At the core of classical education is the trivium – the three phases of learning adapted to the three phases of development in our children – grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Since its inception in 2012, Arma Dei has operated as a K-8 school, committed to academic excellence and spiritual growth for students in the grammar and logic stages of development. In the grammar stage the emphasis is on memory work and obtaining knowledge about the facts. As students mature into the logic stage the emphasis turns towards gathering and interpreting information on its limitations and logical implications. Ultimately, the desire is for students to learn to articulately present what they have learned, both orally and in writing. It is only in the rhetoric stage of developing and learning that students are carefully trained in language, where actual content forms its basis, and that reason and God’s Truth, rather than “feelings”, govern the conclusions students reach.
We are so excited for this new season of growth that God is leading Arma Dei into with the addition of the School of Rhetoric opening in August of 2021. Please take a few moments to watch this short video presented by David Goodwin, ACCS President, as he shares about the importance of a complete classical Christian education – grammar, logic and rhetoric.