A Partial Book Review
I'm now about 2/3 of the way finished with Teach the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style, by Harvey & Laurie Bluedorn. Rumor has it that further on in this book, the Bluedorn's advocate waiting to teach math until children are ten years old. But I haven't gotten to that part yet.
Here is what I like about that book:
1. They are committed more to the form of classical education than the traditionally-taught classical subjects. In other words, it's more important to apply the three classical child development stages (they call them knowledge, understanding, and wisdom; Dorothy Sayers called them poll parrot, pert, and poetic) to what we do teach than to necessarily teach literature deemed "classic" by the "experts" or focus on Greek and Roman mythology.
2. The Bluedorns believe that literature commonly known as classic is valuable only insofar as it relates to furthering the kingdom of God. "Everything which is not understood in its proper relation to God is a lie. Teaching anything - no matter how innocuous it may seem - while leaving out its relation to God, is a lie. Writing a book on classical education, while leaving out its relation to God, is a lie." They actually list a number of works that they absolutely would not recommend (from ancients such as Sophocles and Aeschylus). They believe that teaching mythology (to young children, especially) can be counterproductive. They say, "We must not become caught up in the world's endless search for something new....We must not pursue miscellaneous and worthless knowledge for the sake of knowledge."
3. They promote the idea that developing self-discipline in children at a young age is more important than academics. Forging ahead academically can be a waste of time if there is no "internal structure" being formed in them. Prerequisite to this is to "promote the self-discipline of the parents. In other words, the solution is to get the parents to grow up." Obviously, if being self-disciplined is important for our children to learn, it's important for parents too (I think I needed to read that).
4. The importance of studying logic.
The Bluedorns also mention the inherent weaknesses in "regular" schools; that they usurp the authority God gave parents over their children. I read a Douglas Wilson book one time that addressed that argument, and took the opposite side. I think I'll have to look that up.
More on the Bluedorn book another day...
Here is what I like about that book:
1. They are committed more to the form of classical education than the traditionally-taught classical subjects. In other words, it's more important to apply the three classical child development stages (they call them knowledge, understanding, and wisdom; Dorothy Sayers called them poll parrot, pert, and poetic) to what we do teach than to necessarily teach literature deemed "classic" by the "experts" or focus on Greek and Roman mythology.
2. The Bluedorns believe that literature commonly known as classic is valuable only insofar as it relates to furthering the kingdom of God. "Everything which is not understood in its proper relation to God is a lie. Teaching anything - no matter how innocuous it may seem - while leaving out its relation to God, is a lie. Writing a book on classical education, while leaving out its relation to God, is a lie." They actually list a number of works that they absolutely would not recommend (from ancients such as Sophocles and Aeschylus). They believe that teaching mythology (to young children, especially) can be counterproductive. They say, "We must not become caught up in the world's endless search for something new....We must not pursue miscellaneous and worthless knowledge for the sake of knowledge."
3. They promote the idea that developing self-discipline in children at a young age is more important than academics. Forging ahead academically can be a waste of time if there is no "internal structure" being formed in them. Prerequisite to this is to "promote the self-discipline of the parents. In other words, the solution is to get the parents to grow up." Obviously, if being self-disciplined is important for our children to learn, it's important for parents too (I think I needed to read that).
4. The importance of studying logic.
The Bluedorns also mention the inherent weaknesses in "regular" schools; that they usurp the authority God gave parents over their children. I read a Douglas Wilson book one time that addressed that argument, and took the opposite side. I think I'll have to look that up.
More on the Bluedorn book another day...
2 Comments:
When I did the Greek myth section of our history I too thought that the readings recommended were not very appropriate for my chiodren. We read through several and then I took the book back to the library.
I also agree with the self dicipline thing..
For me, the thing about Greek and Roman mythology is this: if you follow the classical method of covering the entire cycle of history three times from grades 1-12, you will have two more chances to cover mythology with your children. When they're younger, maybe it's best to focus on other things (there are plenty to learn about)and save the myths until they reach the "understanding" stage, or even later.
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