Turning Back the Clock: The Trivium's Rhetorical Advantages in Secondary Education Derek ...

239 Pages·2015·2.31 MB·English

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
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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
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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.

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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.

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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
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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 ................................................................................................................................. 120
Grammar—Journal One ...................................................................................................... 121
Grammar—Journal Two ..................................................................................................... 124
Teaching Grammar and Grammar’s Importance ................................................................ 126
Logic ....................................................................................................................................... 133
AoW Sample 1 .................................................................................................................... 133
AoW Sample 2 .................................................................................................................... 137
Major Logic Project: ........................................................................................................... 140
CHAPTER 8: DISCUSSION ................................................................................................... 145
Pre-Questionnaire ................................................................................................................... 145
Grammar ............................................................................................................................. 150
Logic ................................................................................................................................... 162
Major Logic Project ............................................................................................................ 169
Pretest and Posttest ............................................................................................................. 174
CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSION................................................................................................. 177
References .................................................................................................................................. 187
APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................ 204
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APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................ 205
APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................................ 206
APPENDIX D ............................................................................................................................ 207
APPENDIX E ............................................................................................................................ 210
APPENDIX F ............................................................................................................................ 211
APPENDIX G ............................................................................................................................ 212
APPENDIX H ............................................................................................................................ 223
APPENDIX I ............................................................................................................................. 224
APPENDIX J ............................................................................................................................. 225

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TURNING BACK THE CLOCK x
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Lockman's Grammar Stage Pedagogical Practices ...................................................... 31
Figure 2: Lockman's Logic Stage Pedagogical Practices ............................................................ 51
Figure 3: Progymnasmata Genres ................................................................................................ 61
Figure 4: Toulmin's Model of Argumentation ............................................................................. 77
Figure 5: Lockman's Rhetoric Stage Pedagogical Practices ........................................................ 81
Figure 6: The Rhetorical Triangle ............................................................................................... 91
Figure 7: Learning Methods for a Classical Education ............................................................... 94
Figure 8: Teaching Styles ............................................................................................................ 95
Figure 9: Assessment Strategies .................................................................................................. 96
Figure 10: Students' Beliefs on Classical Education ................................................................. 112
Figure 11: Students' Beliefs on Classical Education (31 responses) ......................................... 113
Figure 12: Students' Beliefs on Classical Education (31 responses) ......................................... 114
Figure 13: Themes Developing Out of Pre-Questionnaire (31 responses) ................................ 116
Figure 14: Students' Individual Pretest Grades .......................................................................... 119
Figure 15: Drill and Kill vs. Literacy Instruction (30 responses) .............................................. 121
Figure 16: Elementary vs. High School vs. Both for Grammar Instruction (30 responses) ...... 123
Figure 17: Drill and Kill vs. Literacy vs. Both Take After Instruction (29 responses) ............. 124
Figure 18: Students' conjunction metaphor to peanut butter and jelly. ..................................... 128
Figure 19: Students' acronym of FANBOYS for conjunctions ................................................. 128
Figure 20: Group Grades on Teaching Grammar ...................................................................... 129
Figure 21: Presentation and Essay Grades ................................................................................. 130
Figure 22: Student example of how grammar is used on social media websites ....................... 132
Figure 23: Student Grades for AoW I ........................................................................................ 136
Figure 24: Student Scores for AoW II ....................................................................................... 139
Figure 25: Logic Project Scores................................................................................................. 140
Figure 26: Posttest Scores .......................................................................................................... 143
Figure 27: Pretest and Posttest Student Growth ........................................................................ 144
Figure 28: Graphic illustrating commas and their importance for conveying meaning. ........... 159
Figure 29: Graphic illuminating the social aspects of language and the prescriptive rules. ...... 160
Figure 30: Timetable for Grammar Instruction ......................................................................... 161
Figure 31: Public school student's Article of the Week ............................................................. 166
Figure 32: Private school student's Article of the Week ............................................................ 166

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