In Shaky Speculation: The Lost Tools of Learning, I examined the history of classical Christian education and why the current classical home education renewal movement is based on the following faulty premise: the psychological development of children (poll-parrot, pert, then poet) roughly follows the chronological pattern of the medieval classical trivium (grammar, logic, then rhetoric.) I explained how the current “classical” education model regularly recommended in homeschool circles is really just a 12 year public school paradigm with classical subjects tacked on for enrichment. Now if you accept my position, the next question is this:
Where do you go from here if you want to give your kids a true classical Christian education?
Well, in my family, first we strip away the idea of a 12 year, subject-driven schedule and all the trappings of a public school model including start and finish times, standard holiday and vacation dates, textbooks, and dedicated school rooms. Then we go back to the content of the original trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and establish that we will master these skills (the “lost tools of learning”) over several years. [Note: In order to help you resist the temptation to think of the trivium as three subjects or stages, I will refer to the first three liberal arts (the trivium) of the seven liberal arts as (1) language, (2) thought, and (3) speech. Finally, once these three skills have been substantially mastered, the parent mentors the homeschool high school teen in the reading of the classics as they together craft a unique homeschool curriculum and high school transcript based upon each teen’s gifts, abilities, and interests.
In a nutshell, there are three simple but significant steps to a classical Christian home education:
This doesn’t begin to explain the entire process, but I hope it helps you get your mind around the simplicity of the system. Each family will uniquely tailor the three steps.
* * * * *
Let’s get a dialogue going on this topic…it was a real stretch for me that took a few years and lots of reflection to realize that our classical home school didn’t have to be so rigid. Have you found yourself tied to a schedule or concerned because your had fallen behind in completing the tasks? Let’s talk! Leave a comment below about these three simple but significant steps to a real classical education.
#1 by dawn - January 24th, 2008 at 21:02
I’ve been enjoying your series. Have you ever read a book called Wisdom and Eloquence? It is about Classical Christian Ed (school-style) but has some fabulous lessons for homeschoolers.
#2 by Yvonne - January 25th, 2008 at 08:10
I’ve really appreciated your posts on classical education. I gave up on classical education as it is espoused by Wise-Bauer and Bluedorn. Instead I applied a new title to our method of homeschooling: Relaxed. In essense, from what you are describing, I see that we have indeed followed a classical approach. albeit in a manner that most do not see as “classical,” nowadays. Your blogs have been very interesting/thought provoking. Thanks for sharing.
#3 by Heather - January 25th, 2008 at 22:58
Have you read the book “Wisdom & Eloquence?” While it is written for schools, I have found it very intersting. It hits on what you mentioned here plus encourages you to plan 12-K. I’m enjoying these posts but still wonder HOW you have done this! Keep giving the practical application!
#4 by jennifer d - January 26th, 2008 at 00:13
Yes, I do feel far behind in completing the “list of subjects” for the age and grade of each of my four children. I’ve fallen into the comparison traps: with the public schooled kids, with the private schooled kids and with other homeschoolers. I do great for a week or two, then I panic because of the holes I may be leaving in their education. I’ve even been tempted again and again to put the 11 and 13 year olds in school because I’ve been so overwhelmed with expectations, schedules, etc… . My heart says keep going, but even my kids are wanting to try public school. I know that I want to classically train my children but I still don’t get it. I’m looking forward to everything you have to say on the subject!
#5 by Diane - February 5th, 2008 at 11:16
Dawn and Heather,
Yes, my copy of “Wisdom and Eloquence” is full of notes! Although the authors run private schools, their content is very helpful. I particularly like what they say in their intro about the twofold purpose of a Christian education: (1) “we want our students to grow spiritually, intellectually, and socially”, and (2) “we want them to foster similar growth in society.” In other words, the education that we give our kids should not only allow them to exercise discernment in their own lives, but it should also equip them to persuasively influence the people in their communities to make wiser choices, too.
#6 by Diane - February 5th, 2008 at 11:29
Yvonne,
Relaxed! I love it! I found that when I was trying to strictly follow TWTM I was anything BUT relaxed!
One day a good homeschool friend came over to visit, and I began to lament over how far behind I was in grading a huge stack of papers. She had already graduated one son, and she explained that NO ONE else was going to ever look at all the detail that I was collecting. She had created a pretty little notebook for her son to take to his college admissions interview, and the admissions officer never even looked at it! After all her hard work, all he cared about were her son’s persuasive interpersonal skills, confidence, test scores, and final (one page) transcript. She then went on to tell me that she had never had a representative of the state education department visit her home to ask for her evidence. She said she only keeps the most important work and throws out the rest.
Her words convicted me. That’s when I began to really question whether the method that I was following was really “classical” in the historical sense or not. Now I can say that the content we cover in our home is deep, but the environment is relaxed. Whew!
#7 by Diane - February 5th, 2008 at 11:36
Jennifer,
Don’t give up! If you are called to this task (and I think you are!), the Lord will provide a way. I know it is tempting to compare our kids, our curriculum, and our schedule to the other families around us (and especially to other homeschool families!), but the Lord loves variety (look at all the colors and textures in nature!), so listen to what He’s telling you to give your kids, and reject the other stuff. What good is it to give your kids 12 years of science textbooks and multiple choice quizzes if they don’t remember any of the data after the test? You and your kids are called to something much more meaningful than the norm.
#8 by Laura - February 15th, 2008 at 09:43
I am interested in how to “scrap the public school system”. I am a homeschooling mom of 8, and have been homeschooling for about 5 years. I keep skipping around with curriculum choices and have found that even though my children can do the work, it is nothing to be 8 or 9 at night still working on Algebra. My questions is this– how to you scrap this mentality of schooling in the middle years / early high school. Do you start at the beginning of the trivium, ( they do have some Latin) and make sure that is mastered, and then progress? How do you start in high school- eek help?
#9 by Diane - February 15th, 2008 at 19:05
Laura,
If the kids are working from 9am to 9pm, you’re probably doing too much! Last week, Meredith and I were looking at the Vanderbilt University admissions requirements, and the high schooler must have 3 maths, 3 sciences, 4 Englishes, 3 social studies, 2 languages, and if I recall correctly, the rest is filler. That gives you plenty of room to tailor the content and accelerate if feasible while meeting their requirements. You could start Algebra in middle school if your child is ready and leave the last years of high school for special subjects of interest.
* * *
As for how to start, I would probably take a few weeks to observe them so that I could assess where they stand in terms of mastering the trivium:
1. Are there any holes in their English language acquisition that need to be filled? (grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc.) For instance, my kids know their basic English grammar, but I’ll bet if I asked them what a “gerund” was, they would pull a blank stare. But if I gave them a sentence with gerund that was mistakenly used, I’ll bet they’d catch it right away. So they have the usage down but not all the terms. So I might include a little extra work in this area. (I would not have them complete a full year Grammar workbook if they already know most of the material. Move on to things they don’t know.)
2. How are their critical thinking skills? Are they asking questions when they read? Can you have a discussion with them on current events or an assigned narrative and tell that they are thinking logically? Where are the gaps?
3. How are their communication skills, both oral and written? Have they learned how to write a cohesive, one-idea paragraph with a topic sentence then add stylistic interest? Are they organizing their ideas before they speak or write?
Okay, so you’ve got an idea of where you stand: one child is showing great critical thinking skills because his math homework is always perfect, but he doesn’t know how to punctuate a sentence. So with him, table the math for a few days while you work with him on punctuation.
The next child loves reading, so she is already writing complex sentences with style and great vocab, but her algebra is a struggle. Don’t eliminate the reading and writing for her because she loves it, but give her more time to spend on mastering her algebra concepts. Or maybe she needs to ask more questions and answer them about her literature.
If you’ve got a teen who has substantially mastered the 3 skills of the trivium then you can let him branch out into subjects of interest.
* * *
I’ll be writing about all of this in more detail soon, so hang on, and I hope this helped.
diane
#10 by Jeff - October 14th, 2009 at 12:31
Very interesting. What would you recommend to those of us who cannot committ to homeschooling? How could we take your methods and enrich the typical public school lessons? What would a night/weekend curriculum look like to you?
#11 by Diane - October 17th, 2009 at 06:43
Hi Jeff,
It would depend on the ages of the kids and how far along they are at mastering the three skills of the trivium. For young children to preteens, I would say you must read aloud every day. Find a beautiful picture book or a chapter book that is above their grade level, and read a chapter a night with enthusiasm. Reading aloud will build more language skills than any other gift you can give your kids. Stop occasionally and have them narrate the meaning to you.
For older (teens) kids, I would select a piece of classic literature or a classic (source document) history to read with them (either taking turns reading together or independently). Gather often to reconnect and share what you are both seeing in the text. Short written abstracts about the meaning of the text would help them clarify their understanding if you have the time.