Recitation Around the Corner

Anticipation Is Building

Recitation is just a few days away and the anticipation is building! Recitation Night is something unique to classical education. It’s something we do twice each year and it is a time for the students to present the songs, poems, chants and Scripture they have been working so hard to learn, among other things. It is also a time to visit the students’ classrooms, explore and applaud the work they have done thus far and visit with the families and friends of the school while enjoying a piece of pie or a homemade cookie. Unlike your basic school performance or open house, Recitation Night is not just about students displaying what they have learned. It is an important part of educating students classically in one of the three aspects of the Trivium.

The Trivium

One of the main theories and goals of classical education is to teach students to think well and to learn how to learn on their own by giving them the necessary tools of learning, which are knowledge, reasoning and the ability to communicate and express ideas (Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric). In other words, through classical education, students are taught basic knowledge, how to reason well with the knowledge they have, how to express their reasonable ideas and to communicate them effectively. This idea of teaching students how to think well is contrary to what most of America’s schools have moved to today, which is rooted in teaching skills for specific jobs. Although skills are practical and useful, we believe that training a child’s mind to think and learn well opens the door for them to learn any skill, pursue any job and most importantly to glorify God by making the most of the mind He gave them (Matthew 22:37).

Communicating Well

Considering one of the main goals of classical education is to teach our students how to communicate well, it is important that we give them opportunities to communicate and present in small groups, to their class, and to the public. So instead of a simple open house or school presentation by the students, Recitation Night is a very important part of training our students how to present the knowledge they are learning in a large group setting, to both family and friends and strangers. This is one of the reasons it is encouraged that anyone and everyone who is interested in attending for any reason come! It helps our students in their process of education and, let me prepare you, it will leave an impression.

Recitation night is when Pinnacle Classical Academy really shines. I have been to four Recitation Nights over the past two years and every one leaves me amazed at how much information our kids have learned in a short number of weeks. I am always proud of the confidence and professionalism of the students and faculty, while at the same time thrilled at the little smiles and giggles and wiggles that let me know they’re having fun at school. Sure they make mistakes, but that’s part of learning. In addition, I have left every Recitation Night thus far inspired by the school and the words of the students and faculty, as well as inspired in my walk with the Lord. PCA leads my family and me closer to Jesus. Recitation Night is one of the many times that becomes very evident to me.

You’re Invited

Just a few more days! Our Fall Recitation Night this year is at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at Pinnacle Classical Academy, 11001 Kanis Road, Little Rock, Arkansas 72211. If you have never been to PCA, we currently meet at Rose Hill Church of the Nazarene. I look forward to seeing you there!