Classical Education

As we have gotten into the daily routine of homeschooling my views have begun to shift as far as what type of education is in the best interest of my children. I've been doing a great deal of studying and through the course of the last few months I have found myself regularly returning to The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. Her book outlines the nuts and bolts of a classical education. The more we become entrenched in homeschooling, the clearer it has become to Corey and me that the classical style is what will best serve our family. While we appreciate the Thomas Jefferson Education model (as previously outlined) and will continue to implement several components of that philosophy in our home we have found that we just couldn't embrace it fully. There were a few components to the Thomas Jefferson Educational model that just didn't sit well with what we felt was in the best interests of our children and our family as a whole. I am finding that homeschooling is a very fluid process of finding what works best for each child. As we have slowly begun implementing various elements of a classical education into our home I have been surprised at how well the children have responded. For our little family - it is a good fit.

What is a classical education? The following is from Susan Wise Bauer, the entirety of the article can be found at http://www.welltrainedmind.com/classical-education/

Classical education depends on a three-part process of training the mind. The early years of school are spent in absorbing facts, systematically laying the foundations for advanced study. In the middle grades, students learn to think through arguments. In the high school years, they learn to express themselves. This classical pattern is called the trivium.

The first years of schooling are called the “grammar stage” — not because you spend four years doing English, but because these are the years in which the building blocks for all other learning are laid, just as grammar is the foundation for language. In the elementary school years — what we commonly think of as grades one through four — the mind is ready to absorb information. Children at this age actually find memorization fun. So during this period, education involves not self-expression and self-discovery, but rather the learning of facts. Rules of phonics and spelling, rules of grammar, poems, the vocabulary of foreign languages, the stories of history and literature, descriptions of plants and animals and the human body, the facts of mathematics — the list goes on. This information makes up the “grammar,” or the basic building blocks, for the second stage of education.

By fifth grade, a child’s mind begins to think more analytically. Middle-school students are less interested in finding out facts than in asking “Why?” The second phase of the classical education, the “Logic Stage,” is a time when the child begins to pay attention to cause and effect, to the relationships between different fields of knowledge relate, to the way facts fit together into a logical framework.

A student is ready for the Logic Stage when the capacity for abstract thought begins to mature. During these years, the student begins algebra and the study of logic, and begins to apply logic to all academic subjects. The logic of writing, for example, includes paragraph construction and learning to support a thesis; the logic of reading involves the criticism and analysis of texts, not simple absorption of information; the logic of history demands that the student find out why the War of 1812 was fought, rather than simply reading its story; the logic of science requires that the child learn the scientific method.

The final phase of a classical education, the “Rhetoric Stage,” builds on the first two. At this point, the high school student learns to write and speak with force and originality. The student of rhetoric applies the rules of logic learned in middle school to the foundational information learned in the early grades and expresses his conclusions in clear, forceful, elegant language. Students also begin to specialize in whatever branch of knowledge attracts them; these are the years for art camps, college courses, foreign travel, apprenticeships, and other forms of specialized training.

A classical education is more than simply a pattern of learning, though. Classical education is language-focused; learning is accomplished through words, written and spoken, rather than through images (pictures, videos, and television).

Why is this important? Language-learning and image-learning require very different habits of thought. Language requires the mind to work harder; in reading, the brain is forced to translate a symbol (words on the page) into a concept. Images, such as those on videos and television, allow the mind to be passive. In front of a video screen, the brain can “sit back” and relax; faced with the written page, the mind is required to roll its sleeves up and get back to work.

A classical education, then, has two important aspects. It is language-focused. And it follows a specific three-part pattern: the mind must be first supplied with facts and images, then given the logical tools for organization of facts, and finally equipped to express conclusions.

But that isn’t all. To the classical mind, all knowledge is interrelated. Astronomy (for example) isn’t studied in isolation; it’s learned along with the history of scientific discovery, which leads into the church’s relationship to science and from there to the intricacies of medieval church history. The reading of the Odyssey leads the student into the consideration of Greek history, the nature of heroism, the development of the epic, and man’s understanding of the divine.

This is easier said than done. The world is full of knowledge, and finding the links between fields of study can be a mind-twisting task. A classical education meets this challenge by taking history as its organizing outline — beginning with the ancients and progressing forward to the moderns in history, science, literature, art and music.

We suggest that the twelve years of education consist of three repetitions of the same four-year pattern: Ancients, Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation, and Modern Times. The child studies these four time periods at varying levels — simple for grades 1-4, more difficult in grades 5-8 (when the student begins to read original sources), and taking an even more complex approach in grades 9-12, when the student works through these time periods using original sources (from Homer to Hitler) and also has the opportunity to pursue a particular interest (music, dance, technology, medicine, biology, creative writing) in depth.

The other subject areas of the curriculum are linked to history studies. The student who is working on ancient history will read Greek and Roman mythology, the tales of the Iliad and Odyssey, early medieval writings, Chinese and Japanese fairy tales, and (for the older student) the classical texts of Plato, Herodutus, Virgil, Aristotle. She’ll read Beowulf, Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare the following year, when she’s studying medieval and early Renaissance history. When the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are studied, she starts with Swift (Gulliver’s Travels) and ends with Dickens; finally, she reads modern literature as she is studying modern history.

The sciences are studied in a four-year pattern that roughly corresponds to the periods of scientific discovery: biology, classification and the human body (subjects known to the ancients); earth science and basic astronomy (which flowered during the early Renaissance); chemistry (which came into its own during the early modern period); and then basic physics and computer science (very modern subjects).

This pattern lends coherence to the study of history, science, and literature — subjects that are too often fragmented and confusing. The pattern widens and deepens as the student progresses in maturity and learning. For example, a first grader listens to you read the story of the Iliad from one of the picture book versions available at any public library. Four years later, the fifth grader reads one of the popular middle-grade adaptations — Olivia Coolidge’s The Trojan War, or Roger Lancelyn Greene’s Tales of Troy. Four more years go by, and the ninth grader — faced with the Iliad itself — plunges right in, undaunted.

The classical education is, above all, systematic — in direct contrast to the scattered, unorganized nature of so much secondary education. This systematic, rigorous study has two purposes.

Rigorous study develops virtue in the student. Aristotle defined virtue as the ability to act in accordance to what one knows to be right. The virtuous man (or woman) can force himself to do what he knows to be right, even when it runs against his inclinations. The classical education continually asks a student to work against his baser inclinations (laziness, or the desire to watch another half hour of TV) in order to reach a goal — mastery of a subject.

Systematic study also allows the student to join what Mortimer Adler calls the “Great Conversation” — the ongoing conversation of great minds down through the ages. Much modern education is so eclectic that the student has little opportunity to make connections between past events and the flood of current information. “The beauty of the classical curriculum,” writes classical schoolmaster David Hicks, “is that it dwells on one problem, one author, or one epoch long enough to allow even the youngest student a chance to exercise his mind in a scholarly way: to make connections and to trace developments, lines of reasoning, patterns of action, recurring symbolisms, plots, and motifs.”

What did we do this week?

There is so much I want to write about, so many things that I have been thinking/reading about that have recently begun to influence my thinking in regards to education. However, my time today is limited. I will try this week to blog a little more about the methodology shift we are currently experiencing. Until then, here's a little glimpse into what we were up to this week.

Math - John and Madi continued to work on math facts and both did well on their math exams.

Spelling - We are loving our new spelling! The Spelling Workout Books have been much more enjoyable for the children.

Writing - John began his first week of Writing with Ease Level 2, while Madi continued her second week of Writing with Ease Level 1. Their writing consisted of narration, copy work, and in John's case - dictation.

Grammar - Madi continued differentiating between proper and common nouns, John continued differentiation between helping verbs and action verbs as well as looking at a sentence and identifying nouns, verbs and adjectives.

Reading - Madi finished up Ninjas at Night (Magic Tree House) and worked in her vocab journal. John is thoroughly enjoying A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh and drew a picture of what he would do if he were stuck in a hole waiting to get thin again.

Recitation - Madi and John both continued the poems they are memorizing.

History - We studied Shamshi-Adad and the Assyrians as well as Mohenjo-Daro and the early cities along the Indus River.

American History - We studied Coronado and his search for the Seven Cities of Gold as well as John Smith and his influence in the establishment of Jamestown.

Science - John completed his report on Gabriel Fahrenheit that was assigned in his Super Friday science class. Madi chose to do her next science report on penguins.

Art - We made Jack O' Lantern luminaries.

Music - We sang seasonal music along with our two hour class on Mozart. And there is, of course, the daily piano practicing.

We also started Caddie Woodlawn, celebrated Madi's doll's birthday, had a picnic at the park, visited the library, and made delicious Halloween cookies. It was a nice, quiet week.

why I do what I do

Yesterday Madi and I were doing her math lesson when we started doing picture addition problems together. Immediately she froze and became panicky. She started to repeat over and over, 'Mom, I can't do these problems. I can't do them. Mrs. K. (omitting names) would never help me with them, I can't do them.' She was shaken and quite upset by these addition problems and continued to repeat that her kindergarten teacher would never help her with them. We stopped for a moment and I quietly assured her that I am her teacher now and that she didn't need to worry because I was going to help her. In just a few minutes she was back to her smiling, giggling self and was able to complete the problems without difficulty. This is why I'm doing what I'm doing.

evaluation and change

I've posted about several things that are working wonderfully in school, now let's talk about some things that aren't working so well.

Spelling.

For the last month I've been compiling word lists from a book I have, The Natural Speller, for each of the children. We've done pretests, alphabetized, spelling bees, and had tests. The kids were spelling the words from their lists well, but I felt like they were failing to grasp the actual rules of spelling. Probably because I wasn't teaching them the rules of spelling. I started looking for a systematic way to teach spelling words and rules, which I didn't feel The Natural Speller was providing. I came across a highly recommended series entitled Spelling Workout. Each week focuses on different spelling rules and then provides additional spelling activities to reinforce both the rules and the list words. The series also includes proofreading skills every week, which I feel are important. We will start tomorrow and see if this series will better meet our needs.

Writing.

I'm not overly pleased with the writing we are currently doing in the form of journaling. I've been doing a great deal of reading on this subject and am currently mulling over the following statement.

In these elementary years the student masters the new and unfamiliar process of writing: putting ideas into words and putting those words down on paper... Good writing requires training. It demands one on one attention...Before requiring the student to write, teach him to narrate. Narration happens when the student takes something he's just read (or heard you read) and puts it into his own words...As the young student narrates out loud he is practicing the first part of the writing process: putting an idea into his own words. He is practicing a new and difficult skill without having to come up with original ideas first; because his narrations are always rooted in content of what he's just read or heard, he can concentrate on expressing himself with words...Separately, and preferably at a different time during the day, the student begins to master the second part of the process: putting words down on paper. This is not a simple task. It requires physical labor, fine motor coordination, and an understanding of the rules that govern written presentation: capitalization, punctuation, spacing, letter formation...Many students who struggle with writing put down sentences that are lacking in punctuation, capitalization, or spacing - a clue that they have never learned to picture written language in their minds...But what about journaling...and imaginative writing? In Years One through Four, it's not necessary for the student to do original writing. In fact, original writing (which requires not only a mastery of both steps of the writing process, but the ability to find something original to say) is beyond the developmental capability of many students...During the first four years it is essential that students be allowed instead to concentrate on mastering the process: getting ideas into words and getting those words down on paper. Some children may be both willing and anxious to do original writing. This should never be discouraged. However, it should never be required either. Students who are required to write, write, write during elementary years are likely to produce abysmal compositions. Take the time to lay a foundation first; during the middle and high school years, the student can build on it with confidence.
Writing With Ease, Strong Fundamentals by Susan Wise Bauer, professor of literature at William and Mary

Change is in the air for our writing as well, we'll keep you posted.