An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t.
Anatole France
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An Education Isn’t
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What is Classical Education?
Classical Education is a philosophy and way of learning that is currently popular in the home school community and some private schools. In 1999 Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer wrote a book called The Well Trained Mind. Accordinding to Wise and Buaer..“…classical education teaches a child how to learn.”
The Well Trained Mind was one of the first home school books I read and although I didn’t follow their model exactly, their influence is what gave me the confidence to leave public education and embark on the journey of home schooling with my own children seven years ago.
Basic Ideas of Classical Education
1. Language focused- Learning is accomplished through words, written and spoken, rather that through images (pictures, videos and television)
2. Education follows a specific 3-part pattern
-the mind is supplied with facts and images
-the mind is given the logical tools to organize facts and images
-the student learns how to express conclusions from the facts and images
3. All knowledge is interrelated.
3 Stages of learning
1. Grammar Stage Kindergarten through 4th Grade. Also called the parrot years, children are filled up with information and facts. These years are spent collecting information to be used in later years. It’s all about content and reading, reading, reading. Later the child will make sense of it, analyze it and decide how they like it. This stage includes lots of memorization. They are not digging for information; they are absorbing what you give them.
2. The Logic Stage 5th grade through 8th grade. The student begins to connect all the facts they have learned and they are now discovering the relationships between them. Their work becomes about critical thinking and asking “why” instead of just absorbing facts. As they move into this stage, they will have a good foundation of reading skills, math skills and writing skills.
3. The Rhetoric Stage 9th grade through 12th grade. This stage is all about self-expression and flexibility in writings and speeches. If the student has gone through the first 2 stages of the trivium they will be ready for rhetoric. There is also a focus on the great books during this period. A student has learned about cultures and history and now they read the literature from these time periods and analyze what the ancient authors are saying.
People Associated with Classical Education
1. Susan Wise Bauer
2. Jessie Wise
3. Dorothy Sayers “The Lost Tools of Learning.”
4. Ruth Beechick
2. Jessie Wise
3. Dorothy Sayers “The Lost Tools of Learning.”
4. Ruth Beechick
Classical Education is a rigorous education…
All information for this article summarized from The Well Trained Mind by Wise/Bauer
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Find a Home School Mentor
Mentoring is key to becoming a strong homeschooling parent. Look for someone you respect who is homeschooling their children.
It may be a well known author. If so, read all their books.
It may be someone you admire from afar. Ask that person to have coffee. They will most likely be flattered that you think so highly of them.
It may be a close friend or family member. If so, you may feel comfortable asking them to mentor you.
Regardless of your situation, find someone who can encourage you on your homeschool journey.
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End of The Year Evaluations
A wise mom once shared with me….
It’s not only about what they learned this year….
It’s also about the person they have become..
- Are they kinder to their siblings?
- Are they more giving in the community?
- Are they honest and live with integrity?
- Do they have healthy friendships?
So as this school year draws to a close for many families, consider how far your kids have come not just how much they know.
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Practice Run Home Schooling
Some parents decide to give home schooling a practice run during the summer months. I think this is a great idea! I know that I just couldn’t picture how this whole “home school” thing was going to work. I pulled my son out for the last 2 months of 2nd grade while my 4th grader finished out the year. I wanted a practice run too.
If you are going to give it a shot, I would try…
1. Home school for no more than 3 hours a day (one hour of this will be #4)
2. Only tell your kids if they will be excited-for older kids just tell them they are going to be doing some math over the summer.
3. Pick up some inexpensive math workooks at Walmart or Costco and work in them daily for at least 30 minutes or use the ALEKs math online-one month free trial
4. Require one hour of free reading (or at least work up to this) This is on their bed, in their room, quiet reading of their choice. Read a book out loud to them too no matter how old they are.
5. Help your kids start a blog. If you are concerned about who might read them, make their settings private. Encourage them to write daily on their blogs.
6. Plan at least 1 educational fieldtrip a week-just don’t tell them its educational.
7. Teach them some life skills; laundry, cooking, car maintenance….
8. Visit the public library once a week and checkout a bunch of good books and videos around your house all the time. For some good book choices, try the Sonlight catalog for suggestions.
9. Plan some kind of event for the last day of the month…. Art show at your home featuring their projects, a carnival for the nighborhood kids, cooking dinner for grandparents.