We are CHRIST-CENTERED
Canterbury Classical School seeks to teach all subjects as parts of an integrated whole with the Scriptures at the center. Our philosophy of education rests on the conviction that our students, made in the image of God, are growing in their knowledge of the Lord. Our intention is that each student will come to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and strength–and their “mind.”
We are CLASSICAL
Our educational philosophy is shaped by the classical model of the Trivium. This centuries-old method applies the biblical concepts of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom to the age-appropriate stages of a child’s development. There are three phases: Grammar (grades K-5), Logic (grades 6-8), and Rhetoric (grades 9-12). The objective of classical methodology is to equip students with the tools of learning and the wisdom to apply them to life situations. Ultimately it is to instill in our children a passion for truth and a lifelong love of learning.
Grammar: Young children learn the building blocks of knowledge or “grammar.” The fundamentals of all subjects–science, math, history, culture, the arts as well as language–are the facts, rules, and vocabulary. Young children learn these building blocks through singing, chanting, recititation, and memorization. They learn the Great Story of the loving purposes of God as found in Holy Scripture through chanting and song, by story and verse. Children also begin to learn Latin during the Grammar phase as this language not only serves as the underpinning for much of the English language and vocabulary, but it also begins to train the mind to think precisely and logically.
Logic: As children mature, they naturally seek understanding by asking “why” and by looking for relationships among specific pieces of knowledge. Logic focuses on equipping students to discern truth from falsehood, the right relationship of facts to the whole. In this phase, children are taught formal logic, logical fallacies, and reasoning skills through tools like the Socratic method and Aristotelian logic. In Scripture, right understanding is a prerequisite to good judgment and sincere obedience to truth.
Rhetoric: This is the capstone of the Trivium. Its goal is godly wisdom preparing effective ambassadors for Christ. The Rhetoric phase trains students to be able communicators through the development of skills in applied science, the written word, speech, drama, and the fine arts. Students learn to speak and write well and to relate to their audience with clarity and persuasion. Students also will be equipped to defend their faith and commend it wherever they are called (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Our Curriculum: Memoria Press
The Classical Core Curriculum is a complete classical Christian curriculum that emphasizes the traditional liberal arts of language and mathematics and the cultural heritage of the Christian West as expressed in the great works of history and literature. The curriculum has an early focus on the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic and a special emphasis on Latin. Latin is the best way to gain an academic vocabulary, to learn the formal system of grammar, and is, along with math, the best early critical thinking skills training. The curriculum’s study of the cultures of Athens and Rome, as well as Biblical and Church history, is designed to provide a basis for a proper understanding of European and American history. Latin and Greek word origins are also explored to help give our children a better grasp of the English language.”