American Christian School utilizes the “Classical Christian Education” methodology.

The Classical method was born in ancient Greece and Rome, was used throughout the Western world by the 16th century, and remained the norm until at least 1850. The reason for its widespread use? It works. The world’s great authors, statesmen, scientists and politicians were classically educated. For the last 50 years, conventional education has taken an experimental attitude – trying a new approach and then abandoning it for the next great thing when it fails. In response to this approach and failing academic standards, a mid-twentieth century educator, Dorothy Sayer, advocated a return to classical education and to teaching students how to think. Instead of the latest fad, classical education is a return to a system proven for more that 1,000 years.

Classical education follows a three-part pattern known as the Trivium: the mind first must be supplied with facts; then given the logical tools for organizing those facts; and finally equipped to express conclusions. Students throughout all grade levels benefit from each method of teaching. Classical education works because it focuses on the way children learn best at each stage of life, then builds on the foundation of previous stages. Also, this methodology, coupled with the ACS focus on each student’s individual needs helps ensure successful integration of new students at all grades.

The following illustrates how the Classical method matches student learning capabilities and characteristics with teaching methodologies. The material is drawn from the essay “The Lost Tools of Learning” by Dorothy Sayers.

GRADES K-2  - Approx. ages 4-8

Student Characteristics:

• Obviously excited about learning
• Enjoys games, stories, songs, projects
• Short attention span
• Wants to touch, taste, feel, smell, see
• Imaginative, creative
• Likes changes, clever, repetitions word sounds (e.g. Dr. Seuss)

Teaching Methods:

• Guide discovering
• Explore, find things
• Use lots of tactile items to illustrate point
• Sing, play games, chant, recite, color, draw, paint, build
• Use body movements
• Short, creative projects
• Show and Tell, drama, hear/read/tell stories
• Field trips
• Lay conceptual understanding of letters, numbers, associated meanings

GRADES 3-6  - Approx. ages 9-11

Student Characteristics:

• Excited about new, interesting facts
• Likes to explain, figure out, talk
• Wants to relate own experiences to topic, or just to tell a story
• Likes collections, organizing items
• Likes changes, clever, repetitious word sounds
• Easily memorizes
• Can assimilate another language as well

Teaching Methods:

• Lots of hands-on work, projects
• Field trips, drama
• Make collections, displays, models
• Integrate subjects through above means
• Teach and assign research projects
• Categorize, classify
• Recitations, memorization
• Drills, games
• Oral/written presentations