What is the TRIVIUM?

Throughout western history, education has employed the use of a three-fold methodology for teaching and learning. Remember, these are not "subjects", but rather methods and tools for learning. The first stage is entitled the Grammar stage. Here, from about ages 6-12 (the elementary school years) children are introduced to matters such as math facts, historical timelines, people and places, scientific laws, English grammar rules, and all sorts of other content. At this level of child development, children naturally absorb vast amounts of material, and they do so with great joy by singing, chanting, rhyming, and memorizing.

The middle school years are termed the Dialectic, or Logic stage. At this level, children naturally begin to challenge the natural order of things, asking, "Why?" or "Is that really true?" Rather than frowning on this, a classical education nurtures this by teaching formal and informal logic, as well as debate and discussion. If students want to argue, they should be taught to argue properly and biblically.

As students become more self-focused and expressive, they transition into the Rhetoric stage. This comprises the high school years. Public speaking, oratory skills, poetic expression, and apologetics are the focus of instruction and learning.

These three stages or methods are known as the Trivium, and lay at the heart of classical education. Dorothy Sayers calls this "Teaching with the grain." It has been used successfully for centuries. Why reinvent the wheel?