Academics at Ordo Amoris

Ordo Amoris Classical Academy uses a university style model for classroom instruction Classes meet four days a week, Tuesday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. The upper school's class day is scheduled into four 90 minute classes. For students in 7-12 grades, classes may be taken a la carte.

This model is both prudent and practical. Students spend rigorous and concentrated time in their classes, and teachers are given ample time to lead Socratic discussions and comprehensive lessons. 

In order to have the modified schedule, parents will register their student as a homeschooler with the Alabama Department of Education.   

1. We believe that the Bible clearly instructs parents, not the church or state, to "bring children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4) Our teachers operate “in loco parentis”, or in the place of the parents, providing an educational service to families. Therefore, we seek to teach and discipline in a manner consistent with the Bible and a godly home environment. 
2. We believe that God's character is revealed not only in His Word, but also in every facet of Creation. Therefore, we teach that all knowledge is interrelated and instructs us about God Himself. 
3. God wants us to love Him with our minds, as well as with our hearts, souls, and strength (Matthew 22:37). Therefore, we seek to individually challenge children and teach them how to learn through the centuries-old classical method, including instruction in Latin. 
4. We want to help parents teach their children that all they do should be done "heartily, as unto the Lord." (Colossians 3:23) Therefore, we seek to encourage quality academic work and maintain high standards of conduct. This includes biblical principles of discipline.

Art of Letters. Overall, classical education works to mature its students in the art of language, which includes the art of letters. It seeks to make competent thinkers, speakers, listeners, readers, and writers. Language is a gift of God either to be squandered or matured. In the Grammar School, this includes penmanship.

Languages. Dead languages are never dead. To understand the complexity and brilliance of our native English tongue, we would do well to understand the complexity and brilliance of those languages which gave it life, primarily Latin and Greek. Likewise, to study the biblical languages is to provide our students with a proper foundation in biblical literacy. 

Logic and Rhetoric. All truth is God’s truth, and ought to be read and spoken as such, whether from the hand of a pagan or a Christian prince. Logic is the art and science of reasoning well and there is no subject where logic is not applicable. Likewise, rhetoric is the art and science of a good man speaking well.  Men and women ought to both discern truth from falsity and communicate truth in all its power and radiance. 

Humanities. Man lives in and by narrative. To know history is to know God’s one, true narrative. Studying primary sources reveals how  man has responded to his responsibility- whether conforming to the revealed will of God, or opposing it- and, simultaneously, how God has directed the affairs of man. Man, while being a rational creature, cannot help but live as a poetic creature, making stories and passing them on for generations to come.  Literature is at the heart of being a man, and through literature we can understand the heart of the men who wrote it and read it. Philosophy is the love of wisdom.  It is the desire to know more deeply the intricacies of knowledge, ethics, and being.  It is to dialog, prod, and search with an open mind so that our minds may close on truth. Theology is the discipline by which man philosophizes about God, discerning and enjoying that which God has revealed about himself. 

Math and Science. Originally part of the seven liberal arts, math and science are another way by which man comes to know and appreciate God’s creation and His inexhaustible depth of creativity. Many of the best mathematicians and scientists throughout history have been classists.  When studied in tandem with the arts and humanities, math and science are understood in their proper context. Their real beauty is seen. 

Art, Music, and Aesthetics. The artifacts which man creates are to be enjoyed and critiqued. Being made in the image of God, we are makers who are drawn to beauty. Being fallen creatures, we make artifacts after our own likeness, in the image of our idols. Art is an important mode by which humans communicate virtue and vices.  We make, like God, out of the overflow of our community. 

The Trivium: The “grammar stage” of each subject is the fundamental rules of that subject. The “logic stage” is the ordered relationship of particulars in each subject.  The “rhetoric stage” is how the grammar and logic of each stage may be clearly expressed. While contemporary classical Christian education divides K-12 into these three stages of (K-6 is grammar school, 7-8 is logic school, and 9-12 is rhetoric school), teachers in each course divide particular courses into this three fold pattern of pedagogy.

Primary Texts: Learning content by reading from original sources, our students learn to chew for themselves, thereby strengthening their intellectual and emotional faculties through direct interaction with great texts and great ideas. It is not good enough to read the recipe of a good dish, or even hear someone else describe the dish for you. It is not even enough to have someone try to remake the dish.  A great meal must be experienced. 

Exploration and Imitation: One of the most important teaching tools available to the teacher is the students themselves, their own imaginations, and their free curiosities. Humans naturally want to understand, to ask and answer questions from exploration and understanding. This is most especially true of children. Therefore, the classical Christian classroom seeks to engage and enliven the child’s imagination, using their own desire for knowledge, truth, and discovery in the pathway to knowledge. 

Socratic Method: This method is a teacher-led, student engaged pedagogy of discussion and dialogue. Named after the first major Greek philosopher Socrates, in this method the instructor seeks to lead students to a reasonable conclusion by asking them a series of questions. The Socratic method assumes students are being taught the art of speaking and listening well.

Lectures: Classical Christian education primarily employs excellent teachers, rather than simply utilizing curricula. Teachers are the text.  This does not mean texts are not vital, only that teachers are to have an expertise in elaboration and explanation which goes beyond the specific text. This places before our students living, breathing academic models worthy of imitation. 

Order and Decorum: Classroom management is necessary for a proper education. This means the overall school culture and the culture of each classroom ought to showcase and expect order and decorum (etiquette).  When rules are properly and graciously enforced, there is true freedom.

Rigor is not Mortis: Classical Christian schools expect much from their students, holding them to a standard of both moral and academic excellence. When rigor occurs in the midst of a healthy community, gracious teachers, and good books, learning is enjoyed for its own sake.