STAGE II OF THE TRIVIUM
Why? — and the school takes the question seriously.
Something happens to a child around the age of twelve. The agreeable receptivity of the early years gives way to a new disposition: an instinct for argument, for finding the seams in what they are told, for testing whether the world is, in fact, as it has been described to them.
The Logic School is designed for this stage. The Great Books and composition assume a larger role. Arithmetic is mastered to ensure a firm foundation for Algebra. Latin grammar continues and early translation work begins. The Socratic method is used in earnest. The question Why? is asked back to the student, not deflected.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Hallmarks of the program
I.
Socratic seminar
Several classes a week are conducted as guided conversations around a text. Students learn to disagree well — and to be wrong gracefully.
II.
Great Books
The works of Shakespeare, Twain, Cather, Tolkien, and Hawthorne — read in full, discussed at length.
III.
Latin
Students continue their mastery of Latin through instruction in grammar, syntax, and vocabulary, the building blocks of translation.
IV.
Liturgical choir
Students sing sacred polyphony and chant, training ear and voice in the Church's musical tradition.
V.
Declamation
Memorized passages of poetry and prose are recited before the class — the beginning of rhetoric and the discipline of speaking well.
VI.
Leveled math
Students are grouped by proficiency rather than grade alone, so each child is challenged at the right pace — mastering fundamentals before moving on.
WHAT LOGIC-SCHOOL STUDENTS STUDY
A small sampling.
01
RELIGION/
THEOLOGY
THEOLOGY
- ✦Apologetics
- ✦Salvation history
- ✦The Mass, in depth
- ✦Liturgical Latin
02
LITERACY/
LITERATURE
LITERATURE
- ✦Literature (whole books)
- ✦Socratic discussions
- ✦Composition and rhetoric
- ✦Poetry and meter
03
MATHEMATICS
- ✦Leveled mathematics instruction
- ✦Arithmetic mastery
- ✦Pre-Algebra
- ✦Algebra
04
LATIN
- ✦First Form Latin (Grade 6)
- ✦Second Form Latin (Grade 7)
- ✦Third Form Latin (Grade 8)
- ✦Grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and etymology
05
HISTORY
- ✦Medieval Christendom
- ✦Renaissance & Reformation
- ✦Modern Europe
- ✦American founding
06
NATURE STUDIES
- ✦Life science
- ✦Earth & physical science
- ✦Laboratory observation
- ✦Nature journaling
07
MUSIC & ART
- ✦Chant & polyphony
- ✦Solfege
- ✦Music theory
- ✦Drama
08
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
- ✦Team sports
- ✦Athletics & competition
- ✦Fitness & movement
- ✦Sportsmanship & virtue
The middle years, given their due.
Visit the Logic School during a Socratic seminar. You will not see a discussion class — you will see real conversation, conducted by twelve-year-olds, about a real book.