Devoted Reader Mike D. sends along a link to a thoughtful article about the "classical trivium" of learning:
One thing that is never studied in modern, progressive schools of education is the classical-medieval organization of studies known as the trivium. Since classical education regards human beings foremost as thinking creatures, at every level of education youth must be invited to think about the great problems of the physical and moral worlds. Nonetheless, the ancients knew that learning must be tailored to the age of the student...
Young people have to begin at the beginning. At the first stage of education students must master the basics, or the "grammar," of every subject. They must learn to read, using the parts of words, or phonemes, in order to master the words themselves. They must know the grammar of their own language, which means correct spelling and proper word usage. They learn the people, places, and events of world history. They gain a basic "number sense" by manipulating numbers in various mathematical arrangements. Students learn to read music, to sing and play basic instruments, and to listen closely to various genres of music. They learn to recognize and to classify various parts of the physical universe. They should particularly learn the different kinds of animals, plants, and the planets of our solar system and various constellations in our galaxy. At this juncture education relies heavily on young people’s memory. By nature children love to memorize things. Simply ask a child to repeat back the details of a story you have just read him and watch his face light up!
I like this description, because it contradicts the current "wisdom" of modern education which suggests that (a) children don't like memorizing anything, and (b) children must be taught to figure out solutions and exhibit "higher-order thinking" before they're given the tools with which to do that.
Those that believe in this current wisdom often oppose standardized testing because those types of exams allegedly don't measure more elaborate thought - but it's (relatively) simple to develop reliable tests that do measure the basic skills, and I believe testing is necessary to ensure that the basic skills are being learned. Educators who downplay or ignore testing, and who try to introduce abstract concepts too early or force younger students to come up with justifications before they teach the basics, are putting the cart before the horse.
Once students have gained a pretty good handle on the grammar of various subjects, they move into the "logic" stage of education. Since this level corresponds to the onset of adolescence, it might also be called the "argumentative" stage. Though students continue to study the facts of the various disciplines, they now have the intellectual capacity to call those facts into question or to wrestle with them...
Again, having the capacity to question facts requires that the facts be known, and that students have the tools with which to convey their questions. Too many "progressive" educators downplay the memorization of facts, as though one can learn to argue logically without having facts to argue with.
High school should be considered the third part of the trivium, the "rhetorical" stage. Having the facts at their disposal and being able to wrestle with them, students will now be able to express themselves with increasing grace and at considerable length, both in speech and in writing. They will learn to make coherent literary, historical, mathematical, and scientific arguments. They are ready to tackle difficult readings and problems. Too often in this country we wait until college to challenge young people with meaningful intellectual work...
I agree. And writing is one of the more abstract and advanced skills that standardized tests are useful for measuring, although it requires a great deal of work to develop a writing assessment that is both useful and reliable.
Posted by kswygert at October 28, 2003 09:46 PM