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Styles of Homeschooling*
In the Traditional Approach, graded textbooks or workbooks follow a scope and sequence that covers each subject in 180 daily increments over a span of 12 years. Teacher's manuals, tests, and record keeping materials are usually available that correspond to each of the texts. Textbook curricula assume you will run your home school like an institution. Worktext programs present textbooks in consumable workbook format. The student learns his lesson, is given assignments, and is tested all in the workbook. The worktexts include tests or checkpoints to ensure that the material in each section is mastered before the student moves on to the the next. Worktexts also allow more independent study and require minimal teacher preparation time and supervision. Strengths of the Textbook/Worktext Approach: *Everything is laid out for ease of use *Follows a standardized scope and sequence *Has definite milestones of accomplishment *Testing and assigning grades is easy to do Weaknesses of the Textbook/Worktext Approach: *Is geared to the "generic" child. Does not take into account individual learning styles, strengths and weaknesses, or interests. *Assumes that there is a body of information that comprises an education and that this information can be broken down into daily increments. *Treats children's minds like containers to be filed with information *Focuses on transmitting information through artificial learning experiences *Is teacher directed and chalkboard oriented *Different aged student study different materials *Expensive when teaching multiple children *Discourages original, independent thinking *Has a high "burn out" rate Major Christian Textbook and Worktext Publishers: Abeka Books, Bob Jones University Press, Christian Liberty Press, Classic Curriculum, Rod & Staff, School of Tomorrow, Alpha Omega, Christian Light Education The Classical Approach to education has produced great minds throughout history. The modern proponent of the Classical Approach was British writer and medieval scholar Dorothy Sayers. As the Nazis rose to power in the 1930's, Sayers warned that schools were teaching children everything except how to think. Because young adults could no longer think for themselves, Sayers felt that they could be easily influenced by whatever tyrant came along. To remedy this, Sayers proposed reinstating the classical form of education used in the Middle Ages. In the Classical Approach, children under age 18 are taught tools of learning collectively known as the The Trivium. The Trivium has three parts, each part corresponding to a childhood developmental stage. The first stage of the Trivium, the Grammar Stage, covers early elementary ages and focuses on reading, writing, and spelling; the study of Latin; and developing observation, listening, and memorization skills. The goal of this stage is to master the elements of language and develop a general framework of knowledge. At approximately middle school age, children begin to demonstrate independent or abstract thought (usually by becoming argumentative or opinionated). This signals the beginning of the Dialectic Stage, in which the child's a tendency to argue is molded and shaped by teaching logical discussion, debate, and how to draw correct conclusions and support them with facts. The goal of this stage is to equip the child with language and thinking skills capable of detecting fallacies in an argument. Latin study is continued, with the possible addition of Greek and Hebrew. The student reads essays, arguments and criticisms instead of literature and in the Grammar Stage. History study leans toward interpreting vents. Higher math and theology begin. The final phase of the Trivium, the Rhetoric Stage, seeks to produce a student who can use language, both written and spoken, eloquently and persuasively. Students are usually ready for this stage by age 15. Strengths of the Classical Approach: *Is tailored to stages of mental development *Teaches thinking skills and verbal/written expression *Creates self-learners *Has produced great minds throughout history Weaknesses of the Classical Approach: *Very little prepared curriculum available *Requires a scholarly teacher and student *May overemphasize ancient disciplines and classics Internet links regarding Classical Approach http://www.classicalhomeschooling.org/ http://members.aol.com/veritasprs/ http://www.greenleafpress.com/ A Unit Study is taking a theme or topic (a unit of study) and delving into it deeply over a period of time, integrating language arts, science, social studies, math, and fine arts as they apply. Instead of studying eight or ten separate, unrelated subjects, all subjects are blended together and studied around a common theme or project. For example, a unit study on birds could include reading and writing about birds and about famous ornithologists (language arts), studying the parts, functions and life cycles of birds and perhaps even the aerodynamics of flight (science and math), determining the migration paths, habitats and ecological/sociological impact of birds (social studies), sketching familiar birds (art), building bird houses or feeders ("hands on" activities) and so forth. Strengths of the Unit Study Approach: *All ages can learn together *Children can delve as deeply into a subject as they like *The family's interests can be pursued *Students get the whole picture *Curiosity and independent thinking are generated *Intense study of one topic is more natural way to learn *Knowledge is interrelated so is learned easily and remembered longer *Unit studies are fairly easy to create Weaknesses of the Unit Study Approach: *It is easy to leave educational "gaps" *Hard to assess the level of learning occurring *Record keeping may be difficult *Prepared unit study curricula are expensive *Do-it-yourself unit studies require planning *Too many activity-oriented unit studies may cause burn-out of teacher and student *Subjects that are hard to integrate into the unit may be neglected Unit Study providers Alta Vista, KONOS, Advanced Training Institute of America, Five in a Row, Weaver Unit Studies--free online unit studies The Living Books Approach is based on the writings of Charlotte Mason, a turn-of-the-century British educator. Miss Mason was appalled by several tendencies she noticed in modern education; 1)the tendency to treat children as containers to be filled with predigested information instead of as human beings; 2) the tendency to break down knowledge into thousands of isolated bits of information to be fed into "container" children; 3) the tendency to engineer artificial learning experiences. She believed in respecting children as persons, in involving them in real-life situations, and in allowing them to read really good books instead of what she called "twaddle"--worthless, inferior teaching material. She considered education a failure when it produced children able to do "harder sums and read harder books" who lacked "moral and intellectual power." Children were to be taught good habits, involved in a board spectrum of real-life situations, and given ample time to play and create. Mason's approach to academics was to teach basic reading, writing and math skills, then expose children to the best sources of knowledge for all other subjects. This meant giving children experiences like nature walks, observing and collecting wildlife; visiting art museums; and reading real books with "living ideas." She called such books "living books" because they made the subject "come alive" unlike textbooks that tend to be dry and dull and assume the reader cannot think for him/herself. Strengths of the Living Books/Charlotte Mason Approach: *Treats children as active participants in the learning process *Exposes children to the best sources of knowledge---real objects and books instead of "second hand" interactions with distilled information *Encourages curiosity, creative thinking, and a love of learning *Eliminates meaningless tasks and busywork *Developmentally appropriate *Stresses formation of good character and habits Weaknesses of Living Books/Charlotte Mason Approach: *Tends to be very child centered *Very little prepared curriculum *May neglect higher level studies because of its emphasis on art, literature and nature studies *May become too eclectic The Principle Approach is an effort to restore to American Christians three vital concepts: the knowledge of our Christian history; an understanding of our role in the spread of Christianity; and the ability to live according to the biblical principles upon which our country was founded. The Principle Approach is a way of living life, not just a way of educating children. Developers of the Principle Approach rediscovered seven biblical principles upon which our country was founded and by which many f the founding fathers were educated. The seven principles are as follows: 1)Individuality (God has created distinct differences in people, nations, etc.); 2)Self Government (government stars in the heart of man); 3)Christian Character; 4)"Conscience is the Most Sacred of Property"; 5)The Christian form of government; 6)How the seed of local self government is planted; 7)The Christian principle of American Political Union. Four emphases are unique to the educational approach. First, there is a recognition of God's hand (providence) in history. Second, there is the understanding that God has ordained three governmental institutions (home, church and civil government) through which He unfolds His purposes and manifests Christ on this earth. Third, each Christian is responsible for extending God's government. Fourth, the student assumes responsibility for learning and for applying discovered knowledge to his life. The Principle Approach may be applied to the study of any subject with the use of notebooks to record "the 4 Rs" (Researching God's Word, Reasoning from the researched biblical truths/principles; Relating the truths and principles discovered to the subject and the student's character; and Recording the individual application of biblical principles to the subject and the student). Strengths of the Principle Approach: *Students learn to think "governmentally" *Students become self-learners *Students learn to apply biblical principles to the whole of life *Students create their own "textbooks" Weaknesses of the Principle Approach: *May present a narrow view of life and of history *Focuses mainly on American history *Requires a great deal of teacher preparation *Prepared curriculum available in few subjects *Extremely liberal approach to Scripture and history On the one hand, the Unschooling Approach is defined by John Holt, a 20th century American educator who concluded that children have an innate desire to learn and a curiosity that drives them to learn what they need to know when they need to know it. Holt believed that both desire and curiosity are destroyed by the usual methods of teaching. In his book Teach Your Own, Holt wrote: "What children need is not new and better curricula but access to more and more of the real world; plenty of time and space to think over their experiences, and to use fantasy and play to make meaning out of them; and advice, road maps, and guidebooks, to make it easier for them to get where they want to go (not where we think they ought to go), and to find out what they want to find out." On the other hand, unschooling refers to any less structured learning approach that allows children to pursue their own interests with parental support and guidance, and lets children learn by being included with the life of adults. The child is surrounded by a rich environment of books, learning resources, and adults who model a lifestyle of learning and are willing to interact with him. Formal academics, if pursued at all, are pursued when the need arises. In this approach, children are apprenticed or "discipled" by adults who include them in what they are doing. In the process, the child learns everything the adult knows, and possibly a great deal more. Home educators who favor less structured schooling, but with definite goals, prefer to be called "relaxed home educators." |
