ACADEMICS

At the Garden School, our mission is to cultivate classically trained Christian leaders and our academic programs reflect this ideal. Read on for more information about classical education. For specific details about our curriculum please download the Garden School Curriculum Guidelines. (PDF Format) This document gives specific details regarding our curriculum for grades K-6.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CLASSICAL?

In the 1940's the British author, Dorothy Sayers, wrote an essay entitled, “The Lost Tools of Learning.”   In it she calls for a return to the application of ancient liberal arts education, beginning with the Trivium; which includes grammar, logic, rhetoric.   She matches what she calls the Poll-parrot stage with grammar, Pert with logic, and Poetic with rhetoric (see chart below).  At The Garden School, the founding board members were intrigued with this idea of applying a classical education in a Christian context. There are two books that are required reading for the parents of the students at the school.  One is Douglas Wilson’s book, Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning, and in it you will find the classical method further explained.  The other required book for parents is A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van de Mille.  The Garden School has been committed to implementing this form of education since the school’s inception.  These books are available for purchase through the administration office.

The following is an excerpt from Doug Wilson’s book, Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning:

The structure of our curriculum is traditional with a strong emphasis on the basics. We understand the basics to be subjects such as mathematics, history, and language studies. Not only are these subjects covered, they are covered in a particular way. For example, in history class the students will not only read their text, they will also read from primary sources. Grammar, logic, and rhetoric will be emphasized in all subjects. By grammar, we mean the fundamental rules of each subject (again, we do not limit grammar to language studies), as well as the basic data that exhibit those rules. In English, a singular noun does not take a plural verb. In logic, A does not equal not A. In history, time is linear, not cyclic. Each subject has its own grammar, which we require the students to learn. This enables the student to learn the subject from the inside out.

The logic of each subject refers to the ordered relationship of that subject’s particulars (grammar). What is the relationship between the Reformation and the colonization of America?   What is the relationship between the subject and the object of a sentence?   As the students learn the underlying rules or principles of a subject (grammar) along with how the particulars of that subject relate to one another (logic), they are learning to think. They are not simply memorizing fragmented pieces of knowledge.

The last emphasis is rhetoric. We want our students to be able to express clearly everything they learn. As essay in history must be written as clearly as if it were an English paper. An oral presentation in science should be as coherent as possible. It is not enough that the history or science be correct. It must also be expressed well.