Modern education often assumes that learning consists of acquiring information. For most of Western history, educators believed something very different. Before students could learn history, science, mathematics, law, philosophy, or participate in public affairs, they first had to learn how to learn. The educational framework designed to teach those skills was called the trivium. The […]
Colleges
Rediscovering and Restoring the Liberal Arts College
June 17, 2026 | Colleges
This article is organized into four parts. Open any part below to see links to its sections. Part I — Rediscovering the Purpose of a Liberal Arts Education Introduction Many Small Private Colleges Face Extinction What Is a Small Private College Supposed to Do? Returning to First Principles The Trivium and the Foundations of Learning […]
The Trivium: The Lost Foundation of a Liberal Arts Education
June 12, 2026 | Colleges
Modern education often assumes that learning consists of acquiring information. For most of Western history, educators believed something very different. Before students could learn history, science, mathematics, law, philosophy, or participate in public affairs, they first had to learn how to learn. The educational framework designed to teach those skills was called the trivium. The […]