People whom seem unaware of WTM.

[AuntPol]

Can I just say that my jaw still drops when I meet homeschoolers who have no idea of what I am talking about when I mention Well Trained Mind or Charlotte Mason? I often feel like a nerd. I knew about Well Trained Mind when my oldest was a kindergartener in public school.

 

To me it's like saying you are major fan of baseball but have never heard of the Yankees.

[elegantlion]

I was not familiar with it when we started homeschooling six years ago. I read about the different styles of homeschooling before we started and opted to go with a boxed curriculum. I wish I had researched styles again AFTER our first year of homeschooling, I would have changed sooner. But NO ONE in my fairly large circle of homeschooling friends were using classical, much less WTM.

[lionfamily1999]

Well... all the hs peeps I know around here know about it... oh wait... I lent them my copy ;)

Edited October 8, 2009 by lionfamily1999

[LaxMom]

Interesting. I've met a number of people in the past couple of years, who are planning to homeschool but whose children are still in the early preschool years, who have not read the WTM, but I don't think I've met any who have never heard of it. Or Charlotte Mason. (Unless their kids are just simply too young for them to have begun searching out specific methods yet... I have met some people in that place.)

 

Last year, I had someone who was amazed that I had included Waldorf on an general information sheet about styles/philosophies. She said Waldorf was never included. :confused:

[Pretty in Pink]

I only lucked across TWTM in the homeschooling section at a public library or I may never have heard of it either. I have a friend who uses a classical approach yet has never heard of TWTM.

 

I was really surprised a few months ago. I attended a gathering of local homeschoolers. At one point we were divided into groups of about a dozen each to play "getting to know you" exercises. In our group we were asked to share with one another any authors or books that have been inspirational to us in our homeschooling journey. When my turn came I answered "Dumbing Us Down" by J.T. Gatto. All faces were blank. Then I offered up TWTW by SWB. Again, nothing but blank stares. I was surprised that in that group nobody was familiar with either one.

[MariannNOVA]

To me it's like saying you are major fan of baseball but have never heard of the Yankees.

 

:party::party::party:....WHO WON LAST NIGHT!!!!!!

 

I am also surprised when a homeschooler has not (I don't care if they are using it or not) heard of 'classical methodology.' As far as WTM, that is not an issue in Virginia, but when I venture out of Va, I am also surprised that h-schoolers are not aware of it. The clerk in the bookstore when I purchased the new edition of WTM this past summer ASKED me what the book was about b/c it was the time of the convention here and so many women had been in to buy the book - he at least knew enough to ask.

 

The BIGGEST Surprise, I have had, in the 'educational' venue, however, has been folks who have their children enrolled in a private school that teaches a 'classical' curriculum and the parents have :001_huh: NO CLUE :001_huh: what a classical curriculum is...I kid you not.

Edited October 8, 2009 by MariannNOVA

[fivetails]

I'd never heard of TWTM until some time after we started homeschooling - when I tripped over this board, actually. :)

 

{and for the life of me, I can't remember *how* I ended up here!}

[stripe]

I don't really get the impression many people have heard of, say, Charlotte Mason, but a neighbor was shocked a couple years ago when I asked about her homeschooling and she said she used Calvert and I'd never heard of it. I don't think she's ever really looked at me the same. She told me it was the "premier curriculum of homeschooling today." Oh well.

[BikeBookBread]

When my turn came I answered "Dumbing Us Down" by J.T. Gatto. All faces were blank. Then I offered up TWTW by SWB. Again, nothing but blank stares. I was surprised that in that group nobody was familiar with either one.

 

Gatto and SWB are the two main reasons my husband was convinced to HS... I'm just thankful I read SWB before we began our HS journey!

[MariannNOVA]

TWTM was required reading for all parents when my sister signed her kids up for their classical school. She was glad to be able to say that she had already read it (because I sent it to her!)

 

Our experience was similar --We had to read Dorothy Sayer's essay, Douglas Wilson's book, THE SEVEN LAWS OF TEACHING, and WTM was on the list of recommended reading.

 

Still.......half way into the school year, I had parents of a classmate of DD8 tell me that they had JUST (in the past few days) learned what 'classical' curriculum meant and entailed.....and they were 'enthralled' with it. Their daughter had been in the school since Kindergarten and it was 2nd grade. They definitely slipped through the cracks.:001_huh:

[Caribbean Queen]

I haven't met anyone in real life who has heard of The Well Trained Mind or Charlotte Mason. Most of the homeschoolers I have met buy a package someone recommended to them, like Calvert. They don't research methods.

 

I think a lot of people on-line have heard of Charlotte Mason but have a wrong idea about what her methods were.

[Impish]

I had no idea of WTM, Charlotte Mason, etc when I started. I started out as a desperation move, needing to get Diva out of ps. SpecialMama introduced me to WTM, and these boards. Heck, I picked up SOTW on impulse, having vaguely heard of it before as a good thing :lol: and THAT was before coming here too!

[Ibbygirl]

I knew of Charlotte Mason when I started because a lot of the moms in my homeschool support group followed her methods, but I never heard of TWTM until I wound up on this forum after a google search for BJU Life Science! lol I was looking for a used set and one of the mom's here was selling it here on the sale/swap board. :lol: After I bought her science set I started perusing the forum and when I saw that there was a special needs forum I got excited because both of my kids are special. I started there and then started looking at the other forums and I've been here ever since then. That was this last April and I've been homeschooling for 10 years! lol But I have to add that although I hadn't read the WTM or heard of it before coming to these boards I have since purchased the 3rd edition and read it and I have now adopted a lot of the methods listed in there. It was really timely and was just what I needed when I needed it. If I had seen it at the start of my homeschooling journey I probably would have been too intimidated to think that I could homeschool so I guess it was good for me that I didn't discover it until just this year. :)

[EKS]

I stayed away from it during my first year of homeschooling because I thought it was Christian.

[BikeBookBread]

I stayed away from it during my first year of homeschooling because I thought it was Christian.

 

The person who told me about WTM was a secular homeschooler -- the wife of one of dh's co-workers.

 

I liked it right away because it appeals to people from almost any point of view, and all walks of life. It gives me a commonality with both secular friends, and with Christians like myself. Sometimes HSers can be so darn polarized (just kind of :lol:), but the WTM creates common ground.

 

We're raising the girls from a Christian POV, but I want them to be able to sit down with people who aren't coming from our POV, have a decent, non-confrontational, interesting, "let's learn something together" conversation with them -- at a co-op with kids who aren't exactly like them, with public or private-schooled kids, at church, at summer camp, at the grocery store, when they go to college, in a career, whatever...I believe a classical education helps accomplish this.

[Greta]

I simply cleaned out the local library of all of their homeschooling books and it happened to be in there. When I found WTM, I found home. It set our course from the beginning.

 

That's pretty much how it went for me too. I checked out every single book about homeschooling that my library had, and WTM was, luckily, one of them. I've met quite a few other homeschoolers who have heard of it, even though I've met very few who have actually read it and use it.

[Mrs. Frankweiler]

Ok, I'm going to probably ruffle some feathers here and say that this thread has a tone of....oh.....superiority or even snobbery.

 

The Well Trained Mind Curriculum (or Classical Education) isn't necessarily the best method out there for everyone. It's a challenging curriculum, for both teacher and student. Maybe a mom with a large family (or even a mom with a not so large family but many obligations) can't commit to the classical method. Should she ditch homeschooling alltogether because she can't do classical? Are the only two options classical or public school? Textbooks may be a better option for her while allowing her to keep homeschooling. She may never even consider WTM or the classical method because textbooks allow her to successfully get the job done.

 

I've also read somewhere (I don't remember where) that homeschoolers consistently outscore public and private schooled kids, no matter what curriculum they use. So I don't think the classical method is necessarily the best, but it's one of several options available. We have the luxury of choosing the option that works best for us.

 

I think sometimes we (myself included) get so caught up in a certain curriculum or trend that we start to believe that EVERYBODY should be doing it, and if they don't do it they're lazy, undisciplined, etc... If I've learned anything from this board, it's that there are a whole bunch of different kinds of people out there, and I'd better be real careful if I say that everybody should be doing a certain something.

 

Finally, I think we in our homeschooling world sometimes forget there's a whole other world of non-homeschoolers. I'm not surprised that a non-homeschooler hasn't read (or is even aware of) the Well-Trained Mind, even if their kids go to a school that teaches in the classical method. (But, I would hope that they know that the classical method is.)

 

 

That's all....I'm off before the tomatoes start flying.....:auto:

[BikeBookBread]

... I think we in our homeschooling world sometimes forget there's a whole other world of non-homeschoolers. I'm not surprised that a non-homeschooler hasn't read (or is even aware of) the Well-Trained Mind, even if their kids go to a school that teaches in the classical method. (But, I would hope that they know that the classical method is.)

 

Good point...

 

Yesterday I was at the grocery store with the girls, and had my first decidedly HS moments: a woman asked me why my kids weren't in school (I laughed on the inside because they are FIVE AND THREE!!!) but I calmly and somewhat logically gave my answer that they were homeschooled. She then went on to drill me about HSing. She seemed genuinely interested, and almost jealous, or sad, or something I couldn't put my finger on, because she kept saying, "you're so lucky" -- how many hours, what materials, do I use the computer, etc... I found myself having to THINK about the jargon I was using...I realized right away that SHE HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT....I felt like I had to explain it "in plain English."

Edited October 8, 2009 by BikeBookBread
for brevity :)

[Rosy]

I stayed away from it during my first year of homeschooling because I thought it was Christian.

 

That's funny--before I knew what it was, I'd heard it was anti-Christian! :lol:

 

Of my church friends, only one had read WTM, maybe a couple others had read it. Most of them use A Beka or Sonlight. Most of them aren't curriculum nerds, either. Of my co-op friends, many more have heard of it/read it. Almost everyone knows about SOTW, though.

[MariannNOVA]

Good point...

 

Yesterday I was at the grocery store with the girls, and had my first decidedly HS moments: a woman asked me why my kids weren't in school (I laughed on the inside because they are FIVE AND THREE!!!)

 

This is interesting -- last week, the kids and I took the dog for his long walk on our lunch break (12 noon or so) -- we went over to a place near us with sidewalks and a Starbucks and a Whole Foods and a ton of stuff - but mostly sidewalks. The kids were in 'play' clothes - a police officer was coming out of Starbucks and he was walking and staring at all of us - trust me, there is nothing about any of us that would cause someone to stare (4 people and a hound) - I watched him (I was wearing sunglasses) and he could almost see him processing the time of day, three children who were without a doubt school age, and why were they out walking a dog when everyone else their age was in school.....our dog of course went right up to him, he stroked the dog, said hi, and we went on our way. My guess is at some point, he thought homeschool or that the kids were truants and he couldn't be bothered...:lol:.....but we all went on our way.

 

This week the kids started wearing their uniforms from private school - which are nondescript khaki pants and knit polo shirts - just about every private school around here has that uniform - most of the schools do not require a school insignia on the shirt. When we have been out and about this week, no one has questioned the kids as to why they were not in school - which if they were in play clothes, librarians, store cashiers, most people would ask.

 

And, I forget what this whole thing was about in the first place!:001_huh::tongue_smilie:

Edited October 8, 2009 by MariannNOVA

[HRAAB]

I know a couple of families that probably haven't heard of WTM or Charlotte Mason, or at least, if they have heard, know nothing more than the name. They both use a planned curriculum provider, always have, and put all their effort into teaching that well. Their children have done extremely well, the older ones have gotten into the colleges of their choice. Sometimes I've wondered if their ability to not look/shop at other curriculum and give all their energy to teaching well isn't a big part of their success. I'll never know because I'm a looker/shopper.:001_huh:

 

Janet

[Mrs. Frankweiler]

I know a couple of families that probably haven't heard of WTM or Charlotte Mason, or at least, if they have heard, know nothing more than the name. They both use a planned curriculum provider, always have, and put all their effort into teaching that well. Their children have done extremely well, the older ones have gotten into the colleges of their choice. Sometimes I've wondered if their ability to not look/shop at other curriculum and give all their energy to teaching well isn't a big part of their success. I'll never know because I'm a looker/shopper.:001_huh:

 

Janet

 

 

:iagree:

I have the same disease...I envy those people who can pick one thing and stay with it. That's what I call discipline. ;) And you're right....using what you've got, and using it well is probably the secret to success.

[Michelle in MO]

Can I just say that my jaw still drops when I meet homeschoolers who have no idea of what I am talking about when I mention Well Trained Mind or Charlotte Mason? I often feel like a nerd. I knew about Well Trained Mind when my oldest was a kindergartener in public school.

 

To me it's like saying you are major fan of baseball but have never heard of the Yankees.

Actually, someone on the For Sale board (here) once asked me what "WTM" meant! I was surprised---I mean, this is the WTM forum!

[christielee7278]

That's pretty much how it went for me too. I checked out every single book about homeschooling that my library had, and WTM was, luckily, one of them. I've met quite a few other homeschoolers who have heard of it, even though I've met very few who have actually read it and use it.

 

This is what I did too. When I first started researching homeschooling, a lady I talk to mentioned classical education. I thought "no way!" She made it seem horrible, even though they were using the classical method in their homeschool. I had heard of the WTM but no specifics. I picked it up at the library because 1. there were only 3 or 4 books total on homeschooling and 2. I remembered it being mentioned somewhere sometime and thought it would be worth a look.

[calandalsmom]

Ok, I'm going to probably ruffle some feathers here and say that this thread has a tone of....oh.....superiority or even snobbery.

 

The Well Trained Mind Curriculum (or Classical Education) isn't necessarily the best method out there for everyone. It's a challenging curriculum, for both teacher and student. Maybe a mom with a large family (or even a mom with a not so large family but many obligations) can't commit to the classical method. Should she ditch homeschooling alltogether because she can't do classical? Are the only two options classical or public school? Textbooks may be a better option for her while allowing her to keep homeschooling. She may never even consider WTM or the classical method because textbooks allow her to successfully get the job done.

 

I've also read somewhere (I don't remember where) that homeschoolers consistently outscore public and private schooled kids, no matter what curriculum they use. So I don't think the classical method is necessarily the best, but it's one of several options available. We have the luxury of choosing the option that works best for us.

 

I think sometimes we (myself included) get so caught up in a certain curriculum or trend that we start to believe that EVERYBODY should be doing it, and if they don't do it they're lazy, undisciplined, etc... If I've learned anything from this board, it's that there are a whole bunch of different kinds of people out there, and I'd better be real careful if I say that everybody should be doing a certain something.

 

Finally, I think we in our homeschooling world sometimes forget there's a whole other world of non-homeschoolers. I'm not surprised that a non-homeschooler hasn't read (or is even aware of) the Well-Trained Mind, even if their kids go to a school that teaches in the classical method. (But, I would hope that they know that the classical method is.)

 

 

That's all....I'm off before the tomatoes start flying.....:auto:

 

Well put. Im a researcher by nature. I like to read and find out and research and learn so I know about WTM. That said I don't care for it as an approach for my kids, though Im certain my mom and dad would have loved it for me.

In general Im surprised a lot by what people don't know, but Im certain people are often equally surprised at what I don't know.

[Mrs Mungo]

There are lots and lots of people who stick to the big names in boxed curriculum-Abeka, Sonlight, Tapestry of Grace, K12, etc. They don't look any further or deeper.

[lionfamily1999]

I bought TWTM after running a few searches online and finding Peace Hill Press. I read the opening, by Jessie Wise and what she said about her son struck a deep chord with both myself and my husband.

 

It was my first choice, because I could afford the book :) It's stayed my choice, because A. SWB turned out well, B. J Wise's opening could've been written about dh, ds or me, and C. I am one of those people that finds something they like and just stick with it. I'm just not much for change :p

 

I'm not surprised that others (even hsers) haven't heard of it, but I joyfully hand over my written in/dog eared copy. I can't say enough good stuff about what this book has done for my dcs, my dh and myself.

 

I do wonder... how many people get the blank stare and just return it. Iow, when someone says 'The well trained what?' Do people explain (and even tout it, like I do)? Just curious.

[WishboneDawn]

Can I just say that my jaw still drops when I meet homeschoolers who have no idea of what I am talking about when I mention Well Trained Mind or Charlotte Mason? I often feel like a nerd. I knew about Well Trained Mind when my oldest was a kindergartener in public school.

 

To me it's like saying you are major fan of baseball but have never heard of the Yankees.

 

I didn't hear of it until I'd been homeschooling for several years. I never heard of it in unschooling circles. Homeschooling is a delta. We get to it by different streams and it shouldn't be surprising when others who may have arrived at the delta by one stream are unfamiliar with the landmarks along a different one.

 

I mean, everyone here IS familiar with Sandra Dodd, right? :)

[Tangerine]

I didn't hear of it until I'd been homeschooling for several years. I never heard of it in unschooling circles. Homeschooling is a delta. We get to it by different streams and it shouldn't be surprising when others who may have arrived at the delta by one stream are unfamiliar with the landmarks along a different one.

 

I mean, everyone here IS familiar with Sandra Dodd, right? :)

 

I would imagine she's not a frequent visitor here. :D

[patchfire]

Most people here have heard of the Well-Trained Mind. What I find more annoying is the people who have heard of it (but not read it) and assume that they "know" what I am doing with my kids based on what they have heard (which is, at best, secondhand knowledge, and often more like third- or fourth-hand knowledge).

 

Even more interesting are the people who say they are "doing WTM" but haven't read it. :confused:

[nono]

Today, our county library system had a "Homeschool Lunch" to show the kids and parents how to exploit our library system to its fullest. On the display table was TWTM, and the Librarian apologized that it isn't the most recent edition. She's just ordered new ones for all the branches -- which would be 8? I think. So, one 25 yr old Librarian in NJ who's not even a homeschooler has heard of it. :)

 

Oh, and the lunch was pretty darn good too. :D

[newlifemom]

How's this for a flip side. I had been using WTM for 4 years before finding this forum. :o

[Daisy]

I know quite a few homeschoolers who are not familiar with WTM. They tend to be homeschoolers who stick with very traditional boxed curriculum or homeschoolers through the local charter or k12 programs.

[Desert Rat]

I was lucky to be told about WTM right when I started homeschooling. Although the lady who gave it to me was Looney Tunes, I kept the book and the ideas! LOL

 

I have found a few people who consider classical homeschoolers in general and WTM followers specifically to be too rigid and strict. I think it's funny. I'm relatively strict with times and assignments and wanting the best from my sons, but I don't think I'm rigid. It's all in how you use it. The book is just a tool.

[chaik76]

I'm always surprised when homeschoolers haven't heard of it...not because I think every homeschooler should use it, or even have read it...but because I can't imagine going into homeschooling (except if you were pulling children out of school in an emergency) without having done a ton of research. I still read every book on homeschooling I find and probably do about 20 hours of research into programs every week (I wouldn't expect that of most people though). It just amazes me that people don't at least research the major methods out there.

 

A lot of people in my homeschool group have probably never read it, but I think a lot have heard of it (and sometimes in really incorrect ways!). We have a variety of homeschoolers though...everything from Abeka all the way to CM to eclectic, to neo-Classical, to radical unschooler.

[mommyrooch]

I'd never heard of TWTM until some time after we started homeschooling - when I tripped over this board, actually. :)

 

This was me. In fact, I think I had been homeschooling for 3 years before I learned about TWTM. It was also because I tripped over this board.

 

I do however remember how I got here. I was looking for used curriculum to buy and did a search which led me to the for sale section of the board. Much to my surprise after further digging there was soooo much more here than buying and selling curriculum. That was an added perk. ;)

 

I still know of a lot of people that don't know about TWTM. It's really not that uncommon around here.

[kpupg]

I'd never heard of TWTM until some time after we started homeschooling - when I tripped over this board, actually. :)

 

{and for the life of me, I can't remember *how* I ended up here!}

 

:iagree:

 

Me too.

 

And I stay here, not because we're classical, but because this is the most academically oriented board around. I always come here to find academically rigorous resource information. :)

 

Karen

[babysparkler]

It surprises me too...

 

When we were still in the "should we homeschool?" stage dh brought home a new copy of WTM for me after someone in a children's choir he accompanies recommended it to him. It was my very first homeschooling book!

[G5052]

I have two SILs who have never been to a homeschool conference and have used virtually the same curriculum from the beginning through several graduates. One uses A Beka, and one Alpha Omega and neither has any interest in anything else. Neither one knows much at all about neoclassical homeschooling, Latin, Andrew Pudwa, etc. etc. I learned years ago not to discuss much about homeschooling with them because they have their "groove" and I have mine. In fact I actually put our school books away in the basement from the dining room where they're stored when one SIL and BIL visit annually. They feel that we're ruining them by pushing too hard, and I'd rather avoid the whole topic of what we're using.

[Luanne]

... at a classical charter school here in town.

 

 

I think I have pretty much read every post here and I didn't see ANYONE say that EVERYONE should be using The Well-Trained Mind. The OP just thought it was interesting that there are people out there who are homeschooling who haven't even HEARD of the book.

[Caraway]

I mean, everyone here IS familiar with Sandra Dodd, right? :)

 

I am. I think that I have at least a passing knowledge of all of the different hsing methods. I wanted to know all of the different options, their pros and cons, before I started hsing. It does surprise me when hsers don't know one of the big names in hsing. I don't think it is an issue of snobbery....I am just surprised when people have made such a big decision with no research or thought. :001_huh:

[katilac]

Ok, I'm going to probably ruffle some feathers here and say that this thread has a tone of....oh.....superiority or even snobbery.

 

The Well Trained Mind Curriculum (or Classical Education) isn't necessarily the best method out there for everyone. It's a challenging curriculum, for both teacher and student. Maybe a mom with a large family (or even a mom with a not so large family but many obligations) can't commit to the classical method. Should she ditch homeschooling alltogether because she can't do classical? Are the only two options classical or public school? Textbooks may be a better option for her while allowing her to keep homeschooling. She may never even consider WTM or the classical method because textbooks allow her to successfully get the job done.

 

I've also read somewhere (I don't remember where) that homeschoolers consistently outscore public and private schooled kids, no matter what curriculum they use. So I don't think the classical method is necessarily the best, but it's one of several options available. We have the luxury of choosing the option that works best for us.

 

I think sometimes we (myself included) get so caught up in a certain curriculum or trend that we start to believe that EVERYBODY should be doing it, and if they don't do it they're lazy, undisciplined, etc... If I've learned anything from this board, it's that there are a whole bunch of different kinds of people out there, and I'd better be real careful if I say that everybody should be doing a certain something.

 

Finally, I think we in our homeschooling world sometimes forget there's a whole other world of non-homeschoolers. I'm not surprised that a non-homeschooler hasn't read (or is even aware of) the Well-Trained Mind, even if their kids go to a school that teaches in the classical method. (But, I would hope that they know that the classical method is.)

 

 

That's all....I'm off before the tomatoes start flying.....:auto:

 

But nobody's saying everyone should be using it, just that they're surprised that so many hs'ers haven't heard of it. Just because I've heard of the Yankees doesn't mean I root for them, right?

 

It does surprise me when hs'ers of, say, two years or more, don't know about the major 'branches' of hs'ing. I can't imagine directing my kids' education without a bit of research, and it only takes a very tiny bit to hear classical, WTM, Charlotte Mason, unschooling, boxed curricula, etc.

 

//aside// And yes, I do know who Sandra Dodd is!

[Kareni]

I simply cleaned out the local library of all of their homeschooling books and it happened to be in there.

 

That's pretty much how it went for me too. I checked out every single book about homeschooling that my library had, and WTM was, luckily, one of them.

 

Yes, this is how I first stumbled upon the WTM. Of course, in my case it was because I'm a lover of books about children books (i.e., Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook). Some of these books are cataloged by Dewey decimal around 016 and 028, some in education around 372, and some in parenting around 649. Needless to say I found books about homeschooling and read most of those too.

 

... I mean, everyone here IS familiar with Sandra Dodd, right? :)

 

But, of course. See above!

 

So, I had read WTM years before beginning to homeschool and had found this board as well. We began homeschooling in 2003, but I remember reading this board well before Y2K. (I remember too how the board read as though we were in the 1900s when we passed the year 2000.)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[greensummervillian]

I started researching homeschooling when my son was about three years old. I started out with some very general homeschooling books and websites. I learned about Charlotte Mason and living books, and I fell in love with that notion. Then I got a Sonlight curriculum, which I thought looked pretty great.

 

One piece of advice I heard repeatedly in the beginning was to stay far away from WTM because that kind of education is so rigid and joyless. That just made me curious to see what it was all about. I checked the book out from the library. I could see how someone could take this style of education to the extreme, but I could also see the value in doing it her way. I've always thought the hours recommended, at least for elementary ages were too much. I know we've never had to spend an hour per day on math, for example. I know the publishers pushed for it, but I really think the book would be less intimidating without the time schedules included.

[AuntPol]

... at a classical charter school here in town.

 

 

I think I have pretty much read every post here and I didn't see ANYONE say that EVERYONE should be using The Well-Trained Mind. The OP just thought it was interesting that there are people out there who are homeschooling who haven't even HEARD of the book.

 

Thanks for understanding. I definitely don't believe everyone should use it. I am more in the Charlotte Mason Camp myself and use Ambleside (though I do look at WTM recommendations for Latin, Spanish, Math, etc). However, I see WTM as one of the major sources out there so it's hard for me to not see how someone can not have heard of WTM. I do know about John Holt, Sandra Dodd, Robinson Method, Abeka, Bob Jones, Apologia, Saxon, though I use nothing from them.

 

It appears to me that folks who use WTM tend to know more about the options out there and that those who use a prepackaged curriculum seem to have no idea anything else exists.

[calandalsmom]

Thanks for understanding. I definitely don't believe everyone should use it. I am more in the Charlotte Mason Camp myself and use Ambleside (though I do look at WTM recommendations for Latin, Spanish, Math, etc). However, I see WTM as one of the major sources out there so it's hard for me to not see how someone can not have heard of WTM. I do know about John Holt, Sandra Dodd, Robinson Method, Abeka, Bob Jones, Apologia, Saxon, though I use nothing from them.

 

It appears to me that folks who use WTM tend to know more about the options out there and that those who use a prepackaged curriculum seem to have no idea anything else exists.

 

hey, if you are happy why go looking for something else? Im not sure if its really the case or not but I sometimes think all the curriculum hopping I see online is a good argument against research. All the research I enjoy may be doing more hard than good.;)

[chaik76]

hey, if you are happy why go looking for something else? Im not sure if its really the case or not but I sometimes think all the curriculum hopping I see online is a good argument against research. All the research I enjoy may be doing more hard than good.;)

That made me giggle (hard rather than harm). And I can honestly see the point there...I finally made the decision to stick with what we are using in each subject for as long as possible...I still research everything else, though!

[hscherger]

I simply cleaned out the local library of all of their homeschooling books and it happened to be in there. When I found WTM, I found home. It set our course from the beginning.

 

That's kinda how it happened to me, except I found the new 2009 edition on the New Arrivals shelf and "it had me at hello".

[KidsHappen]

The BIGGEST Surprise, I have had, in the 'educational' venue, however, has been folks who have their children enrolled in a private school that teaches a 'classical' curriculum and the parents have :001_huh: NO CLUE :001_huh: what a classical curriculum is...I kid you not.

 

Oh that's easy, just add Latin. :tongue_smilie:

[KidsHappen]

a woman asked me why my kids weren't in school?

 

Homeschooling is so common here that I don't think I have been asked that question in years. Whenever I do talk about homeschooling with someone, they always know someone else who homeschools.