Classical Education: Hallmarks 3

In addition to intensified programs in History and Language, CE is also unique in its early and sustained attention to Literature. Real literature. Students do not read a select chapter here and there from the canon of great books in order to pique their interest. Instead, they devour book after book after book...and love it because they feel "grown up" and because we attempt to set before them the best of the best.

As is usually the case, there remain disputes about how this literature is best approached. Some suggest taking each piece nice and slow and evaluating every single literary, biblical, philosophical, philological, historical and symbolic aspect. Others advocate quantity: read, read, read...fast and furiously...they'll pick it up on all this stuff automatically over time.

I advocate something in the middle of these two extremes.

When a student is forced to slug through a book at a snail's pace, catching every minute detail, something of the literary cadence is lost, and it can even become drudgery. Besides, a good book demands to be read! Extensive evaluation is tortuous!

At the same time, a student will certainly not become adept at identifying figures of speech and description, or at evaluating the stature of a written work, simply by exposure. For instance, if you don't teach and point up examples of "Inclusion" your student will never recognize it on his own and a layer of the joy of reading will be lost to him. Thus with dozens of other literary techniques. Likewise, if they are not taught to identify ideas and worldviews behind the story, a layer of meaning and depth is left undiscovered.

I have found that, generally speaking, from the 3rd grade on, 8-10 books a school year is a reasonable number. To gain the most educational profit, yet not lose the momentum of the story by over-analyzing it, focus in on the particular literary strengths of the author.

For example, when my 5th graders read Where the Red Fern Grows, we talked about its worldview and studied vocabulary (as we do with every piece of literature), but our special focus was on Rawls' masterful use of imagery. His ability to paint a picture in the mind's eye is stunning, so recognizing and imitating these descriptions was prominent. However, when reading Johnny Tremain, plot, and historical setting were emphasized. With Amos Fortune, we focused on the ways that time and circumstance (setting) affect character development and growth; whereas with The Hobbit, we emphasized fantasy and symbolism.

This doesn't mean that we neglect other important aspects of these books, but we touch on some features cursorily, while lingering on those which are superior or which the student is in need of learning. You might be surprised how quickly they catch on and begin recognizing these elements even when you don't point it out. It becomes habitual for them to notice similes, metaphors, foreshadowing, worldview statements, etc. so that it carries over into their independent reading...and that is the goal!

Our aim is not to have students pass a test, or correctly define terms...for a few weeks. Our aim is to teach them to read with purpose and to impose sound evaluation and judgements on what they read 25 years from now! We are not teaching mere facts, but forming minds.

Practice is essential. "Studying" through a book necessarily slows you down and extracts at least a measure of delight; however, with lots of practice, students begin to almost unconsciously absorb the literary and worldview techniques in a book without losing momentum or joy. It becomes second nature to analyze and process as you go.