How 5 canons impact early childhood

Question

How will the Five canons of rhetoric become meaningful in Early Childhood Education?

How will invention, organization, style, understanding, and delivery of canons will impact in the workplace of early childhood, specifically?

Answer 1

Hello Melonie,

This is an interesting question; it is not often that the rhetorical canon is applied to early education, but I love that you asked about this. I am not sure how the canon will impact the workplace in early education, especially since most people have never heard of the five canons of rhetoric unless they work in classical education. Some classical schools are doing this with their grammar-aged students already, but here are ways that parents or teachers can utilize the rhetorical canon that will set their students up for success in high school and as adults.

Invention - Encourage your younger students to pursue their passions and interests. Typically, invention has to do with discovery. Finding a topic of interest to write a speech or essay on. It can be difficult to begin writing a paper when one is unsure what to write about. Helping your student to develop interests and learn more about them is a great way to get them started on the path of invention.

Organization (or arrangement) - Help your student become more organized by learning good grammar. Learning the different parts of speech, different types of sentences (interrogative vs. declarative), and learning how to write a good thesis statement is an easy way for students to begin recognizing structure and organization in language. This sets them up to be able to write a good paragraph and essay later on.

Style - Style is hard to develop at a young age, but you can provide the building blocks for your students from the moment they enter the classroom by reading aloud to them. Hearing a variety of different words, sayings, and expressions of thought, will expand their vocabulary and teach them a variety of ways to communicate, which will be utilized later in life when style is required in the academic essay or speech.

The last two canons are specific to public speaking. The first three are considered the truncated canon and can be applied solely to written composition.

Understanding (more commonly known as memory) - Memory is huge for the grammar-aged student. Teaching your students songs to remember different facts they can draw on later in life, is so helpful. Young brains are fact-absorbing sponges. If they can memorize the multiplication tables and parts of speech now, they will not struggle to remember them later when they learn exactly how to apply them. This will help them later in life when they need to draw on information they have already committed to memory or need to build their own mnemonic devices to help them remember what they need.

Delivery - Encouraging your student to practice communicating with others now, will give them confidence when they are older. Have your young student read aloud, memorize and recite poetry, and practice storytelling so that they will not be afraid to present and explain ideas to people when they are older. This will set them up well when more formal presentations will be required of them in high school or for the inevitable job interview.

I hope this adequately answered your question, Melonie.