Based on the centuries old model of education called the Trivium, Caldwell’s goal is to teach students the proper use of the tools of learning. By mastering the tools of learning, Caldwell students will be equipped for life as thinkers and learners. The Trivium divides the school career into three stages according to the way children naturally develop. The three stages are grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric.

Three stages of K12 Trivium

GRAMMAR (KINDERGARTEN THROUGH FIFTH GRADE)

Students begin by learning the fundamental facts and rules of each subject. Teaching methods such as singing, memorizing, chanting, and recitation are emphasized. Latin instruction begins in third grade.

DIALECTIC (SIXTH THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE)

Students are taught how to analyze, reason, question, evaluate, and critique. Logic, the art of arguing correctly, is taught as a core subject. In addition, students learn to think about all of life within the framework of a Biblical worldview.

RHETORIC (NINTH THROUGH TWELFTH GRADE)

In the study of rhetoric, students learn how to express what they know and what they are learning. Debate, apologetics, speech, essay writing, and drama are emphasized during this stage as a means to equip students as effective communicators. Students are challenged and trained to implement a Biblical worldview by engaging the culture for Christ. The rhetoric stage is built on a foundation of accumulated knowledge and is the capstone of the Trivium.