The Seven Liberal Arts Framework

The Liberal Arts, defined under classical pedagogy, leads us to its traditional curricular framework. The liberal arts are the framework that frees each person to study the ideas of the humanities and sciences.  The trivium (grammar, dialectics, and rhetoric) is much more than three formal subjects. The trivium has a voice. Its voice is a life-giving activity filled with dynamic modes of intellection.

The Trivium (The three arts of words)

GRAMMAR 

DIALECTIC/LOGIC

RHETORIC

The Quadrivium (the four arts of number)

ARITHMETIC- pure number

GEOMETRY- number in space

MUSIC - number in time

ASTRONOMY - number in space and time

The Trivium as Modes of Thinking and Learning

(Excerpts from Narration: The Voice of the Trivium by Adrienne Freas)

Grammar is the art of imitating, discovering, and playing with symbols, while combining them to interpret and express thought. Within the trivium, grammar is the art of playing with letters and words to interpret phonemes and phonograms to words, and words to text. Within the quadrivium, grammar is the art of manipulating and playing with numbers to interpret mathematical symbols and sentences to discover the language of arithmetic, geometry, music, and all mathematics.

Dialectic is the art of thinking, examining, and reasoning to discover truth, order, and harmony with the purpose of developing metacognition. Historically, dialectic was a more common term. Logic and the dialectical are essentially two sides of the same coin. The dialectical mode of intellect helps you hypothesize. It activates logic to engage reason to help you make sense of the hypothesis. Students master word language through speaking, listening, questioning, and engaging in dialogue. Students master number language through strategizing and manipulating the abstract in order to recognize order and form in numbers. All of these skills are interwoven through the activity of dialectic and logic.

Rhetoric is the art of communicating thought from one mind to another. Students have built mental bridges from grammar to dialectic, and now to rhetoric. Students learn the art of implementing pathos, logos, and ethos through the five canons of rhetoric. In elementary schools, students can be engaged in rhetoric by practicing and performing beautiful poetry and Bible verses from memory. In the arithmetic lesson, students can engage in The Great Conversation and learn to discuss and articulate beautiful mathematical ideas. By applying rhetoric to mathematics, a student should be able to explain orally and write logically how and why a mathematical concept works. In music, the student can write an original composition as a performance of rhetoric. Through learning to discover in grammar and learning to think logically, they are now learning to communicate and demonstrate concepts and theories rhetorically. In addition, rhetoric is the mode that presents a finished product.

At St. Gregory Classical Academy, students are immersed in a contemplative atmosphere that allows them to engage in each mode of the trivium to help them encounter real learning. The pedagogy of the trivium is essential to engage in all the conversations around the quadrivium and the science of knowing.

The Trivium as Formal Subjects

As formal subjects we typically teach formal grammar in elementary school, formal logic in middle school, and formal rhetoric in high school. As formal subjects, St, Gregory Classical Academy provides exceptional teaching of both the trivium and the quadrivium.

The Trivium Curriculum in K-8 Education

• Phonics & spelling instruction for K-4 classes
• Poetry & literature
• Reading (listening, silent reading, oral reading, reader’s theater)
• Narration (oral and then written)
• Recitation (practicing the arts of rhetoric)
• Writing (copywork, dictation, narration, and progymnasmata exercises)
• Speaking
• Vocabulary development
• Greek
• Formal Grammar instruction
• Formal Logic instruction

The Quadrivium Curriculum in K-8 Education

• Music
• Arithmetic & Geometry (RightStart Math weaves Geometry throughout all grades)
• Science through the three realms (Life Science, Earth & Astronomy Science, and Physical Science)
• Natural Philosophy- Nature Study (encompasses the three realms of science)
• Science notebooks for hypotheses, experiments, and observations in nature

Back