Do you ever have an epiphany as you are going along and wonder, "How did I miss that before?" Something like that happened to me this evening. I have mentioned that I have been reading Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy stories to Bethany at bedtime. They are very sweet stories: the original antique 'Toy Story' about dolls in a nursery and their life when their owner, Marcella, is asleep. Johnny Gruelle wrote these stories for and about his own daughter and her doll starting in 1918 and continuing until his death in 1938. They are lovely and whimsical and great stories for little girls who want to imagine that their dolls are really alive; it is a chance to peek inside that secret mysterious world of toys.
Now, to the epiphany. We have been having a difficult time around here lately with our little people understanding the commandment, "Thou shalt not covet". It is very easy to be envious and to want everything to be "fair". As a matter of fact, I'm about sick and tired of trying to be the constant judge of "fair". At the end of tonight's chapter, Marcella picks Raggedy Andy up in the morning after a night of mishap and adventure for the dolls, and carts Raggedy Andy downstairs to breakfast. The last line reads, "And all the other dolls smiled at him as he left the room, for they were very happy to know that their little mistress loved him as much as they did." It hit me then: the reason I love these old-fashioned, sweet, classic childhood stories is that they model lives of exemplary goodness, kindness, and love for our fellow man. That's it. They don't preach, they don't lecture, they don't show the antagonist being a brat. They just demonstrate the best that can be in all of us. Our littlest ones need just that kind of example set before them on a daily basis. Of course, our own examples of righteous living is the best kind of example we can give them, but story-book heroes that melt our hearts and that we remember until we read about them to our own children - they are so great!
I encourage all of you to read a little "Raggedy Ann".......or "Secret Garden"......or "The Little Princess".......or "The Railway Children" ......etc, etc, etc.............................
Friday, March 16, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education
I just finished this book. It was a life-changer for me. As I mentioned in my previous posts, I have been searching for the right classical education fit for our family. Every author has his/her own perspective on what this means, and there are a plethora of classes being offered at homeschool workshops to water-down the material even further for us so we don't have to actually do the work ourselves. The question that begs answering for me is: how do we expect our children to immerse themselves in a classical educational model of we cannot study and learn what that model should look like for ourselves? Do we want to mentor our children to have this education or do we want to follow the bandwagon down a less comon path, but still a path? When presented with the opportunity to attend another workshop recently telling me what classical education is and how I ought to be doing it (at a price tag of mucho dinero), I decided that a true academic would find out the information for herself. That would make the information a part of me, and immerse myself in the process of education. I will not revisit that stack of books I read, but I will give a brief synopsis of what I learned.
Classical education is not a new idea. As a matter of fact, it is as old as humankind. This model was used in Ancient Greece to educate the great thinkers and had a revival again during the Renaissance. However, the world has never known such a high level of literacy as we had in the North American continent and in the United States of America from 1600-1950. What changed in 1950? That is another essay including moral degeneracy, political correctness, and apathy and ignorance, but for the purpose of this discussion, we stopped educating following the classical model. We began to 'dumb-down' educational expectations. We continue to do so at a steady decline.
So, why should this book be read and be better than the previous paths I mentioned of other leaders taking you down their road? Because this book does a great job of summarizing what constitutes a 'classical education' while emphasizing the foundational stage, grammar. The three componants of the trivium are grammar, logic, and rhetoric, but without a firm foundation in grammar it is virtually impossible to progress to the other levels. Bortins gives us an understanding of what that means, but does not tell you how to do it, other than some advice from a person wiser and further along the path. As a matter of fact, the constant debate in my own head as I read was, "Okay, but what specifically did you memorize? Tell me the list of historical data you had your family learn," followed by "I am learning this so it will be mine. I am glad she is not spoon-feeding me. I need to figure out what our family will learn, why, when, and how." She does give lots of great advice based on experience, but she does not do the work for you.
It seems to be a popular mistake to skip straight to the rhetoric stage, or at least the logic stage without creating the grammatical foundation. I asked myself why. I believe it is because grammar is hard. It is work. We forget that anything worth having is worth working for and that in the attempt to help everyone 'feel good' and be 'successful' we have continually required less and less of ourselves and our youth. Result: an ignorant populace that values recreation above all else. In her "Lost Tools of Learning" speech, Dorothy Sayers commented, "Is it not the great defect of our education today that although we often succeed in teaching our pupils "subjects," we fail lamentably on the whole in teaching them how to think? They learn everything, except the art of learning." While popular homeschool educational theories attempt to correct this deficit, there is key componant that is missing in the formula. Bortins explains, "Some parents may disapprove of the idea of training children to obey, as if they were dogs instead of sentient beings with minds of their own. It may be hard to believe, but inculcating obedience and expecting rigorous effort from our boys has actually helped my children to be free of me. As teenagers they don't need to obey me any longer because they can confidently make choices and succeed without me policing them....I wanted our home to be delightful. I wanted to have great experiences with our children. I began to recognize...that the worst thing I could do for my children was abandon my children to themselves." This is a principle that our Father in Heaven has given us through his laws and commandments. Satan's great lie is that the rules bind us and restrict our freedom. The truth is that the rules, the constraints, the systems free us for greater opportunities and ultimately eternal progression.
I walk away with this book excited about the possibilities. I can't wait to work hard and to bring my children on the journey with me. I can't wait to build a foundation, with them, that enables us to truly understand and enjoy the conversations of the world through all time, to be a part of true education, and for all of us to more completely reach our full potential.
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| The Core |
Classical education is not a new idea. As a matter of fact, it is as old as humankind. This model was used in Ancient Greece to educate the great thinkers and had a revival again during the Renaissance. However, the world has never known such a high level of literacy as we had in the North American continent and in the United States of America from 1600-1950. What changed in 1950? That is another essay including moral degeneracy, political correctness, and apathy and ignorance, but for the purpose of this discussion, we stopped educating following the classical model. We began to 'dumb-down' educational expectations. We continue to do so at a steady decline.
So, why should this book be read and be better than the previous paths I mentioned of other leaders taking you down their road? Because this book does a great job of summarizing what constitutes a 'classical education' while emphasizing the foundational stage, grammar. The three componants of the trivium are grammar, logic, and rhetoric, but without a firm foundation in grammar it is virtually impossible to progress to the other levels. Bortins gives us an understanding of what that means, but does not tell you how to do it, other than some advice from a person wiser and further along the path. As a matter of fact, the constant debate in my own head as I read was, "Okay, but what specifically did you memorize? Tell me the list of historical data you had your family learn," followed by "I am learning this so it will be mine. I am glad she is not spoon-feeding me. I need to figure out what our family will learn, why, when, and how." She does give lots of great advice based on experience, but she does not do the work for you.
It seems to be a popular mistake to skip straight to the rhetoric stage, or at least the logic stage without creating the grammatical foundation. I asked myself why. I believe it is because grammar is hard. It is work. We forget that anything worth having is worth working for and that in the attempt to help everyone 'feel good' and be 'successful' we have continually required less and less of ourselves and our youth. Result: an ignorant populace that values recreation above all else. In her "Lost Tools of Learning" speech, Dorothy Sayers commented, "Is it not the great defect of our education today that although we often succeed in teaching our pupils "subjects," we fail lamentably on the whole in teaching them how to think? They learn everything, except the art of learning." While popular homeschool educational theories attempt to correct this deficit, there is key componant that is missing in the formula. Bortins explains, "Some parents may disapprove of the idea of training children to obey, as if they were dogs instead of sentient beings with minds of their own. It may be hard to believe, but inculcating obedience and expecting rigorous effort from our boys has actually helped my children to be free of me. As teenagers they don't need to obey me any longer because they can confidently make choices and succeed without me policing them....I wanted our home to be delightful. I wanted to have great experiences with our children. I began to recognize...that the worst thing I could do for my children was abandon my children to themselves." This is a principle that our Father in Heaven has given us through his laws and commandments. Satan's great lie is that the rules bind us and restrict our freedom. The truth is that the rules, the constraints, the systems free us for greater opportunities and ultimately eternal progression.
I walk away with this book excited about the possibilities. I can't wait to work hard and to bring my children on the journey with me. I can't wait to build a foundation, with them, that enables us to truly understand and enjoy the conversations of the world through all time, to be a part of true education, and for all of us to more completely reach our full potential.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Classical Education and Mentoring - Fiction
I also wanted to share of my favorite classical education 'stories'. Our minds work so well with a story; we remember the information and can visualize concepts that become laborious when written as a descriptive non-fiction guide. My friends know that my two favorite of these books are written by Louisa May Alcott, "Eight Cousins" and "Jo's Boys". They are probably my favorites because I began loving Alcott and her stories so long ago, when I was a young girl, and they have continued to give meaning and direction to me as I have taken on the task of educating my children. Several years ago, I read "The Lonesome Gods" by Louis L'Amour and enjoyed that as well as a guide and an example of a great education. On the way home from St. Thomas, I finished what I will add as my latest classic education favorite story. The book is "The Song of the Lark" by Willa Cather. (Alcott and Cather books are all free downloads.)
I have to admit that I haven't like the previous books I have read by Cather. I felt that "O Pioneers" and "My Antonia" were both too dark for me, but this book is unlike either of those. In "The Song of the Lark", a young Swedish emigrant pioneer, Thea Klonborg, pursues her dream of discovering herself and the world. She fights against all odds to succeed and eventually becomes a famous musician who is truly gifted. The thing that I loved about the book was how well it illustrated the relationships she had with various people who could be called her 'mentors'. In the book mentioned below by DeMille and Earl, "The Student Whisperer", the authors describe several types of student/mentor relationships. They are each valuable and important. They each serve a purpose in the development of great character and in pursuing a great education. These mentor-types are found all along our journey of life and some are formal and some are informal. These authors suggest that when a mentor is necessary, one will be found. This was certainly true for Thea Klonborg. Now, don't get me wrong, Thea must work hard. Not much comes easy for early pioneers especially for a young girl interested in pursuing a musical education in a very savage land, but Thea's mother notices that she is different and supports her in her pursuits. Her first formal mentor, a music teacher named Harsanyi says to Thea, "Every artist makes himself born. It is very much harder than the other time, and longer. Your mother did not bring anything into the world to play the piano. That you must bring into the world yourself." That spoke to me. I have longed many times for the 'gift' of some talent or another. Talents are work, plain and simple. You must want it enough. "There were hours, too, of great exaltation; when she was at her best and became a part of what she was doing and ceased to exist in any other sense. There were other times when she was so shattered by ideas that she could do nothing worthwhile; when they trampled over her like an army and she felt as if she were bleeding to death under them." and "While she walked she cried. There was scarcely a street in the neighborhood that she had not cried up and down before that winter was over." Real break-throughs are so often emotional: the highest highs and the lowest lows. When we feel passion, we are learning.
I also learned about the sacrifice for greatness. One of her informal mentors, Dr. Archie, told Thea, "Only, if you want a big thing, you've got to have nerve enough to cut out all that's easy, everything that's to be had cheap." And later, "If you love the good thing vitally, enough to give up for it all that one must give up for it, then you must hate the cheap thing just as hard. I tell you, there is such a thing a creative hate! A contempt that drives you through fire, makes you risk everything and lose everything, makes you a long sight better than you ever knew you could be."
As Thea performs at the climax of the book, many of her mentors are there to see her and she is brilliant. She is scared to death, but it all pays off. "That afternoon nothing new came to Thea Kronborg, no enlightenment, no inspiration. She merely came into full possession of things she had been refining and perfecting for so long.....While she was onstage she was conscious that every movement was the right movement, that her body was absolutely the instrument of her idea. Not for nothing had she kept it so severely, kept it filled with such energy and fire. All that deep-rooted vitality flowered in her voice, her face, in her very finger-tips. She felt like a tree bursting into bloom.....everything in her at its best and everything working together."
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| Eight Cousins |
I also wanted to share of my favorite classical education 'stories'. Our minds work so well with a story; we remember the information and can visualize concepts that become laborious when written as a descriptive non-fiction guide. My friends know that my two favorite of these books are written by Louisa May Alcott, "Eight Cousins" and "Jo's Boys". They are probably my favorites because I began loving Alcott and her stories so long ago, when I was a young girl, and they have continued to give meaning and direction to me as I have taken on the task of educating my children. Several years ago, I read "The Lonesome Gods" by Louis L'Amour and enjoyed that as well as a guide and an example of a great education. On the way home from St. Thomas, I finished what I will add as my latest classic education favorite story. The book is "The Song of the Lark" by Willa Cather. (Alcott and Cather books are all free downloads.)
 |
| Song of The Lark |
I also learned about the sacrifice for greatness. One of her informal mentors, Dr. Archie, told Thea, "Only, if you want a big thing, you've got to have nerve enough to cut out all that's easy, everything that's to be had cheap." And later, "If you love the good thing vitally, enough to give up for it all that one must give up for it, then you must hate the cheap thing just as hard. I tell you, there is such a thing a creative hate! A contempt that drives you through fire, makes you risk everything and lose everything, makes you a long sight better than you ever knew you could be."
As Thea performs at the climax of the book, many of her mentors are there to see her and she is brilliant. She is scared to death, but it all pays off. "That afternoon nothing new came to Thea Kronborg, no enlightenment, no inspiration. She merely came into full possession of things she had been refining and perfecting for so long.....While she was onstage she was conscious that every movement was the right movement, that her body was absolutely the instrument of her idea. Not for nothing had she kept it so severely, kept it filled with such energy and fire. All that deep-rooted vitality flowered in her voice, her face, in her very finger-tips. She felt like a tree bursting into bloom.....everything in her at its best and everything working together."
Classical Education and Mentoring - Nonfiction
It has been a while since I've posted, but I have had a FANTASTIC week with my husband on St. Thomas Island, US Virgin Islands. Sand and sea are great for relaxing and I soaked up some much needed Vitamin D by the bunches. It was so much fun. Besides swimming, sunbathing, eating, and enjoying my husband, I had a chance to catch up on some reading. It is somewhat difficult to take notes on a beach while trying to keep a Kindle from becoming too sandy, but apparently it is possible.
I have been interested in making a study of classical education. I have read things here and there about different interpretations, but I have kind of an eclectic approach in my home. It has worked for us. My children have been successful thus far, but there have been some holes that needed filling and some adjustments I'd like to make, as well as expanding my mentoring to some other children. In the LDS community, Oliver DeMille's approach to classical education has taken on a life of its own. In his book, "A Thomas Jefferson Education", he outline his vision of classical education and I have watched the way that works in many homes. I read his new book co-authored with Tiffany Earl, "The Student Whisperer". I wanted to expand my knowledge, however, and decided to read Susan Wise Bauer's latest book, "The Well-Educated Mind: A guide to the Classical Education You Never Had". I have previously read "The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home" and enjoyed it. Although I implimented some of her ideas, much of it was a bit daunting when trying to educate a large number of children at once. It seemed much more adapted for educating one or two children. I knew that Douglas Wilson was also a respected writer and proponent of classical education, so I bought a couple of his books including "The Case for Classical Christian Education". And, lastly, I have Leigh A. Bortins "The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education" of which I have not read in its entirety, but what I have perused looks very intriguing.
The bottom line is, I want to be able to guide my children on a journey that will fulfill their educational requirements while allowing them to pursue their own interests by studying those things that are of most value and interest to them. I want to be a teacher and a mentor. These books have given me a beginning to that ideal. They each have ideas to implement. While I don't agree with 100% of any of them, I agree with many things, which put together, will fit me and my children's personalities and styles of learning. I can't wait to get started with what I've learned.
I have been interested in making a study of classical education. I have read things here and there about different interpretations, but I have kind of an eclectic approach in my home. It has worked for us. My children have been successful thus far, but there have been some holes that needed filling and some adjustments I'd like to make, as well as expanding my mentoring to some other children. In the LDS community, Oliver DeMille's approach to classical education has taken on a life of its own. In his book, "A Thomas Jefferson Education", he outline his vision of classical education and I have watched the way that works in many homes. I read his new book co-authored with Tiffany Earl, "The Student Whisperer". I wanted to expand my knowledge, however, and decided to read Susan Wise Bauer's latest book, "The Well-Educated Mind: A guide to the Classical Education You Never Had". I have previously read "The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home" and enjoyed it. Although I implimented some of her ideas, much of it was a bit daunting when trying to educate a large number of children at once. It seemed much more adapted for educating one or two children. I knew that Douglas Wilson was also a respected writer and proponent of classical education, so I bought a couple of his books including "The Case for Classical Christian Education". And, lastly, I have Leigh A. Bortins "The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education" of which I have not read in its entirety, but what I have perused looks very intriguing.
The bottom line is, I want to be able to guide my children on a journey that will fulfill their educational requirements while allowing them to pursue their own interests by studying those things that are of most value and interest to them. I want to be a teacher and a mentor. These books have given me a beginning to that ideal. They each have ideas to implement. While I don't agree with 100% of any of them, I agree with many things, which put together, will fit me and my children's personalities and styles of learning. I can't wait to get started with what I've learned.
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