If you’ve been around the homeschool world more than a few days, you’ve probably heard about something called the Classical Education model. What is it, and should Homeschoolers make use of it?
My family has chosen to follow the Classical model, and in the interests of full disclosure, you should know that my books are carried (though not published) by Veritas, one of the major Classical publishing houses. I have also written for several volumes of the Veritas Omnibus series, a Classical theology/history/literature curriculum. And one of the blurbs on the cover of my book, Talking of Dragons, was written by Douglas Wilson, considered by many to be the father of the modern Classical Christian movement. So what follows may be considered biased in some ways. But keep in mind that, like you, I had to wade through the various philosophical and methodological options available to Homeschoolers (see this post for some thoughts on the process of choosing), and all this was before I had ever met Doug Wilson, or worked with Veritas.
That said, our family’s approach has several important elements in common with Classical Christian Education, yet is also distinct in a few respects.
We can be considered classical in the sense that we believe there is much wisdom in the Medieval Trivium. For those new to Classical education, the Trivium refers to three stages of learning: Grammar (learning the facts, rules, and principles of each subject; roughly ages 5-11), Logic (learning to think through, question, and understand the facts, rules, and principles of each subject; roughly ages 12-14), and Rhetoric (learning how to speak and write in eloquent ways in defense of the facts, rules, and principles of each subject; roughly ages 15-18).
Showing posts with label Homeschool: Philosophy and Method. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homeschool: Philosophy and Method. Show all posts
Our Philosophy of Homeschooling
I linked to this post on the Raising Homemakers website for their link-up day. Please visit them sometime. So many interested in the art of homemaking are also interested in the art of homeschooling. For us, educating our little ones at home is an integral part of creating a home of goodness, truth, and beauty. In the article below, I give the basics for why we homeschool.
In this post, I want to discuss the educational philosophy of Saint George Academy (our family homeschool). It’s important for everyone to know why they do what they do. Many who have opted for other educational methods often wonder why people make the choice to educate at home. They see a variety of potential problems with homeschooling (some legitimate, some, eh, not so much), and even those considering homeschooling themselves worry about some of these potential problems.
So it’s worth answering the foundational question of why we do it. Later, we can talk about objections to homeschooling, and deal with those potential problems. But first we need to establish that home education is a legitimate choice; and in fact that it is much more.
People from a wide variety of religious (and “non-religious”) backgrounds homeschool their kids, so I need to establish here at the beginning that what follows is written from our family commitment to the historic Christian faith. We are what some would call “conservative” Christians, which means we believe in the truth of the doctrines and history of Christ and His Church. We believe the Bible as written, and take the historical sections (including accounts of the supernatural) as history, the poetical sections as poetry, and the whole Bible as the Word of God, without error and without anything that should worry or embarrass faithful Christians.
With that said, our philosophy of education—why we do what we do—begins in Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Here is the basis for all education: "thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Moses here commands the people of God on this wise:
1. Education consists in teaching children to love (v. 5) and obey (v. 6-9) God.
2. Education is the responsibility of parents (v. 8).
3. Education is an all-day, every-day enterprise (v. 7).
***
In this post, I want to discuss the educational philosophy of Saint George Academy (our family homeschool). It’s important for everyone to know why they do what they do. Many who have opted for other educational methods often wonder why people make the choice to educate at home. They see a variety of potential problems with homeschooling (some legitimate, some, eh, not so much), and even those considering homeschooling themselves worry about some of these potential problems.
So it’s worth answering the foundational question of why we do it. Later, we can talk about objections to homeschooling, and deal with those potential problems. But first we need to establish that home education is a legitimate choice; and in fact that it is much more.
People from a wide variety of religious (and “non-religious”) backgrounds homeschool their kids, so I need to establish here at the beginning that what follows is written from our family commitment to the historic Christian faith. We are what some would call “conservative” Christians, which means we believe in the truth of the doctrines and history of Christ and His Church. We believe the Bible as written, and take the historical sections (including accounts of the supernatural) as history, the poetical sections as poetry, and the whole Bible as the Word of God, without error and without anything that should worry or embarrass faithful Christians.
With that said, our philosophy of education—why we do what we do—begins in Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Here is the basis for all education: "thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Moses here commands the people of God on this wise:
1. Education consists in teaching children to love (v. 5) and obey (v. 6-9) God.
2. Education is the responsibility of parents (v. 8).
3. Education is an all-day, every-day enterprise (v. 7).
On Learning Styles
The Homeschool Village is promoting a Link Up today on the topic of learning styles. So I thought I’d jot down a few thoughts on the subject.
For the past thirty or forty years, there has been a great deal of theoretical work done on the idea that people have individual learning styles. The models take various forms, but probably the most recognizable is some variation of the VAK model, which categorizes learning styles something like this:
1. Visual Learners.
2. Auditory Learners.
3. Reading/Writing Learners.
4. Tactile Learners.
This is the version I am most familiar with, having encountered it for years at work. I only write books and such at night and on Saturdays: on weekdays, I work for an insurance company in the training and development department. A lot of discussion goes on about adapting our classroom environment and methods to appeal to this variety of learning styles.
And we do live in a time when our ability to cater to a variety of learning styles has greatly increased. This is a good thing, on the whole: we homeschoolers should (thoughtfully) take advantage of at least some of the new technologies out there. One example is virtual or online classes, some of which, like the Veritas Press self-paced courses, are ideal for those who enjoy learning via a more visual approach.
The concept of learning styles, from one perspective, is based on the simple fact that people are different, with various strengths and weaknesses. This in itself is certainly true, and wisdom would require us to pay attention to such things.
However, I do not think we should quickly accept the idea of learning styles as neutral data, nor as unchanging fact, nor yet as unmixed blessing. Let’s say a child is classified as a visual learner, with a real weak spot when it comes to auditory learning: should a parent simply accept this designation, as if we’ve found a label stuck on the child’s soul? Or should we seek to help him overcome his weakness, developing more of an ability to learn through conversation?
Charlotte Mason Review Part II
Continuing our review of the Charlotte Mason philosophy/methods, Susan Wise Bauer notes that, “Writing continues to be a weak area in the larger home school community; we need more, not less, explicit teaching in this area.”
Classical and Charlotte Mason are at odds here, as Charlotte Mason advocates minimal grammar and writing instruction (suggesting that children can learn by absorbing good literature), as well as waiting until the children are older to begin; while Classical advocates like Bauer want more, and earlier, writing instruction from the parents. I agree with Bauer here contra Charlotte Mason.
A few other suggestions that Bauer says are compatible with both Classical and Charlotte Mason: “choosing quality reading material, reading adult level books to children, making narration rather than testing the central method of evaluating learning…”). These ideas seem good and wise.
Classical and Charlotte Mason are at odds here, as Charlotte Mason advocates minimal grammar and writing instruction (suggesting that children can learn by absorbing good literature), as well as waiting until the children are older to begin; while Classical advocates like Bauer want more, and earlier, writing instruction from the parents. I agree with Bauer here contra Charlotte Mason.
A few other suggestions that Bauer says are compatible with both Classical and Charlotte Mason: “choosing quality reading material, reading adult level books to children, making narration rather than testing the central method of evaluating learning…”). These ideas seem good and wise.
Charlotte Mason Review Part I
This post begins a series of articles on figuring out your homeschool philosophy. Note that there are a variety of options here: the “unschool” approach, which pretty much lets kids drive the educational process with little in the way of formal training. Then there’s the self-taught approach, which is much more academically rigorous, but with an emphasis on children learning to teach themselves. Another option is the Classical approach, which, though variously defined, places an emphasis on history, favors language-based study over image-focused study, and follows the pattern of the Medieval Trivium (Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric).
Then there’s Charlotte Mason, which we will be considering today. Charlotte Mason was an early twentieth-century educator who developed a philosophy of teaching that is followed by many home educators today. First, we should note that Charlotte Mason was herself a classical educator, so this method has much in common with the modern Classical movement. I recently gave a talk at the Veritas teacher training conference, and one of the other workshops was on the similarities between “Charlotte and Dorothy” (Dorothy L. Sayers, whose seminal essay, “The Lost Tools of Learning,” birthed the modern revival of Classical education).
So there’s a great deal of overlap between the two philosophies, and as we will be dealing with Classical education in a series of future posts, we’ll not cover all that ground now. But here is a brief summary of the Charlotte Mason philosophy, from Susan Wise Bauer, Classical home educator and author of The Well-Trained Mind (note that she is drawing this summary from the writings of a contemporary Charlotte Mason advocate):
“In her first chapter, Levinson summarizes the Mason method as relying on narration, rather than workbooks; on whole and living books, rather than textbooks; and as utilizing short morning lessons with the afternoon and evening free.”
Here are a few other details, from a popular Charlotte Mason website:
“Charlotte’s students used living books rather than dry textbooks. Living books are usually written in story form by one author who has a passion for the subject. A living book makes the subject ‘come alive.’ She taught spelling by using passages from great books that communicate great ideas rather than just a list of words. She encouraged spending time outdoors, interacting with God’s creation firsthand and learning the living ways of nature.”
There is much good here, and home educators should consider these concepts.
At St George Academy (our family homeschool), we do use some of these methods, but do not embrace the Charlotte Mason philosophy unreservedly. Indeed, I have some real concerns. Consider this, from Charlotte Mason’s A Philosophy of Education (emphasis mine):
Then there’s Charlotte Mason, which we will be considering today. Charlotte Mason was an early twentieth-century educator who developed a philosophy of teaching that is followed by many home educators today. First, we should note that Charlotte Mason was herself a classical educator, so this method has much in common with the modern Classical movement. I recently gave a talk at the Veritas teacher training conference, and one of the other workshops was on the similarities between “Charlotte and Dorothy” (Dorothy L. Sayers, whose seminal essay, “The Lost Tools of Learning,” birthed the modern revival of Classical education).
So there’s a great deal of overlap between the two philosophies, and as we will be dealing with Classical education in a series of future posts, we’ll not cover all that ground now. But here is a brief summary of the Charlotte Mason philosophy, from Susan Wise Bauer, Classical home educator and author of The Well-Trained Mind (note that she is drawing this summary from the writings of a contemporary Charlotte Mason advocate):
“In her first chapter, Levinson summarizes the Mason method as relying on narration, rather than workbooks; on whole and living books, rather than textbooks; and as utilizing short morning lessons with the afternoon and evening free.”
Here are a few other details, from a popular Charlotte Mason website:
“Charlotte’s students used living books rather than dry textbooks. Living books are usually written in story form by one author who has a passion for the subject. A living book makes the subject ‘come alive.’ She taught spelling by using passages from great books that communicate great ideas rather than just a list of words. She encouraged spending time outdoors, interacting with God’s creation firsthand and learning the living ways of nature.”
There is much good here, and home educators should consider these concepts.
At St George Academy (our family homeschool), we do use some of these methods, but do not embrace the Charlotte Mason philosophy unreservedly. Indeed, I have some real concerns. Consider this, from Charlotte Mason’s A Philosophy of Education (emphasis mine):
The Vision of Home Education
Here's some worthwhile thoughts from Doug Phillips of Vision Forum:
"As R.J. Rushdoony has pointed out, 'Education is inescapably a religious discipline'...while many Christians have correctly focused on the religious nature of the content of education, they ignore the fact that the Bible also speaks to the methodology of education. Methods are not neutral. The rise of the home education movement is not merely a response to the failure of government education; it is an affirmation of a distinctively Biblical approach to both the methods and the objectives of Christian education.
"Unlike the peer-driven culture of the classroom, with its unbiblical approach to age segregation as a basis for training, home educators benefit from the one-on-one tutorial approach which allows parents to walk alongside their children while communicating faith, virtue, and knowledge, in that order. Home education, with its emphasis on relationship-driven training, is a distinctively Hebrew approach to education, while the modern classroom, with its emphasis on efficiency, is a distinctively Greek and pagan approach to education."
"As R.J. Rushdoony has pointed out, 'Education is inescapably a religious discipline'...while many Christians have correctly focused on the religious nature of the content of education, they ignore the fact that the Bible also speaks to the methodology of education. Methods are not neutral. The rise of the home education movement is not merely a response to the failure of government education; it is an affirmation of a distinctively Biblical approach to both the methods and the objectives of Christian education.
"Unlike the peer-driven culture of the classroom, with its unbiblical approach to age segregation as a basis for training, home educators benefit from the one-on-one tutorial approach which allows parents to walk alongside their children while communicating faith, virtue, and knowledge, in that order. Home education, with its emphasis on relationship-driven training, is a distinctively Hebrew approach to education, while the modern classroom, with its emphasis on efficiency, is a distinctively Greek and pagan approach to education."
If Only I'd Known All This Fifty Years Ago...
I am linking this post to the "Works for Me Wednesday" link up over at the We Are That Family website. Give them a visit, sometime, eh, what? The idea is to link to a post that gives advice or tips that made life easier in some way. The article below details some thoughts and ideas that have made our lives as homeschooling parents easier.
***
Those considering home education might be daunted for a variety of reasons, some legitimate, some vague and probably unfounded. But those who have actually tried it are tempted to a host of specific worries and concerns. One of the most real and pressing of these is the question of which home education philosophy or method to follow. Charlotte Mason? Classical? What about the “unschool” philosophy? Perhaps something geared more towards self-directed learning, like the Robinson or A2 curricula? Or should we take the “school in a box” approach, with scripted lesson plans for every subject, instructional DVDs for the hard stuff, online games and quizzes, and blueprints for building an Egyptian pyramid in your back yard without slave labor?
Our family has certainly had our share of this sort of uncertainty. And I have brooded and fretted over the years—more than I should have—over which direction to take. There are two reasons why it was hard for us to settle on an approach to Homeschooling with which we felt a reasonable measure of confidence. The first was the simple fact that there are so many options, both in terms of philosophy, and of methodology, from which to choose. And even within each philosophical or methodological option, there are a myriad of practical choices to make, in terms of books and curricula. For instance, even if you settle on, say, a classical approach, will you use the books and curricula of Veritas Press, or those based on the “Well-Trained Mind” approach? Or something else entirely? Will you use Shurley Grammar, Rod and Staff, or Beka? Saxon Math or Math-U-See? Institutes for Excellence in Writing or Writing with Ease? In many ways, this can be simply overwhelming.
The second reason why it was hard for us to settle on an approach to Homeschooling was the realization that the Home Education movement is in about year 30 of what we hope to be a multi-millennial project. We are the infants of the Home Education movement. Our descendants a hundred, or five hundred years from now, will look back on us with (hopefully) thankfulness and honor; but also with a more mature wisdom than we now possess. They will have figured out a lot of things that are (or should be) dark and mysterious to us. A lot of the things we feel certain of now will be proven, by our descendents, to have been wrongheaded, or perhaps simply wrong.
But ironically, this second realization was what brought a measure of peace to us. It suddenly struck me like a thunderbolt that we cannot know what we cannot know. And with this insight came freedom. I cannot now possess the wisdom that will only come to our people a hundred years from now. I cannot now act on the insights that will only occur to our children three generations hence. But neither am I called to do so. God wishes me to lead and educate my children, now, with the wisdom and insight He has given to our generation, and to those who have gone before us whose wisdom we do have access to. And He has called me to do this in faith, believing that He is capable of bringing up a people of imperfect wisdom into Biblical and cultural maturity.
As I said, this realization brought freedom to us: freedom to work hard, to bring such wisdom as we have to bear on our educational choices; to actually make those choices; and to live confidently and faithfully with what we have chosen, making adjustments or even wholesale changes as new light is received. If I live to be, say, eighty or ninety, doubtless I will look at the advances of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the arena of home education, and say, if only I’d known all this fifty years ago… But I trust I will also be able to laugh at my own folly, and praise the obvious grace of God in the generations that have succeeded and surpassed me.
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