Transcript
The automated transcript below has been slightly edited for readability.
Speaker: Dr Sheela Nathan
Introduction
I have been teaching for nearly 30 years in primary and secondary State school and Christian school, and in various subjects pursuing further education, helped clarify what I believed about education, as well as answering a question that has bothered me for a long time.
I noticed that, when I visited a kindy or pre-primary class, there was so much enthusiasm for learning. But, by the time they came to me in high school, students were disengaged and bored.
So the question that bugged me was “what happened to that love of learning?”
Research shows that when there is an emphasis on test preparation, students lose their love for learning.
Then, a few years ago, I started on a new journey.
My question was, “where were the schools for parents who were looking for Christian education?”
Not your standard Christian school, which was still obligated to use the secular national curriculum, but a Christian school that used a Christian curriculum, taught a Biblical worldview and was a place where all the teachers were Christians. Where were they?
You see, Christian education has a critical role to play alongside the church, and the whole in passing on the Biblical worldview to the next generation.
We are about discipling children.
Our mission-minded teachers fulfil this task by using a classical Christian curriculum.
Essentially, the curriculum is about the task of building their biblical worldviews.
The teachers carry out this task in a highly interactive way with their students.
It is our desire to see young people learn God’s world, love him, and live in his world. His way.
The Trivium
The foundation of classical education, called the Trivium, comprises of three time-tested phases of learning:
- Phase 1 is called the grammar stage. It teaches young primary age children, knowledge.
- Phase 2: the logic stage teaches young teens, understanding
- Phase 3: the rhetoric stage teaches older teens, wisdom.
These three stages of learning – knowledge, understanding, and wisdom – interact each one with the other, and complement the way that God created children to learn.
Young children are naturally inquisitive, and are both willing and able to memorize and recite lots of material. So at the grammar stage we help our children absorb tremendous amounts of information with historical and Biblical timelines as well as with Latin, mainly through songs.
As children grow older, children typically become argumentative. The goal of the logic stage is to equip students with the thinking skills needed to recognize sound arguments and ideas and to detect and correct fallacious ones.
At the rhetoric stage children are starting to become more interdependent. They’re starting to think for themselves to form their own thoughts and opinions and to develop their own unique paths in life. It is at this critical stage that classical education teaches young people to analyze and synthesize their own thoughts, beliefs, and opinions.
It is also at this stage when we teach them how to communicate those ideas and arguments in a winsome and persuasive way.
So what do we teach in grammar school that is primary? The timetable in the morning remains the same. Four mornings, every morning we do the same thing: we do everyday subjects which includes Bible, math, history, Latin, and all things English. So that’s literature, spelling, and grammar.
Then in the afternoons we do the once a week, subjects such as science, geography, art, music.
The only homework for this stage would be to review a spelling list. Review your timestable and read a chapter of your literature book.
Our students do a lot of group work. We call it learning in community. The result is that we are able to cover more material and in greater depth. We study Latin.
Why Latin?
Perhaps the greatest benefit of Latin is that it trains the mind to think analytically and to pay attention to detail.
Every sentence must be carefully constructed, every part must fit perfectly if the end result is to be a thing of beauty.
There are so many word endings in Latin, so many possibilities to make errors, that no progress can be made without a great deal of concentration and sense of pride in one’s work.
The memory is sharpened in Latin study, since not only vocabulary, but long lists of declensions and conjugations must be learned by rote. Learning Latin improves one’s English.
The Omnibus
In the secondary there are mainly 7 subjects. There will be time to do some of the work at school, but there will be homework, too, and the homework time is dependent on how efficiently one uses school time.
For all the subjects we use resources that are written from a Biblical worldview. So there’s English science and math, but let me expand on the other 4 subjects.
Firstly, there’s omnibus. More specifically, omnibus primary and omnibus secondary.
This program is history, literature and theology wrapped in one.
The primary course is on the great books from ancient times. Students study early Biblical works as well as non-biblical works.
Omnibus secondary books course complements the primary books.
- Course omnibus 1 focuses on great works of the ancient world, such as Gilgamesh Hammurabi histories by Herodotus, culminating in the 1st century omnibus.
- [Omnibus] 2 covers the great books from the Middle Ages through the Reformation, including Shakespeare, Beowulf.
- Omnibus 3 is on the great books from modern times, such as Pilgrim’s Progress, A Tale of Two Cities.
On reading
There will be a lot of reading in the secondary level.
Reading great literature is an important part of a child’s education from primary itself within the classical framework. Reading literature that has endured the test of time.
The classics are important for many reasons:
- Books develop critical thinking skills.
- Books let kids try on the world before they have to go out into it.
- Books help us to understand ourselves to find out who we are.
- Books, help children and adults to open up, to move beyond self-absorption and connect to other people.
- Books provide the opportunity to share cultural experiences
Literature for the young students is much more than just reading. In the words of Dr. Seuss,
“The more that you read, the more things you will know.
the more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
I admit that I do not consider myself a reader by nature. I have always read for a purpose not necessarily for pleasure. My husband, on the other hand, can always be seen with a book. Fortunately our children have followed his example, and are avid readers. I am a very late bloomer, and as a grandmother I have started reading lots of children’s classics. I’m finding it a great place to start in the secondary.
On Logic
Another subject we do is called Logic, which is not commonly taught in schools.
Logic is the study of finding and using good reasons for believing something is true.
It’s a science in that it can help us discover truth about ourselves and the world.
It’s also an art. And so over time and with practice we can improve our use of logic and its tools.
Students are equipped to analyze and construct arguments in common natural language, using inductive reasoning.
This course covers the nature of truth, means of knowing, and the justification of belief.
It also covers common hurdles to sound thinking and reasonable inference in the final stages of secondary.
On Rhetoric
The students study rhetoric, the culminating discipline of the trivium. Rhetoric builds upon the skills learned in logic and teaches the student to speak and write in a cohesive and persuasive manner.
This course develops students’ communication abilities through the ancient art of rhetoric. Students learn about rhetoric:
- What rhetoric is;
- Why it is an essential tool in several situations;
- How to analyze those situations and their audiences and how to craft several types of messages, using the diverse resources of the classical rhetoric.
Canon students will not only increase the clarity of their communication, but also communicate more effectively.
On learning Greek
Finally, in secondary, our students study biblical Greek.
This is an introductory level course. It provides an overview of the basics of Greek grammar and vocabulary. Students learn grammar and vocabulary by reading several New Testament passages.
Finally, students will translate passages in the New Testament, aiding them in their understanding and interpretation of Scripture.
We also offer a tertiary pathway for those who are 16, and over. It is called the Daniel Project, delivered on behalf of Eastern College, Melbourne, integrating the Certificate Four in tertiary preparation.
What’s next?
If you are interested, the registration form is open for 2026. It is on the website (https://coramdeo.org.au/students-registration-form-2026/) and as it stands we have Canning Vale with junior and senior classes.
But if there are five students who are interested in a secondary, we can start that, too.
In Kewdale we have junior senior and secondary and I will tell you about what is going to happen next year in a minute.
So once you register on the form, I will make an appointment to see you.
Vision
Our vision is to start micro schools scattered around Perth.
We realize that Perth people do not like to travel more than 20 to 30 min. So imagine one micro school, Central Perth, and another 4 at the 4 compass points.
We have approached churches for spaces, and have approached like-minded churches who would consider a ministry of supporting homeschool families using our micro school model.
As I have said. So far we have it in Canning Vale and Kewdale. We are in the process of starting in Fremantle, and possibly Midland for next year.
We are also in negotiations with churches in Subiaco and Joondalup, perhaps the following year.
So we have come to the end of the presentation, and there will be time for questions from you at the end.
Frequently asked questions
One question I get asked is: Do you run a four-year-old kindie?
Yes. Whereas for the rest of the kids is four days, we run a two-day kindie program. Usually it’s the 2 days in the middle of the week. So, for example, in Canning Vale we run classes from Monday to Thursday, so kindy is Tuesday and Wednesday
We use material published by memoria Press. The literacy and room sessions are very brief, broken up with times of play.
These resources also help cultivate character, virtue, and wisdom in children.
Sometimes I am asked the question, if we do play-based learning.
Firstly, to experience truly play-based learning, one would have to be in Scandinavia.
So lots of people in Australia who say they offer play-based learning more often than not. It’s more _play without the learning._
Secondly, play-based learning seems to have gone out of fashion. Now, what they are teaching to teacher trainees at Uni at the moment is explicit learning. And in my 30 years of education I have seen the pendulum swing from one end to another. That’s what’s happened.
Classical is basically explicit learning. And that’s what we’ve done all the time.
You might have heard of Robert Fulham’s book titled “All I need to know I learned in kindergarten“.
The author explains how the world would be improved if adults adhere to the same basic rules as children that is, sharing being kind to one another, cleaning after themselves. All of this while they learn and play.
Another question: Do you have excursions and intercampus events?
We believe in learning in community whether that community is within the classroom or outside the classroom.
Parents take their children on joint excursions from both campuses.
A couple of times in the year, we have a social activity where all the families in both campuses have come together.
Another question: what about the use of technology?
The student will not require a device.
Although the teachers might use some form of technology for teaching, mobile phones should not be used during school hours. However, there are opportunities for students to learn it as a subject outside of school.
In the secondary, the teacher assists the students to use technology for research purposes.
Then there’s the question of registering with homeschooling.
Yes, parents will have to register their child, so not kindy, but pre-primary onwards.
Parents have to register their child as being homeschooled with the Education department.
We are not a registered school, which means that the moderator will visit the parents, not the microschool.
What usually happens is that once an appointment has been made with the moderator, parents let the teacher know, so that any workbooks that are on campus can be handed over to the parent, who then shows it to the moderator.
This is our 5th year of existence, and moderators have been pleased with the education that we are providing to homeschooling families.
The question of discipline is sometimes asked.
We believe in character formation, and often correction leads to character formation.
It might be necessary to give the student a place to think, and then the teacher will have a chat with the student.
Parents will be informed if there is a recurrent misbehavior or unresolved conflict at school.
Conflict is part of life, and we attempt to be proactive in resolving conflict peacewise.
A Christian program on how to deal with challenging relationships and conflict in healthy way, includes a program for children and young people.
This is a program that all our students participate in every year.
Then there’s the question of class size.
We call ourselves a microschool because we are small.
We aim to cover kinder to year 12 with classes of about 12 students. Each class is small in size, so that we can provide individual attention to each student at each lesson.
If a child’s not managing, the teacher knows almost immediately.
If a child needs to be extended, that can be done too.
Additionally, classrooms are multi-aged, so our junior class is kindy and pre-primary grade one. Our senior grammar class is year 2 to 6, and then secondary is year 7 onwards.
Classrooms are multi-aged so that we can provide teaching that is suited to the student, for where they are at not making assumptions based on their age.
Students come to us at different levels. Our students are not placed in a class just because they are of a certain age.
Another question is: isn’t classical too academic?
Australia’s educational standard is actually dropping in the world stage. We used to be in the top 5. Now we are ranked 46th. If schools aren’t for learning, what are they for?
And what’s the opposite of academic? (That’s a rhetoric rhetorical question, actually).
If it’s academic in the lower school years, the child, then, has a choice on whether he pursues an academic or technical education in later years.
However, if we only provide a child with a technical education, in the earlier years we are limiting his choices in later years.
God has made us His image bearers, and we have a desire to learn.
However, if we are fed on entertainment or instant gratification, it could be that we would not want to learn anything that stimulates thinking.
It’s like eating lollies and losing one’s appetite for dinner.
Then there’s the question of parental involvement. What does parental involvement look like?
Involvement does not mean that every parent is expected to volunteer at the Microschool.
For some parents, there are younger kids to take care of.
For other parents, both husband and wife need to work to be able to pay fees.
So, although parental assistance is welcomed, it is not required.
Parents showing an interest in what their child is learning: when the child comes, home
is the best involvement, and that can happen because students take work home to place them in a catalogued file for the moderator to see.
Parents can always be kept up to date with the progress that their children are making by also talking to the teacher.
Written reports are only necessary because parents need to be informed, but our parents are kept up to date by the work that is taken home, and conversations with the teacher.
In fact, when I give parents the opportunity to meet with the teacher, not many parents take up that opportunity, because they are already aware of the progress that the child makes.
And when the moderator visits the parent, the moderator writes a report.
Q & A
Okay, I will now open it up to questions from the floor.
So perhaps you can unmute yourself and ask a question.
We’re currently living in the South West and won’t be moving back to Perth until high school, which is in 2 years time our kids are in a Catholic school down here. How do children who are in more traditional environment for primary school transition into for high school?
At the moment, out of our 5 students in the secondary, 3 of them have started straight in secondary.
There is adjustment, but I think if we are all mentally well prepared, it is going to be a challenge, but others have gone ahead and have been able to be successful.
When you’re moving closer, you might like to have a chat with me. In two years’ time we might have secondary in many campuses. Let’s wait and see.
Hello! Same question, but in reverse. If you don’t have the numbers for secondary or something happens in the future. Just wondering the transition from just a very basic kind of Catholic based, but basic high school.
So you are talking about, if your child finishes the grammar stage, which is primary, and for some reason we can’t offer her secondary she needs to go back. “What will happen” – is the question.
That should be no problem at all. Because I don’t know if you heard Anne speak a few minutes ago – what our kids do is 1-2 years ahead already (broadly). So they shouldn’t have any problem going in going back if that’s the choice.
I have a question as well. So obviously you’ve mentioned the moderators will come out to the parents and they will assess the the children at the home. Just out of curiosity, what kind of feedback have children received from the moderators? Do they hear that the child is attending Coram Deo and then they take note, and that’s a real positive from a moderator’s point of view? Is that what you’ve seen?
Totally, and that’s why I can confidently say this to you: that we’ve done it for 5 years, and we only get raving reports.
In fact, one of our parents who is only going to start next year, she actually contacted the Education Department, talked to the Moderators and the Moderator said to her: “if you want your child to have a good, solid, academic education, send them to Coram Deo”.
Now, that doesn’t mean we only do academics, because I don’t actually say our emphasis is on academics. I actually say it is on character formation.
Because if the child has the right attitude – and I’m talking from Kindy itself – if the child has a right attitude, they have so much potential. I think we shortchange our children by making things too easy for them.
I met up with you, a few months ago in the past. I’m just waiting for you or for something to happen in Joondalup. I’m just hanging on here.
I think that there has been progress. We found a church, because that has to happen, too, and a few things have to fall into place.
So that’s obviously a positive thing. If you get the numbers, would that be the only thing that you’re waiting on, or still something else?
The church is starting to investigate more seriously, put it that way. That’s where we’re at.
And there is a saying in Latin, if I can just say my little saying, it’s called festina lente, which means, “make haste slowly”. You know the Aesop’s fable story of the hare and the tortoise? So we go slowly. But it’s surely so I’m gonna hand it over to Andre because it’s his church. What would you like to share with us?
Yes, I’m a member of the church. So not in the the council or anything, but one of the interested people is one of the pastors of the church and I’ll share a bit in his absence.
He sent his apologies to me, so I think he’d be fine with me, sharing just some some high level information. It’s quite fresh. So they had a church council meeting on Tuesday, and they’ve set up a group of people in the church to further investigate the possibility of starting a school.
So, to answer your question, there’s still a lot to do – more than just just kids. We need to talk about the details, how this gets implemented, what the relationship is between Coram Deo and the church. There’s a question of building so that there’s a lot of things to still work through – to still think through, yes, but it it is in motion. It’ll take time as Sheela mentioned.
I’ll put my patience hat back on. Don’t worry, but very, very grateful, anyway, for all the work that you guys are doing in the background.
Yeah, I’m glad it’s making progress as well as always. Nice, nice to hear.
Just write “festina lente” somewhere, and you’ll go learning Latin, too!
Whilst I’m unmuted, perhaps I’ll jump in. Thanks. I think you’ve already answered one of my questions I sent in. I have got a related question. I’ve seen a couple of like great book lists, so Mortimer Adler has one of 100 books (https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/115519.Adler_How_to_read_a_book_P1). Douglas Wilson has two lists of 25 each in one of his books. Have you got a favorite great books list?
I am not such a great person that I have a list! I am, like I said, I’m just getting into it. And one of the things I have tried to do is with omnibus, which is what our secondary students do. Omnibus one – which is what our 1st year of secondary year sevens do – I look at their list.
So they read something like 24 books in the year 12 from originals. For example, they might read Hammurabi (the codes of Hammurabi). That’d be one of their 12 books. But then they have another list of 12, which is the secondary books (not the primary one, the secondary one). And like they’ve read, Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul, that sort of thing.
So I think, yeah, I haven’t got a list. I’m looking for lists. But as Anne has just put, if you want just to get started, it’s not the title of a great book, but just as an introduction to classical: Recovering the lost tools of learning (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/547283.Recovering_the_Lost_Tools_of_Learning). Have you come across that one, Andre?
Yeah. So I’ve read The case for Classical Christian Education (https://canonpress.com/products/the-case-for-classical-christian-education) by Douglas Wilson. And would you still recommend Recovering the lost tools of learning even if I’ve read The case for classical Christian education?
I must admit I have read both, but right now I can’t think whether just reading one is enough. Sorry what I could do Andre is… hang on, I can tell you. I’ve got it right in front of me here.
So this is Recovering the lost tools of learning. I will take a little photo of the contents page, and send it to you.
Okay, yeah, that’ll be great. Thank you.
That might help you. Okay, all right, I’ll do that as soon as this is over.
Anything else? Was that the only question you had Andre?
I could ask less important questions. But I’ll open up the phone.
All right. Let’s see if somebody else has a question. If no one else has a question, then we’ll come back to you.
Sorry. Yep. One more question. If the kids have a bit of a specific interest, do you work to foster that sometimes? So if you notice it – with one of our daughters that we’re enrolling, she’s just got this natural interest in medicine. And if that was something that – given the small size of the classes – you can sometimes foster those interests?
Sure. What we like – if you take Canning Vale, for instance – for science they were actually doing mammals (for this year). But for the last few weeks they’ve actually been looking at sea creatures, looking at mammals in the sea.
So I can’t tell you whether the kids wanted it or the teacher wanted it, but there was a lot of enthusiasm. So what I’m saying is: there are things that happen outside the curriculum.
There are different ways to motivate them and to feed that interest. And then I know, (during the) last school holidays this happened: the kids were interested in insects, so they actually took a whole pile of things to do at home over the holidays, on insects!
So I think the teachers are always looking for ways to encourage them to go deeper.
Any other questions? If we don’t have any other questions, we’ll go back to Andre
Yeah, thanks. Alright. So I’ve also another list I found. If we’re talking like great books. But then we were also talking about learning more about classical Christian education. There is a list on classicalchristian.org. I’ll post it in the chat.
There’s different levels. For those who haven’t got it open: there’s five levels. So the 1st is like introductory. There’s Lost tools of learning by Dorothy Sayers; Douglas Wilson’s book The case for Classical Christian Education is on Level 2.
I wanted to ask about the Liberal Arts Tradition by Kevin Clark and Ravi Scott Jain. Has that been been quite pivotal?
I have read it. I actually find that a bit technical. So I hope it’s not in the initial introductory section, is it?
No, no, it’s in the section after that.
Okay, good. I think you need to know a bit more before you actually read that book. But it’s a great book. It really does cover everything.
Yeah, yeah, okay, I’m just thinking like “I’ve got a limited budget with, you know, buying books”. They are 30 bucks each. It’s like “I can’t buy them all”, so I’m trying to pick which ones to get.
The other thing, if I can just add: in our website there is a course (from) Classical U (that) is called Parent U, is it? Am I right? I think it’s Parent U, as in university, and for those of you who are more inclined to watch something than to read something. There are something like thirty 3-min film clips. And the question is, is classical right for my child?, (https://classicalu.com/courses/parentu-is-classical-education-right-for-your-children/).
You might find that useful. And that is on our website (https://coramdeo.org.au/why-classical-christian-education/)
Are there any other questions?
If there are no questions, shall we officially finish? I’d like to just say: parents are on a mission to raise their children. But that responsibility can be shared within a community. Students are called to something greater than merely passing standardised tests and finding a place in the world of work. Because God has placed eternity in the hearts of image bearers, students know that they are called to something greater.
And so when the students whom teachers are blessed to teach ask for bread, teachers ought not to give them stones. They ought rather to give them real wholesome bread. And when students ask teachers for a fish, they ought not to give them a snake. They ought rather to give them real fish or, even better, teach them to fish.
So we are not just passing on information to children, but we are teaching them how to learn, so that in the future they can learn something on their own.
So thanks for your participation, let’s keep in touch. Sign up for our newsletter (https://coramdeo.org.au/newsletter/). And also this presentation today is being recorded. When they’ve done the editing it will be available in our website, so you might like to tell somebody else if they are interested.
Thanks, everyone. Good night!