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Turning Back the Clock: the Trivium's Rhetorical Advantages In Turning Back the Clock: The Trivium’s Rhetorical Advantages in Secondary Education Derek Sherman The University of Findlay ©by Derek Raymond Sherman All rights reserved ii iii Running head: TURNING BACK THE CLOCK iv ABSTRACT Classical education—a language-based education that is taught through the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric)—has been a sound educational structure for thousands of years and continues to be in many private and a select few public schools. Students, educators, and parents find themselves referring back to classical education for answers because of policymakers’ inability to find a remedy to the United States’ educational issues such as illiteracy. Classical education could provide the antidote as it employs a natural scaffolding approach that builds upon students’ application of content. Additionally, classical education has created many influential leaders in fields ranging from philosophy to literature to science, thus illustrating its impact across disciplines. This educational philosophy, though, focuses on the development of language skills first, which leads students to further studies in the quadrivium. To illustrate the positive effects of a classical education, a study was conducted in a rural, public high school in Northwest Ohio on a group of thirty-four sophomore Advanced English students. The goal of this study, therefore, was to solidify that a classical education through the trivium can be implemented and successful in a rural, public high school. All state standards (i.e. Ohio’s New Learning Standards) were used to ensure all students were meeting the requirements set forth by the state of Ohio. This study dedicated twelve consecutive weeks to each stage of the trivium with small weekly assignments and a major project for each stage. Students participated in pre and post trivium surveys to determine the students’ views of classical education. Also, students completed a pretest and posttest covering all stages of the trivium to show their growth. An analysis of the results was completed for the grammar and logic stages to show why a classical education approach is best for students’ skill development. Keywords: Classical Education, Trivium, Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric iv DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my parents and grandmother, who have encouraged me to always work hard in life and pursue my passion of learning with fervor. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank my Advanced English students for being enthusiastic about this study and encouraging me to finish it. Without these students, this thesis would not have been possible. Although there may have been many moans and groans, I am thankful for all of their hard work and dedication to improving as students. I would like to thank my school district for allowing me to complete this study to improve the educational experiences of students. I would also like to thank my school district for allowing me to teach both high school English and College Writing II as a teaching assistant. This encouragement has given me keen insight on the skills needed for students to succeed in college and what I can do as a high school English teacher to prepare my students for future success. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank all of my professors at The University of Findlay for encouraging me to research and combine my two passions: education and rhetoric. I would especially like to thank my thesis committee—Dr. Christine Denecker, Dr. Christine Tulley, and Dr. Laverick—for their guidance on this project. vi Table of Contents ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iv DEDICATION............................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 State of Education ....................................................................................................................... 1 Classical Education ..................................................................................................................... 5 Dissecting the Trivium .............................................................................................................. 12 CHAPTER 2: GRAMMAR ....................................................................................................... 13 History of Grammar .................................................................................................................. 13 Grammar Instruction ................................................................................................................. 27 Reading Instruction in the Grammar Stage ........................................................................... 32 Writing Instruction in the Grammar Stage ............................................................................ 37 CHAPTER 3: LOGIC ................................................................................................................ 39 History of Logic ........................................................................................................................ 39 Logic Instruction ....................................................................................................................... 50 Language Instruction in the Logic Stage .................................................................................. 51 Reading and Listening Instruction in the Logic Stage .......................................................... 54 Writing Instruction in the Logic Stage .................................................................................. 59 CHAPTER 4: RHETORIC ........................................................................................................ 64 History of Rhetoric ................................................................................................................... 64 Rhetoric Instruction .................................................................................................................. 79 Reading Instruction in the Rhetoric Stage ............................................................................ 81 Writing Instruction in the Rhetoric Stage ............................................................................. 83 Speech Instruction in the Rhetoric Stage .............................................................................. 87 CHAPTER 5: PEDAGOGY SUMMATION ............................................................................ 93 CHAPTER 6: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................ 98 Student Surveys: Before and After a Classical Education ........................................................ 99 Pretest and Posttest ................................................................................................................. 100 vii Grammar ............................................................................................................................. 101 Logic ................................................................................................................................... 101 Rhetoric ............................................................................................................................... 101 Weekly Assignments .............................................................................................................. 102 Grammar ............................................................................................................................. 102 Logic ................................................................................................................................... 103 Rhetoric ............................................................................................................................... 104 Major Projects ......................................................................................................................... 104 Grammar ............................................................................................................................. 105 Logic ................................................................................................................................... 106 Rhetoric ............................................................................................................................... 106 Site of Study ............................................................................................................................ 107 Study Sample .......................................................................................................................... 108 CHAPTER 7: RESULTS ......................................................................................................... 110 Student Surveys Before a Classical Education ....................................................................... 110 Pretest ...................................................................................................................................... 118 Grammar ................................................................................................................................
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