Classical Education in High School
At Denton Classical, we believe that classical education best prepares students to enter adutlhood whether they plan to pursue a trade, a liberal arts education, a STEM career, or other. Classical education trains a brain to seek knowledge and understanding across a broad range of fields. At this time there are no open high school slots.
<--Return to General Information about High School
How do we apply Classical Education to High School in an idealogical way?
Many home-schooling parents view the beginning of ninth grade with something like terror. With all the details, record keeping, college applications, etc, it seems like a gargantuan task. Often, as high school approaches, families start casting around for a more traditional school solution, and many make high school decisions out of fear.
"High-school students evaluate their worth by looking at themselves in the mirror held up by their peers. Unfortunately the qualities that lead to high-school success, such as peer popularity and athletic prowess, are precisely those that may be of least use during later life. In contrast, the home-style classical education develops and rewards skills (perseverance, dedication, patience) that will be useful in later life.” (Well-Trained Mind p 718)
Find Society/ Be Alone
Teens can find society in
- Red Cross CPR
- Museums
- Church/ community sport teams
- Clubs for photography, stamp collecting, debate, etc,
- Science fairs
- Swimming lessons
- Etc.
Being alone in the teen years can develop
- Creativity
- Self-reliance
- Habit of reflective thought
Rhetoric Learning
Rhetoric, the art of expression, is learning to express oneself with fluency, grace, elegance, and persuasiveness
- Emphasis on written and spoken expression
- Specialization
- Focus on original books
Rhetoric Canon
(Most of these Latin words end in "o." To give them meaning in English, an an "n" at the end of each of these canons.)
- Inventio -- Formulate an argument and gather evidence (thesis-writing)
- Dispositio -- Arranging all that information in a persuasive way
- Elocutio -- Word choice and literary devices
- Memoria -- Memorization of important points or entire speeches
- Pronuntiatio -- Effective methods of delivering a speech
"Rhetoric, Aristotle tells us, leads to fair-mindedness. The student of rhetoric must be able to argue persuasively on both sides of an issue, not in order to convince her audience of that which is wrong, but “in order that we may see clearly what the facts are.” And this is true for every subject in which rhetoric is employed. Rhetoric, Aristotle concludes, is universal." (The Well-Trained Mind p 563-564)
For More Information
Please email [email protected]