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The curriculum employed
by the Classical Liberal Arts Academy is ancient and has been the
foundation for Christian education since the founding of the Church.
You will hardly find a Catholic Saint who did not study the classical
liberal arts in their youth and through the years at the universities. Nevertheless, having been
immersed in modern education for the past century, the
classical liberal arts curriculum may seem unusual to you. Many
Americans refer to the public school curriculum as "traditional", but it
is not traditional at all. The public school curriculum is
historically radical and experimental, having been established in the
late 1800s. We wish to keep our
children from the experiments of our age and restore sound and proven
Catholic education.
At the core of the classical liberal arts
curriculum are the seven liberal arts: Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric,
Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy. These seven arts have
provided the basic curriculum for all of history except the last
century. The first three arts are focused on language and
communication
skills. The latter four arts are focused on mathematical skills--the
study of magnitudes and multitudes.
These two branches prepare the students for the "higher arts":
Philosophy and Theology. This is the core classical liberal arts
curriculum.
While the seven liberal arts provide the
foundation and core of the classical curriculum, efficient instruction
has led to certain developments to make the student's progress smoother.
For example, the Humanities course was added in history to make the student's
transition from Grammar to Rhetoric easier. Dialectic (dialectical
reasoning from accepted premises) introduces the student to the Socratic
method of philosophical inquiry, which is later developed in Logic
(demonstrative reasoning from necessary premises). Also, the
development of Algebra and Calculus have expanded the scope of
Arithmetic. Nevertheless, the ancient core remains intact to this
day. Our children can have the same education St. Thomas did.
FLEXIBILITY & AFFORDABILITY
Technology allows the classical liberal arts
to be taught to more students with greater flexibility than ever before.
There is no in our generation to wait in line or be brought to a
building across town to get an education.
By the intelligent use of technology, students can receive a customized
education that allows them to progress at the pace best suited to them
with no compromise in the classical curriculum.
The CLAA manages the classical liberal arts curriculum with flexibility
to promote the success of every family that enrolls with us.
Moreover, by the efficiency of our
organization, we provide elite classical education at a very affordable
price. We waste no money on administrative tasks but invest the
money we do receive in expert instructors to ensure the quality of our
courses and success of the
students.
MODERN COURSES & SUPPLEMENTATION
The CLAA does not support the glut of modern
school subjects and you will not justify time spent on a modern course
when so much more can be learned from a classical liberal arts course. Modern school courses assume a level of ignorance
and illiteracy that does not apply to most classically educated
children. A student who reads library books and watches videos on
a variety of topics exceeds all state requirements. Simply
document the books and videos studied and you're finished--don't waste
time completing courses that offer your children no real benefits.
We recommend that college prep science
courses be taken at local colleges so that a quality laboratory
experience may be available. Artificial school science courses
impress no one and yield little fruit. Moreover, students should
pursue AP level studies in college prep subjects whenever possible.
STATE CURRICULUM ALIGNMENTS
The classical liberal arts curriculum does
not line up neatly with state curriculum standards and it doesn't need
to. It is a completely different system of education,
with different methods and different goals. The state curriculum
contains a system of minimum educational requirements for
American citizens, not goals for education. Christian homes should
completely disregard state curriculum standards the same way they would
reject state requirements for moral behavior. We deal with higher
goals and higher laws than those of the state, whose curriculum
standards have nothing to do with classically educated children.
ASK, SEEK, KNOCK
You should have questions about the
classical liberal arts because it is very unlikely that you have studied
them. Ask us. Send us every question you have and we will
provide you with prompt and thorough responses. Our support is
praised and almost every family who works through their questions with
the CLAA staff elects to enroll in the end. Once enrolled, our
families have expressed relief, confidence and complete satisfaction.
Send questions to:
mail@classicalliberalarts.com
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