Pietas Classical Christian

Overview

Pietas Classical Christian is designed to form virtue and intellectual excellence in young people by exposing them to the liberal arts through the method of classical training. Our focus on moral formation flows from our commitment and allegiance to Jesus Christ and our obedience to the commission he has given to His people: make disciples of all nations. A disciple is simply a student and follower of Christ. Therefore, our entire project rests on the teachings found in God’s revelation to us, the Bible, and our chief aim is to help students grow a deep understanding of what faith in Christ means, and how to understand the world He has created for walking faithfully with Him in this present age.

Since we are committed to that end, we recognize that the Bible is clear that parents are the primary agents responsible for the spiritual and intellectual formation of their children. Our program, therefore, does not seek to replace the parents, but functions to provide a robust weekly structure, carefully selected curriculum, and seasoned teachers to maximize the success of training children through a host of advisors (Proverbs 15:22). When you come to Pietas Classical Christian you are getting decades of experience in training children distilled down to a concentrated form and employed via a time-tested vision and method for education.

Our program is for students from K-12th grade. At Pietas, we employ a unique approach of teaching students according to their individual skill levels by tailoring the program to fit their educational needs. It is our firm belief that children do not benefit from being categorized by and pushed through the modern educational grade structure. Rather, our aim is mastery of the material. We have the flexibility to continue training children in their weak areas while also allowing them to advance in the subjects they have shown competency in. This gives the students, teachers, and parents the freedom to take control of the educational endeavor rather than the one-size-fits-all approach of the current model. Students will be evaluated at the end of every school year and the parents and staff of Pietas will discuss a strategy for each student going into the next school year.

Locations

Central Brevard facility – 5995 N. Wickham Rd. Building B, Melbourne, FL 32940
North Brevard facility – 3757 N Cocoa Blvd, Cocoa, FL 32926

Central Brevard

2023-2024 Academic Year

Fall semester: August 14th – December 8th
Spring semester: January 8th - April 25th

Central Brevard Weekly Schedule

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday

K - 2nd: 8:30 am - 12:30pm
3rd - 12th: 8:30am - 3:00pm

North Brevard

2023-2024 Academic Year

Fall semester: August 22nd – December 10th
Spring semester: January 9th – May 3rd

North Brevard Weekly Schedule

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday

K - 2nd: 8:30 am - 12:30pm
3rd - 12th: 8:30am - 3:00pm

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Grades K-6

Reading great books and discussing great ideas to the glory of our great God.

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom in learning from books as well as from nature.”
– Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren (How to Read a Book)

“Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.”
- Proverbs 23:12

Pietas Classical Christian Mission: To help students rightly order their loves by educating them in Truth, Goodness, and Beauty through the seven liberal arts and the great books, with Christ as the cosmological center.

Pedagogy (Method of Teaching)

In short, in-class narration (telling back what has just been read) and dialogue will be the heart-and-soul of Pietas's method of teaching, although dialogue will become more of a practice in the higher grades. Regular instruction will also be implemented, but narration and dialogue are part-and-parcel of an active self-education, whereby the students become fully engaged in what is being learned, as opposed to simply receiving information to be memorized. Charlotte Mason even referred to narration as “the act of knowing,” for knowledge is assimilated in the reproduction of what has been read. She goes on to say, “All the acts of generalization, analysis, comparison, judgment, and so on, the mind performs for itself in the act of knowing” (A Philosophy of Education, 304).

Commonplace Book

Beginning in grade 3, each student will be required to keep a commonplace book (an example of the kind of journal notebook to be used). A commonplace book, in short, is a notebook that is used to write important thoughts, quotations, maxims, poems, proverbs, etc. They are not diaries.

	Christian Wisdom	Math	Science	History/Gov.	Lang. Arts/Lit.	Fine Arts
K	Gentle and Classical	Gentle and Classical Saxon -Kindergarten	Gentle and Classical	Gentle and Classical	Gentle and Classical All About Reading Handwriting Without Tears	Gentle and Classical
1	Gentle and Classical	Saxon – Grade 1	Gentle and Classical	Gentle and Classical	All About Reading All About Spelling First Language Lessons Handwriting Without Tears	Gentle and Classical
2	Veritas: Genesis to Joshua	Saxon – Grade 2	Science in the Beginning	Veritas: OT and Ancient Egypt	All About Reading All About Spelling First Language Lessons Handwriting Without Tears	Art – pulled from Veritas History cards
	Christian Wisdom	Math	Science	History/Gov.	Lang. Arts/Lit.	Fine Arts
3	Veritas: Judges to Kings	Saxon – Grade 3	Science in the Ancient World	Veritas: New Testament, Greece, & Rome	All About Reading All About Spelling Classically Cursive 1: Bible Primer Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) Literature novels (Charlotte's Web, Dr. Doolittle, etc) Well Ordered Language 1A & 1B	Greek and Roman Art pulled from Veritas History Cards
4	Veritas: Chronicles Through Malachi and Job	Saxon – 5/4	Science in the Scientific Revolution	Veritas: Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation	All About Spelling Classically Cursive 2 Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) Literature novels (Whipping Boy, Detectives in Togas, etc) Well Ordered Language 2A & 2B	Renaissance Art pulled from Veritas History Cards
	Christian Wisdom	Math	Science	History/Gov.	Lang. Arts/Lit.	Fine Arts
5	Veritas: Gospels	Saxon – 6/5	Science in the Age of Reason	Veritas: Explorers to 1815	Literature Novels (Witch of Blackbird Pond, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, etc) All About Spelling Well Ordered Language 3A & 3B Classically Cursive 3 Institute for Excellence in Writing	Portraits and Early American Paintings – pulled from Veritas History Cards
6	Veritas: Acts to Revelation	Saxon – 7/6	Science in the Industrial Age	Veritas:1815 to the Present	Literature Novels (Treasure Island, White Fang, etc) All About Spelling Classically Cursive 4 Well Ordered Language 4A & 4B Institute for Excellence in Writing	Modern Art – pulled from Veritas History Cards

Grades 7-12 (Central Campus 2023-24)

Reading great books and discussing great ideas to the glory of our great God.

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom in learning from books as well as from nature.” – Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren (How to Read a Book)

“Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.” - Proverbs 23:12

Pietas Classical Christian Mission: To help students rightly order their loves by educating them in Truth, Goodness, and Beauty through the seven liberal arts and the great books, with Christ as the cosmological center.

Three-Year History Cycle

The structure of our 7-12 curriculum is based on a three-year history cycle: Ancient/Classical, Medieval/Middle, and Modern. This cycle by grade is as follows:

7th: Ancient/Classical

8th: Medieval/Middle

9th: Modern

10th: Ancient/Classical

11th: Medieval/Middle

12th: Modern

The three-year history cycle allows the students to revisit historical periods, refreshing their memories and going more in-depth with more challenging resources.

Two Key Emphases

There are two key emphases throughout this curriculum. First, there is an emphasis on primary sources. While we make use of textbooks, these are often coupled with readings in primary sources. This allows for a richer and more enjoyable education. Second, there is an emphasis on great books and the great ideas (e.g. truth, goodness, beauty, wisdom, the one and many, law, rhetoric). By emphasizing primary sources and great books/great ideas, the students will be caught up in the great conversations that have been going on for centuries. They will learn from the masters themselves, with the teachers serving as trustworthy guides and dialogue partners.

Pedagogy (Method of Teaching)

In short, in-class narration (telling back what has just been read) and dialogue will be the heart-and-soul of Pietas’s method of teaching. Regular instruction will also be implemented, but narration and dialogue is part-and-parcel of an active, self-education, whereby the students become fully engaged in what is being learned, as opposed to simply receiving information to be memorized. Charlotte Mason even referred to narration as “the act of knowing,” for knowledge is assimilated in the reproduction of what has been read. She goes on to say, “All the acts of generalization, analysis, comparison, judgment, and so on, the mind performs for itself in the act of knowing” (A Philosophy of Education, 304).

Readings and Assignments

As you look through our curriculum, one thing that may come to mind is, “They don’t seem to have as much reading as other classical curriculums.” There are four things to keep in mind here. First, the Notgrass history books include a book that consists of primary source readings related to the main texts. For instance, Our Creative Worldaccompanies the From Adam to Us history books. Our Creative World contains primary source readings and is about 150 pages. The primary source readings of In Their Words accompanies Exploring World History and contains about 400 pages. Second, we don’t want students to rush through books. This can be a problem with some classical curriculums that pack in a bunch of reading. Instead, we want our students to contemplate what they are reading. One way we help them do this is by requiring that they keep a commonplace book (see below). Books will also be discussed during in-class days. For example, they may discuss the significance of Tolkien writing that Smeagol became obsessed with the origins and roots of things, digging in the ground, and ceased to look up in becoming Gollum (from The Fellowship of the Ring). What is it about looking up that orients our minds on the Good? How is this directionality used in other literature? These are things that can easily be overlooked if students are just concerned with finishing a book so they can get on to the next one. Third, another way we help the students come away with a deeper knowledge and appreciation of these books is by having them do narration (oral and written) and write short essays. All of this helps the students to better understand how these books contribute to the great conversation on the great ideas. Fourth, and final, we will provide parents with a recommended reading list based on grade. If it seems like your child is completing all of his assignments on time and needs more to do, this recommended reading list may be used to give your child additional reading. While Pietas will not have assignments associated with the recommended readings, parents are of course free to come up with their own assignments if they wish.

Commonplace Book

Each student will be required to keep a commonplace book (an example of the kind of journal notebook to be used). A commonplace book, in short, is a notebook that is used to write important thoughts, quotations, maxims, poems, proverbs, etc. They are not diaries.