An update from Drew Campbell, author of Latin-Centered Curriculum!

[Halcyon]

I received permission from Drew to post this to the group. I know there has been a recent resurgence of interest in LCC, and I know some people (myself included) were under the impression that Drew is no longer homeschooling. Anyway, this email should clarify what he's up to for those of you who are interested :)

 

______________________________

From Drew:

 

I am indeed homeschooling again. In 2008-2009 I taught at a classical high school and also in a cottage school where my daughter was a student. In 2009-2010 the high school expanded into a full PreK-12 school, which my daughter attended and where I served as Academic Dean and taught Latin and humanities. At the beginning of this school year my daughter and I came back home. The commute to the school was 1.5 hours each way, and it was just too much. The school - New England Classical Academy in Claremont, New Hampshire - is still going strong, and so are we. :)

 

I am currently writing up the elementary Latin curriculum that I had developed at the cottage school and then expanded at NECA. I hope to have it on the market this Spring!

 

I know you'll get a lot of insight and encouragement from others on this list who've been using LCC since the first edition came out. Some were using a similar style of education well before that, too.

 

For my part, I can say that the important thing is to remember that Rome was not built in a day. It takes many years for a student to get from amo, amas, amat to reading Virgil! The same is true for the other core LCC subjects: they are all cumulative, and progress from month to month or even year to year can seem slow. But over time, students who have had a good foundation can achieve amazing things. I'm glad XXX posted, since she is one of the parents who has been using a lot of LCC all along. As she noted, it's not all or nothing - some families do other things for history or science or what have you - but if you stick with Latin and really good books for Literature and free reading, you'll be amazed at what kids can do in high school.

 

For example, NECA's high school curriculum, which I designed, is very similar to what you see for high school in LCC2. About half of the high school students I taught had been classically educated all along, some at home and some at other schools; the rest had attended a parochial grammar school. In the first year, those who had had a more mainstream education struggled a bit, but by the second year they were doing very well. We were even able to introduce Koine Greek using a conversational curriculum (Polis by Christophe Rico), and the kids took to it beautifully.

 

What's important to understand here is that few of the teachers at NECA had previous experience teaching classical languages, logic, or rhetoric. Several of the teachers were fresh out of college with little if any classroom experience. Two of them had been homeschooled, and one had attended a classical school for one year before college. None had a degree in Latin or classics or anything of the sort.

 

What they did (and do) have is a great drive to help students engage with ideas. All of the Latin grammar and math work and composition exercises pay off when a 14- or 15-year-old student can sit down with a "Great Book" and discuss it with her peers - and that's exactly what our students were able to do. I've seen the same thing with homeschooled students that I tutored in Latin, literature, and composition.

 

I truly believe that teachers who stick with their students and model for them the excitement and joy of learning have at least as much influence as any particular curriculum. And if anyone if capable of that dedication, it's homeschooling parents. After all, who loves our children more or wants more desperately for them to be happy and successful, intellectually and otherwise?

 

 

Best,

Drew

[Snickerdoodle]

That's great. I was wondering about him and his family.

[Jumping In Puddles]

I received permission from Drew to post this to the group. I know there has been a recent resurgence of interest in LCC, and I know some people (myself included) were under the impression that Drew is no longer homeschooling. Anyway, this email should clarify what he's up to for those of you who are interested :)

 

 

Thanks for the update, but why doesn't Drew post here for himself?

[elizabeth]

Thank you for sharing this information. I certainly missed reading Plaid Dad posts and hope he will pop in periodically to say hello. :seeya: A gentleman and a scholar who presence here is genuinely missed.

[Jen in PA]

Thanks for posting this!

[Halcyon]

Thanks for the update, but why doesn't Drew post here for himself?

 

He said he's really busy writing his book, and doesn't want to get distracted. I could take a lesson from him LOL!

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

Thanks for sharing. This was encouraging to me.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Thank you for sharing this information. I certainly missed reading Plaid Dad posts and hope he will pop in periodically to say hello. :seeya: A gentleman and a scholar who presence here is genuinely missed.

 

:iagree:

[Poke Salad Annie]

Thank you very much for sharing. I found his words very reassuring and encouraging.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Poke Salad Annie

[my2boysteacher]

Thank you for sharing this information. I certainly missed reading Plaid Dad posts and hope he will pop in periodically to say hello. :seeya: A gentleman and a scholar who presence here is genuinely missed.

 

Drew is 'Plaid Dad'? :eek: How did I miss that?

[justamouse]

How awesome for him!

[Zoo Keeper]

Good to hear from him; he has been missed.:)

[abrightmom]

Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed reading both editions of LCC. We are not LCC'ers but I was inspired by him nonetheless. :001_smile:

[Jane in NC]

Bumping this for people who may have missed the post.

[MyFourSons]

Thanks for posting, this is very encouraging!