CELLO - ages 14 to 17
Story - Wisdom
The area of Story is characterized by the term Wisdom, as students begin diving into what are commonly referred to as the "Great Books", reading them not only for the stories themselves, but for the commentary on, and observation of, humanity through the centuries. It includes deeper study of the history of the world and the ideas that drove the beginnings of our country, and where those came from. It also involves studying the sciences and the contemporary issues that intersect with those.
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Skills - Excelling
The area of Skills during these years is now termed Excelling. Trivium skills finally move from Grammar to Logic and then Rhetoric, and in the quadrivium, students begin tackling Geometry (if they haven't already) and more advanced mathematical courses that fall into the categories of Astronomy and Music. Before studying Rhetoric, they will complete most of the steps of the progymnasmata exercises, and they will have experienced writing for different purposes as they study the Story topics above. They will continue to learn non-English languages, whether Latin, Greek, or a "modern" one. Outside of academics, they need to firm up their own personal convictions about, and habits in, physical fitness, healthy eating, and sleeping. Training in fine arts and manual arts will continue, according to their interests and gifts, and they can be encouraged to consider how to use these to serve others and bring glory to God, and maybe even lead others in these areas.
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Spirit - Reasoning & Release
In these years, the area of Spirit is marked by Reasoning & Release as we prepare to release them into the world by strengthening their understanding and study of Christian apologetics, their sense of place both in the body of Christ and in the community at large, and their own personal commitment to Christian disciplines and habits of the faith. In these years, we want to continue to build their confidence in the Scriptures, helping them to reason through them on their own, and also to lead others to reason through them as well. We want to guide them to greater independence in their habits of study, prayer, worship, giving, and serving, and provide them with opportunities to practice their developing leadership skills, as well as outreach and service. While being active in a Christian service group (such as American Heritage Girls or Trail Life USA) or church youth group can help in all of these areas, they should also be given more and more opportunities to participate with adults in the church body, modeling what they can experience in the not-too-distant future when we release them to serve God in the world.
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