Spin-off on hierarchy of learning thread re: rhetoric stage curric

[squirtymomma]

I'm glad the hierarchy of learning/teacher interaction thread got resurrected. I have long had the same thoughts. I've also recently seen some threads about Sonlight's high school curric and how it does not do a good job of going beyond comprehension and up into the higher levels of understanding.

 

To those for whom this is a priority, is there a rhetoric (or even dialectic) level curriculum that really aids you, the parent, in having those discussions with your kids? It seems, from what I've heard, that TOG does. For those who use TOG: do you find that the curriculum helps you to pull those ideas out of the reading and gives you questions that go beyond comprehension into the higher levels of learning? Do you find that it gives a broad perspective that allows for wrestling with the ideas, or that it assumes more simplistic answers? I know that no curriculum takes the place of the engaged teacher/tutor, but I'm wondering if a curric like TOG can be a real help in this area. OR, if you really want to give your high schoolers that kind of education, you might as well do it yourself ala WTM.

 

Has anyone found the rhetoric level of TOG useful for giving yourself that kind of education?

[angela in ohio]

To those for whom this is a priority, is there a rhetoric (or even dialectic) level curriculum that really aids you, the parent, in having those discussions with your kids?

 

I have found that equipping myself is the best bet: Teaching the Classics, How to Read a Book, Starting Points, a solid foundation of logic, etc., etc.

[Mom22ns]

:bigear:

[G5052]

To those for whom this is a priority, is there a rhetoric (or even dialectic) level curriculum that really aids you, the parent, in having those discussions with your kids?

 

I have found that equipping myself is the best bet: Teaching the Classics, How to Read a Book, Starting Points, a solid foundation of logic, etc., etc.

 

TOG is good, but there's no substitute for actually reading the book yourself and being prepared to discuss it yourself with your children. Yes, that's a sacrifice. I have two part-time jobs and a disabled husband, but I'm making the time to up my rhetoric-level skills and study Latin because I believe that's part of upper-level homeschooling.

 

YMMV...