive at a rich and nuanced understanding of a topic. The riches are in the wrestling! We teach students to grapple with each topic by asking questions, having deep discussions, and experimenting.

To help us ask quality questions and begin deep discussions, we use the five common topics: definition, comparison, relationship, circumstance, and testimony/evidence.

The ‘five common topics’ is a comprehensive structure for learning how to interact with a topic and stimulate good questions. Originating with the ancient Greeks, it has been developed and refined over the years.

The Five Common Topics are:

Definition: What does this mean? What does it not mean? In the grammar layer we memorized many definitions, but here we are going beyond a succinct definition and discussing what the topic is and is not. The purpose is to wrestle with the ideas, not to have a definition written in stone.
Comparison: What is this similar to? What is it different from? To what degree is it similar or different? This is sometimes called ‘compare and contrast.’
Relationship: Is this caused by something else? What could cause it? Why does it exist? What effects can it have? What typically comes before or after it? What are its contraries (things that belong to the same category and cannot both be true, but can both be false)? What would contradict this (one must be valid and the other invalid)?
Circumstance: When thinking about this topic, what circumstances surround it? What sort of things are possible or impossible in that circumstance? What must have happened or must later happen in this circumstance?
Testimony: What do the experts say about this? What do the amateurs say about this? Is there any quantitative evidence about this from research and experiments? Are there any laws, precedents, or common sayings we should consider?

The point of these questions is to create deep thought and discussion. So, as you use them with any subject, don’t get hung up trying to figure out which of the five common topics your question falls under. There can be a little overlap and that’s okay.

What are the Five Cannons of Rhetoric?

To review, the grammar layer of learning is absorbing information and the dialectic layer is asking questions and analyzing. This brings us to the rhetoric layer, which is presenting and defending conclusions. Rhetoric is the use of grammar (knowledge) and dialectic (understanding) to express wisdom, truth, and beauty.

We want to allow plenty of time in the dialectic stage, but we don’t want to stay there forever. We often need a rhetorical (application) goal to look toward, even if it’s small. Remember that the rhetoric layer of learning is all about training the brain to express truth.

Culture Clashes

We should pause here and address the fact that our modern culture does not use the word ‘rhetoric’ the same way it is used in classical education circles. These days, the word rhetoric implies manipulation and propaganda. Historically, however, rhetoric was not such a negative word. Rhetoric was supposed to be Truth-serving, not self-serving.

Leigh Bortins, in her book The Conversation, defines rhetoric as “the use of knowledge and understanding to perceive wisdom, pursue virtue, and proclaim truth.” The knowledge is the information we gathered in the grammar layer. The understanding is the thoughts we processed in the dialectic layer. In the rhetoric layer of learning, we’re using both the knowledge and the understanding to bring truth, goodness, and beauty into the world.

Another point of confusion that arises when we discuss the rhetoric layer of learning is understanding that it’s a layer of learning at all. We tend to think of rhetoric activities like writing books, teaching classes, giving speeches, and inventing new products as the result of learning. From a classical education perspective, these activities are both a display of past learning and an act of learning. A rhetoric activity can be a culmination of learning, but it’s also an activity that inspires us to return to the dialectic and grammar layers to fill in the holes of our understanding.

Lastly, in our modern culture we tend to assume that this third layer of the Trivium should be reserved for certain people; we want only experts to teach, only professionals to lead, and only the certified to perform. But who are the experts? Who are the professionals? Those who have completed a standardized test, filled out their applications, and received the government’s stamp of approval? We all know the ability to pass a test is never a good indicator of intelligence, skill, or experience. Personally, some of my favorite teachers have been people with no credentials whatsoever.

Additionally, most truly great ideas have come from those who were outside of the entrenched establishment created by tests and certifications. Think of all the world-changers who never had a college degree, like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Richard Branson, Jane Goodall, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Ford. In fact, in 2016, CNBC reported that 30% of the world’s billionaires didn’t even have a bachelor’s degree.2

We shortchange ourselves as a society if we are only willing to listen to those who have jumped through the hoops the current gatekeepers have created.

We also shortchange ourselves if we never step up to create, teach, or lead because we haven’t reached ‘expert’ status. There’s a tremendous amount of learning that takes place in these rhetorical activities. If you’ve ever taught a class, you know the teacher always learns more from teaching than any student learns from listening or doing.

Be brave! Step up and model the rhetoric layer of learning for your students. Don’t wait until you feel like you know it all, because you never will. Teach what you know! You’ll be amazed at how much you learn and how much you’re able to pass on to your students.

In the rhetoric layer of learning, we use a set of five steps called the Five Canons of Rhetoric to bring truth, goodness, and beauty into the world.

The Five Canons of Rhetoric are:

• Invention: What should be communicated? This is really the grammar and dialectic layers of learning all wrapped up into one tidy word. In this step, the student researches and wrestles with ideas, using the Five Common Topics, until they decide what truth they want to express.

• Arrangement: In what order should it be communicated? In this step, the student takes all their ideas and decides what structure to organize them in. (Chronological? Topical? Big picture followed by the details?) The student is figuring out the best order to present it in so the audience will understand the key ideas.

• Elocution: How should it be said? This step is all about style. For example, should the information be presented as an allegory or a report of straight facts. Should the facts include data or anecdotal evidence? Should it be said casually or formally?

• Memory: What role will memory play? In Ancient Greece, this step was when students memorized their whole speech. However, now we tend to ask ourselves, “How much of my speech do I need to memorize?” (Will I have cue cards? PowerPoint slides? A teleprompter?) This is also where modern students may stop to consider what main piece of information they want the recipient to remember, and how to make it memorable.

• Delivery: How should this truth be presented? Now we come to the last step, which is determining the way the material is presented. If Elocution and Delivery seem the same, think of Elocution as what you do in speech-writing-mode while Delivery uses the set of skills you practice in every speech. If they are giving a presentation, students should decide how to dress, what mannerisms they will use, where in the speech they should vary their speed or volume, etc. If students are writing papers, Delivery is where they decide what font, spacing, and margins are appropriate, if they need a cover page, or if their paper needs a special kind of binding.

In all these steps the students must focus on their intended audience because the answers vary widely depending on who the audience is.

The 5-Part Classical Education Series

We did a five-part series on the Classical Model and how it relates to art on the Anyone Can Teach Art podcast. You can listen to each episode on our podcast or read through the detailed show notes.

Here are all the links to this full series on using the Classical Model of Education to teach art:

Keepin’ it Classy Gut Check

As I’ve mentioned on the podcast, I didn’t grow up with the Classical Model. Sometimes, my brain will revert back to it’s old rut of industrial education. So, I’ve created a short set of gut-check guidelines that I can refer to when I’m teaching art to make sure I’m keeping it classical. Now, there’s nothing wrong with just playing around with art supplies or just sketching without a lesson. (Actually, it’s really great to spend time doing those things!) However, my students don’t need a teacher to do that. So, if I’m going to the trouble to set aside time for an actual art lesson, I want to make sure it’s full of value for my students!

Here’s a set of guidelines I use to help me keep it classical in the Grammar stage:

Introduce a few new vocabulary terms with each lesson.
Introduce an art principle within each art project (like one of the 7 Elements of Art, Principles of Design, Methods of Perspective…)
Either sample a variety of techniques/media with one project, or pick one medium and use it for 3 weeks in a row to help students really get a feel for it.
Always show students how to do something before you ask them to go be creative with that tool, principle, or technique.
Integrate your art project with other subjects you’re studying whenever possible. (I’ve found history and science are usually the easiest.)
When possible, create a memory sentence for students that contains some foundational knowledge in art or a related topic.

Isn’t Classical Education legalistic, strict, and boring? Won’t my child lose their love of learning with this model?

What?! I don’t know who told you this, but in my experience, the kids have a blast. Classical education can be a lot of fun or it can be boring- just like every model of education.

Other Classical Model Resources

These resources will help you understand the Classical Model better, however, they don’t speak about art much.

Dorothy Sayers’s speech / essay, The Lost Tools of Learning is a well-known resource for understanding the Classical Model. Follow this link for a free PDF download of her speech or an audio version of Julie reading her speech.
Leigh Bortins, the founder of Classical Conversations, has written a wonderful series of books about the Classical Model. In addition to her books, I highly suggest you request a Classical Conversations catalogs to see the wide range of great resources they offer. Here are the books Leigh Bortins wrote:
- The Core is about the Grammar stage of learning (also available on Amazon in an audio or Kindle version!)
- The Question is about the Dialectic stage of learning
- The Conversation is about the Rhetoric stage of learning
- Classical Christian Education Made Approachable is a short overview of the Classical Model and how to use it while teaching a Christian worldview.
The CIRCE Institute (They themselves say CIRCE stands for either “Center for Independent Research on Classical Education” or “Consulting and Integrated Resources for Classical Educators.”) is a big leader in Classical Education. They provide some curriculum, a podcast network, books, and even an annual conference!
Vertias Press is an online school and curriculum creator for Classical Christian Education. While I, personally, have never used their products, I know many people like them.

(References to these companies do not constitute or imply endorsement by the companies.)

Next Step:

Now that you’ve learned about the Classical Model of Education and how to use it to teach art, check out the many art lesson plans we have available for purchase that make use of the Classical Model!

Art Curriculum from Ridge Light Ranch