JW Article link and Q about classical hs

[Trivium Academy]

I'm doing a lecture this weekend for a homeschool group about aspects of classical education everyone can do for free in any homeschool and I came across this article that might interest some of you.

 

http://www.homefires.com/articles/classical_reading.asp

 

Also if you were hearing about narrations, copywork, memorization, dictation, art/music appreciation for the first time would you want to hear about different approaches and timelines or just the nitty-gritty how to's? Even though I've done this research for myself, the differences between WTM, VP (D. Wilson), Christine Miller, Memoria Press, Charlotte Mason, Bluedorns is staggering!

 

Sometimes they agree with each other about the hows/whens but I'm finding more often than not, they disagree. Each has justifiable reasons for their logic! Lol. I think I might provide a "resource list" of websites and books for further reading and allow the lecture to be more "how-to" than different approaches and their reasoning...right?

 

Also I'm thinking visual aids, because telling someone about the trivium without seeing it on paper is hard. Showing how narrations, dictations, copywork, art/music appreciation can be done would be better right?

 

This is my first time doing this and already I'm toting a CD player to play classical music during my talk (any composition suggestions?), hand-outs for resources, a flip-chart already prepared for visual aid to help clarify difficult, new terms, The Story of Painting by Sister Wendy Beckett to show how picture study can be done, and a huge ball of nerves! I have 45 minutes...

 

I'll be talking to homeschoolers who aren't online, who use ABeka, Sonlight or MFW exclusively and don't read many "how-to" homeschool books.

 

Okay, thank you for reading my blabbering. Thankfully we have this week off from lessons!

[Karenciavo]

I'm sure you are going to do a fantastic job Jessica.

[Kimber]

I'd keep it short. Use a flipchart with a large outline and have detailed handouts of everything you say. This is how I have done nutrition workshops for our women's retreats. I had an hour, and it was never enough time. I don't think you can adequately cover your passion in 45 minutes, especially if there is a question and answer time during that 45 minutes.

 

I agree about the difference in how and why they use copywork, dictation, and narration. Where I think most people err in that discussion is assuming that what works for one child will work for all. I have an almost 10 year old that just as of today asked for her copywork in print so she could work on her manuscript writing. I have seen tremendous growth in having my dd9 doing copywork. It has been our most consistent means of covering spelling and she is improving by leaps and bounds. I credit a combination of extensive reading and copywork.

 

What I have my dd9.5 do, I do not have my ds8 do. They have different needs. When I hear comments that tell parents not to study grammar in 1st grade or to stop copywork or don't worry about your child not reading yet, I kind of cringe--just a little. I think every child is different. So different that even if someone has taught school for several years they won't have the absolute final say on what will and will not work. There is no one perfect path. But that's just my 1 cent worth.

 

I add all this to say, I'd encourage them to pull whatever resources they need to help their children where they are.

 

Good Luck!

[Verena]

I'm sure you'll do great :D

 

Your passion will transfer, I'm sure :D

 

Yes, visuals and hand-outs are great ideas, maybe even a very boiled-down version of approaches and when's (Bluedorn, Wilson, Mason et al).

 

I would play music only as a welcoming prelude, but not during the talk. It would be distracting to me to listen to someone talk and to music at the same time, lol. How about some baroque music? Vivaldi comes to mind.

 

Tell us how it went next week, okay?

 

Good luck!

[angela in ohio]

In general, I always want to hear how it works in that speaker's family. I can read books to find out the theory, so I want to find out just how the speaker implements it, what benefits they have seen as their dc have grown, if they've changed methods over the years and why, etc.

 

In this specific instance, though, I would give them a general idea of how each works, and then tell them that it is an aggregate, but that they can find variations within ________ (list several of the resources you consulted.)

 

When I do reading comprehension talks, I provide them with a list of resources that they can consult (including anyone I quoted in the talk,) so that they can look at them later. I also give them an outline of what I am saying, with room to take notes on it.

[Colleen in NS]

Jessica, no advice about your lecture (have fun, though!), but wow, thanks for sharing that article. It is really helpful to me, to see how some of the WTM suggestions are played out in real life, and why.

[mcconnellboys]

Third time's the charm, so maybe my post will finally work this time.... Why can't I post to you, Jessica?

 

I scanned the article as I've read most of the things mentioned. I had to laugh that the point seemed to be to promote Ayn Rand as the be-all, end-all of educational thought. While I feel certain some would like to accuse we homeschoolers of subscribing to Rand's views in our withdrawal from the "grand experiment" of progressive education, I don't really think too many of us can go the distance with many of her thought processes.....

 

I absolutely believe that WTM promotes a whole to parts, macrocosm to microcosm sort of educational experience. We didn't study the details of ancient Greek philosophical thought nor of myth analysis during grammar stage. We introduced the larger, more general subjects and read for love and fun. We progressed to more in-depth readings during logic stage, as well as trying to answer the questions that tend to come up with children at that age. But the sort of minute analysis that constitutes a rhetoric level study was left for that stage of the game.

 

Likewise, we read about animals and their environments and raised live critters in grammar stage. We got more in depth with classification and study of more minute life forms, etc. during logic stage. Now, in rhetoric stage, my older son is studying biochem and evolution to the microscopic level. I can't imagine (because the author seems to provide not a single example) how Rand's breakdown of appropriate educational processes could possibly differ that greatly from what we already do!

 

She seems to have done a great job of providing the negatives for her essay, but seems to have totally left out the supporting evidence that would demonstrate how and why, specifically, Rand is the model we should serve....

 

Regena

[mcconnellboys]

And of course, when I finally managed to get that posted, it's in the wrong place, oy......

 

I'm sure you will do a great job with your talk. I usually try to take as many examples of curriculum as possible and set up tables of those so folks can actually get their hands on books to see what they like and don't like (because that's what *I* need in order to make a decision about a book, LOL....)

 

I think it is a good idea to provide outlines of how-to's rather than dwelling too much on reasoning for different approaches, as those will vary almost infinitely....

 

Have fun!

 

Regena