Posts Tagged knowledge
Homeschool Narration by Drawing and Writing
Posted by Diane in How to Teach Homeschool Skill 1: READING, How to Teach Homeschool Skill 3: SPEAKING on November 23rd, 2009
Oral narration is not the only way to improve comprehension and long term retention in your older home school child. For the eight to eleven year old kid and even the high school teen, written narration can be the catalyst for deepening knowledge, intelligent interpretation, and regular note taking. Here are two examples for effectively using oral and written narration in your classical home school.
Eight to Eleven Year Olds
Most kids and preteens working at the late elementary school level can handle written narration without much parental guidance. First start by asking your child to tell you what he has just learned. If he’s reading a book, ask for an oral narration after each chapter. If he’s watching a video documentary, stop the video and ask him to give an oral narration after each segment or module. Once he has spoken his thoughts, it’s time to get them down on paper. For the younger child, this may mean that you have to take dictation as he talks; he can then copy what you have written. If he’s older, have him write his own thoughts in a complete one-idea paragraph.
When my kids were young, I created a narration template for them to use. I took a blank piece of 8.5 x 11 inch copy paper and visually divided it into thirds. I left the top 2 thirds blank so that they could draw a picture from the reading or video. I used a ruler to draw horizontal lines on the bottom third of the page; this is where they either copied my dictation or wrote their own narration of the main ideas of the story. Download your own copy of my homeschool narration template. Drawing for understanding is also extremely helpful, and when you combine the picture with the narrated text, you’ve got a recipe for thinking success.
High School Preteens and Teens
Who says narration is only for little kids? Written and oral narration are perfect tools for improving understanding for homeschool preteens and teens, too; however, you have to reverse the process for those kids doing high school level work. For the older homeschooler, written narration usually comes before oral narration. As the highschooler is reading a text or watching a video lecture, have him take comprehensive notes. Personally, my favorite note-taking method is called branching, but you could capture the main points of the reading or video using a formal roman numeral outline or a mind map. Drawing diagrams to help reinforce understanding of complex concepts like parts of a muscle or a fictional plot line provides an even better layer of learning.
Once your homeschool high school teen has completed his notes, he is now ready to reconstruct his thoughts by writing an abstract or summary of his interpretation. In my experience with my own kids, a typical high school abstract from a 30 minute lecture will run 2-3 paragraphs which is about a page to a page and a half of handwritten text. After the written narration is complete, it is time to share what has been learned with a parent or sibling through oral narration. Explaining his understanding to another person will help with knowledge retention and clarify any areas that he doesn’t fully understand so that he can go back and reread the text or watch that portion of the video. Just imagine how valuable this written narration inventory will be if you have your homeschool high school teen take notes, write a summary, and give an oral narration of his understanding for every chapter or lecture!
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In addition to the new envelope icon below my signature for sending emails to your friends, I’ve just added another feature for my homeschool articles: “print this post.” Now if you want a written copy of the post, you can click on this link, and print the formatted article. Why don’t you start your own ‘Strategies for Homeschooling Excellence’ binder today?
The Post-Trivium Years: Dialogue Drives Instruction
Posted by Diane in Post-Trivium Homeschool | High School on October 24th, 2008
Mastery of the three skills of the classical trivium is not achieved on a single day in homeschooling history. You will never be able to look back and pinpoint the day when your homeschool child “graduated” from the trivium. Some time during the teen years, you will realize that she has become extremely proficient in the use of language, thought, and speech. There could be some areas of the trivium that she still needs to work on, but by and large, she is ready for more. For what has the classical trivium prepared her?
The Roman Quadrivium
If this were ancient Rome, your rising scholar would progress to the remaining four liberal arts of the the quadrivium taught by a private tutor: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music theory. The pragmatic Romans took the Greek idea of paideia and decided that every free man should learn seven “arts” in order to be fully educated. Nearly three millennia later, we know that learning the four mathematically-oriented disciplines of the quadrivium is no longer sufficient. Unlike the timeless skills of the trivium, the Roman quadrivium is obsolete.
A staggering amount of discoveries have been made since then in math, science, and technology that preclude any man from being a true expert. The inherited body of knowledge accumulates at a frenzied pace as the record of human history continues. In short, the choices for learning in the 21st Century are limitless. Yet, there still remains a core set of fundamental truths with which every educated homeschool high school student should grapple. The Roman quadrivium is not enough.
The Greek Paideia
You may recall that the Greek paideia is the foundation of a true classical education. According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, paideia is the:
Training of the physical and mental facilities in such a way as to produce a broad enlightened mature outlook harmoniously combined with maximum cultural development
Learning was the path to a higher nature through the exploration of abstract concepts such as truth, goodness, and beauty with the expectation that such examination would lead to noble character, gracious behavior, enlightened minds, and enriched society. Exploration of ideas between pupil and teacher usually occurred through a two-way dialogue made famous by the philosopher, Socrates. However, the early Greek culture from which classical education arose was pagan, and as Emperor Charlemagne realized hundreds of years later, classical education would never accomplish its true objectives unless informed by relationship with the Living God. Man is limited in his knowledge. He needs inspiration. The Greek paideia is not enough.
The Christian Paideia
Most contemporary Christians cannot read Koine Greek, the language of the New Testament, unless they have been to seminary, so you might be surprised to discover that the Apostle Paul uses the word paideia at least seven times in the New Testament in his letters to the Hebrews, the Ephesians, and to his disciple Timothy. Upon reflection, this isn’t really surprising because as I discussed in the posts on rhetoric, there is quite a bit of textual evidence that Paul received a classical education with a concentration in Jewish theology.
I believe we can take the Greek idea of paideia (the search for knowledge) and look at Paul’s use of the word paideia (discipline or instruction in righteousness) to understand the next homeschooling journey for our high school age kids. Paul knew that the Greeks had a good idea, but their educational philosophy lacked one critical component: the inspiration of the indwelling Spirit of God. True education is a transformational process of growing in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.
In the early section of the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul spends a lot of time developing the thought that God’s foolishness is wiser than man’s wisdom. God reveals His knowledge to those who love Him so that they can worship and serve Him in spirit and truth. Unlike the unrealized dreams of the ancient Greeks, our search for knowledge is exquisitely fulfilling as the Lord of Glory reveals little bits of truth in our daily walk with His abiding Spirit. Faithful followers use what they have learned in service to others. Enlightenment for the sake of worship and service is our final objective. In this way, we reclaim our classical inheritance and join the long line of ancestors who realized the wealth of a true classical education.
Jesus gives us the perfect example of what the this looks like in the Gospels. He lives with his disciples (by the way, disciple is a derivative of the word discipline which is the English translation of paideia) and in the course of every day life, he conducts an ongoing dialogue about ideas:
- ideas about God
- ideas about man
- ideas about man’s relationship to God
- ideas about man’s relationship to man
- ideas about life
- ideas about death
In short, Jesus instructs his disciples by asking them questions about the fundamental realities of life. Sometimes he provides immediate answers, but more often than not, he allows them to wrestle with the questions through life experiences, parables, and more dialogue. Like Socrates before him, Jesus knew the value of dialogue or conversation in learning. He has always been after relationship with us, and in that relationship, we learn more and more.
So what do the post-trivium years look like in authentic classical homeschooling? They look like the socratic model that Jesus followed with his disciples. As parents, we supervise the dialogue that our teens are having with the classics and with other authorities like university professors. We narrate. We write. We disagree. We agree. We listen. We discuss the big ideas on a daily basis. We allow the dialogue to drive the instruction, so sometimes we end up going off on tangents, but that’s okay because we are wrestling with knowledge. Despite the apparent sanctity of the public school formula, knowledge cannot be perfectly squeezed into discrete subjects. Every home school minute is an opportunity for learning as parent and high school age teen engage in an ongoing dialogue about the fundamental realities of life.
father and daughter photo © Mikhail Lavrenov – Fotolia.com
When Homeschooling, Learning is 24-7
Posted by Diane in Personalized Homeschool Curriculum on February 19th, 2008
When Homeschooling, Learning Happens All Over
When I first began homeschooling, I had dreams of creating a “school room” for the kids. I went to the local teacher supply store and looked at all those cute little banners and posters that elementary school teachers tack to the wall or bulletin board…ABCs, seasons, holidays, calendars…but then I began to wonder where in the world I would put all that stuff! I didn’t have a single room that I could dedicate exclusively to home schooling. I decided that my dining room would be okay if I could just use the china cabinet for books, but then I began to think about all the times we used our dining room to entertain guests. Did I really want my adult friends and neighbors to enjoy meals in the middle of a school room? I decided against the posters and opted for more books.
At first we did all of our “table” work in the dining room, but soon we started moving to the living room sofa for snuggly reading time. When the weather got warmer, we moved out to the front porch to the rocking chairs or the swing. Eventually, we began throwing quilts on the grass and reading in the front yard (I still felt a little anxious when the neighbors drove by, but not so much that I confined the kids to the interior of the house.) These days, the kids choose where to study: in the hammock, in the tree house, on the bed, at the kitchen counter…as long as they get their work done, I don’t worry about where they do it. I’m less uptight these days.
When Homeschooling, Learning Happens All Hours
When we first started homeschooling, I followed the public school daily schedule. When the other kids on the street were getting on the bus, we were usually getting started, too. We took longer breaks than they did for lunch and playtime, but we generally wrapped up the day about the time the local school bus drove by our home. At some point, though, I realized that the kids were more efficient with their time; that is, they could squeeze a lot of learning into a shorter period of time than the public school day. So we began to let them sleep a little later because we knew they would be able to complete their work in time to play with their friends after they got home from school.
Very recently (remember we have teens), we began to let them choose when to work. We exercise as a family in the morning and then read Scripture together around the breakfast table, but that’s the only structured time. They can choose to get started studying right after breakfast or postpone studying until later. They have to log a minimum of five hours a day, but I don’t worry about when they get the hours in as long as the quality of their work is good. I’ve noticed that they both want to have some free time before dinner, so they plan their study time accordingly.
When Homeschooling, Learning Happens All Year
I used to start and end the academic homeschool year when our public school neighbors started and ended the year, but that was mainly because our kids wanted to play with the neighbors, so it was most convenient to be off when they were off and work when they worked. But as the years have passed, we have found that there are opportunities to learn every day of the year. We learn during the work week, surely, but we also learn on Saturdays, Sundays, and during the summer break. There are opportunities to foster learning in the evening when the kids are practicing baseball or during the summer when they are selling lemonade to hot and thirsty garage sale customers. If you approach every occasion with a questioning spirit, you can find the gems of knowledge and teach from them.
When Homeschooling, Learning Happens with All Knowledge
One thing we continue to discover is this truth: learning is not confined to discrete homeschool subjects. I understand that the state has a vested interest in making sure all children have a certain foundational knowledge like reading, writing, and arithmetic, and I want all of our citizens to master those basics. I also understand that when you have to manage and process so many children through the system to make sure they are learning those basics, you must find a way to carve up the necessary knowledge which is why most public and private schools today divide the day into periods and teach specific subjects.
When homeschooling, we are not bound by those limitations. We can do so much more to ensure that our kids are learning all that the Lord has revealed through His creation. We don’t have to sit our elementary kids down at the table and compel them to complete a grammar workbook in 36 weeks. If we are using proper grammar at home in our conversations and reading excellent literature to them daily (or having them read if they are older), they will learn proper grammar without the grueling pain of workbooks and true/false tests. I’ve used workbooks and textbooks when it is best for our family, but I don’t use them as the primary homeschool learning tool anymore. If I find that the kids are missing an important point (punctuation for instance), I’ll usually schedule a week of intensive, deeper study in the area of need.
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When homeschooling, all of life is learning…24 hours a day, 7 days a week…all over the house, all hours of the day, all days of the year, and in all areas of knowledge. All you have to do as a homeschool parent is relax and be creative in creating an environment where you foster love of learning.
What is a Christian home education?
Posted by Diane in Various Essays for Homeschool Parents on December 6th, 2007
Dear Classical Scholar:
What is a Christian home education?~Just Wondering
Dear ‘Just Wondering‘,
In contemporary Western culture, education is defined as the objective transfer of knowledge from an expert to a novice. Using various tools, techniques, and skills, the trained classroom teacher delivers “neutral” content, and the student is expected to master these facts. Public schools, private Christian schools, and even some Sunday Schools typically follow this educational paradigm which assumes that knowledge is simply a vast ocean of objective data which needs to be acquired by the student like the commercial fisherman catches a net full of fish. Consider three commonly accepted “neutral” fact families:
- multiplication tables
- punctuation rules
- chemical elements
Students are taught unrelated facts by cool, clinical technicians as if they had no interrelated deeper meaning or greater purpose than to be regurgitated on a test at the end of the semester. However, Christians know that knowledge is not neutral, and all data can be interpreted in light of God’s nature. Suddenly, multiplication tables have profound meaning as the careful observer sees the concept at work in the multiplication of plant and animal cells. Punctuation rules become significant for clear and effective communication and exposition of truth. The Periodic Table takes on new meaning as the student discovers the differing atomic weights and chemical properties of the elements. In short, observations about our world become opportunities to express decidedly passionate responses as we stand in awe of the greatness and infinite goodness of the Living God!
So what is a Christian home education? If you break down the term to its simplest interpretation, Christian home education would be “learning about Christ at home.” In fact, Proverbs 1:7 says that:
“the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
According to this verse, we cannot even begin to acquire knowledge without first fearing , or respecting, the LORD from whom all truth originates. Instruction in truth comes from a relationship with the LORD.
Jesus didn’t send his disciples off to a trained technician who would teach them unrelated data from textbooks in a classroom with their peers. His educational system was rooted in a lifestyle of 24/7 community. He lived with his students. Where ever they were together was home. He taught and they imitated. Learning was not just about repetition of unrelated facts but about behavior and action. He didn’t artificially separate knowledge into categories or stand-alone subjects. Torah was His primary text. Loving God and loving neighbor was something they did…not just something they thought or read about. Interestingly, knowledge as Jesus gave it was certainly not objective – He was not in the least interested in transferring neutral data about life. His teaching was profoundly subjective, life-changing knowledge that created outrageous loyalty and love for God and men.
So what’s the first thing YOU need to do in order to give your kids a Christian education? You need to get to know Jesus personally. Spend time with Him, and let Him instruct you in His character, His passions, and His purposes. The better you know Him…the better disciple you will be; your relationship and knowledge of Him will directly impact the education of your children. You want to raise little image-bearers who reflect His glory everywhere they go and through everything they do. At the end of the home schooling journey, the Lord will not judge you on how much book knowledge you were able to impart to the kids. He’s concerned about how much your kids learned about Him through the home education they received.
Make time in your day to spend quiet time being discipled by your Lord; your own personal “Christian education” is crucial to the successful home education of your children. Don’t be a fool and despise His instruction. He wants to spend time with you today!
Just give me Jesus,
Diane
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If these posts are valuable to you, tell a friend about this blog. We all need encouragement in this home schooling endeavor, and you can actively show your love by sending the link to this post about Christian education.
