Classical Education

LWCA pursues a joyful, respectful atmosphere in which students, teachers, and parents work hard and enjoy the rewards. Using the Bible and other God-honoring texts, we teach truth, goodness, and beauty. Our 3-5 grades are referred to as primary. The 6-8 grades proceed through the middle school years. The modern-day high schoolers are in the “Rhetoric” phase of their learning and typically spend 3 to 4 years completing their studies, exams, and the creation and presentation of their capstone projects. We call this secondary school.

Classical Education
– Modeled on the Greek and Roman educational philosophies
– Heavy reliance on great literature that has stood the test of time and generations
– Most schools utilized classical education until a hundred years ago when things became “progressive”
– Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric are not just subjects…they are ways in which students think and learn
– Young students gravitate toward learning language, sounds, numbers and thrive on repetition, chants, and songs (parrot)
– Middle schoolers want to question the why, what, who…they think “logically” even if they are often not correct (pert)
– Older students learn to capture their thoughts creatively and intelligently in written and verbal formats (poet)
– Classically trained students are typically in the top 15% of all Americans based on standardized tests

Latin is a fundamental subject in classical schools. It is one of the “paradigm disciplines” of the Grammar School, through which students learn the rudiments and structure of language—the Latin language, the English language, and through them the structure of all language. Latin is the mother tongue for over 50% of all English words, so the study of Latin greatly enhances one’s English vocabulary. Often, just one Latin word is responsible for several English words. Take for example, the Latin word porto (I carry). From this word are derived port, portal, porter, porch, airport, import, important, transport, export, report, and portable. In this case one Latin word helps yield ten English words—a pretty good investment.

If Latin is responsible for 50% of our English vocabulary, Greek is responsible for an additional 30%. Greek is also the basis for much medical and scientific vocabulary. Greek also has the advantage of being the language of the New Testament, making it very valuable for study in Christian schools.