Are there classical stages of child development?

When a theory is backed up by some kind of authority, has some success in practice, and makes a certain amount of intuitive sense to many, it is very hard to overcome with any kind of argument; even if it is a simple matter of history.  Such is the case with the definition of classical education as the “stages of the trivium” propounded by Douglas Wilson based on a talk given by Dorothy Sayers in the 1940’s.  How a speculative account of stages of child development with no support from ancient authorities became “classical” is a fascinating phenomenon.

I decided to illustrate this by constructing my own “classical” stages of development based upon the four classical modes of knowledge.  Perhaps in fifty years someone will launch a school based on my model.  Probably not, since I haven’t written any mystery novels or translated Dante.  Oh well, stranger things have happened.

    

Four Classical Modes	Example of Knowledge	Ages	Stages of the Modes
of Knowledge
POETIC	Trusting another's love, experience	2-10	Delight in sense experience; observation and interaction with nature and the world of real objects; authority based learning; love of stories, songs, and poetry; imaginative play
SCIENTIFIC	Absolute certitude: the whole is greater than the part; motion presupposes agency	8-12	Black and white thinking, beginning of abstract thinking, questions about principles, certainty
RHETORICAL	Persuaded by evidence, but without conclusive proof, as when we vote for a political candidate	10-14	Debate, discussion, and argument.  Questioning and searching for meaning, engagement with the world of ideas; analysis
DIALECTICAL	Concluding one of two opposing arguments beyond a reasonable doubt, as a laboratory test to certify a drug for human use	12-16	Modern scientific reasoning, applied mathematics, Socratic method
Source of modes and examples: John Senior, The Restoration of Christian Culture and James Taylor, Poetic Knowledge

Please note that memorization does not play a part in my stages of development.  This is intentional, because in a classical understanding of education, one does not “know” unless one has the knowledge within the memory.  Each stage has its appropriate objects of memorization that are cemented in the mind through use.  The Poetic stage would include the memory of poems, scripture, stories, math facts, names of places and animals, etc.  The Scientific stage would include memory of axioms and geometric proofs.  The Rhetorical stage would include memory of great speeches, etc.. 

Any comments or improvement to my stages would be welcomed, just remember that I am only half serious. The problem with a scheme like Sayers's is that it can harden into a method that excludes things.  So my Poetic stage might be wholly missing from a classical school that uses Sayers's "grammar stage".

The Socratic Method