Am I the only one scared to venture into "the" thread?

[melissel]

I have to admit....I love it. I don't get all of it, but it's come at just the right time for me and for our homeschool. I have ordered a few books off the thread I started, and got many for free for my kindle (yay free!) I have been listening to a lot of the podcasts while in the tub at night, and just allowing my mind to wander, thinking about the ramifications of what I am hearing and reading. Alte Veste Academy _was_ right when she says that coming in to th thread with a strong grounding in homeschooling and its various approaches is probably quite important. I need to breathe right now, enjoy, not keep pushing curricula at my kids.....for the moment. We just need to find our joy again, and so the thread really spoke to me. Keep in mind, I am a fairly confident homeschooler and my guess is that if one is floundering, or unsure, or new to hsing it may not be the right thread to read.

 

Halcyon, it's so funny, I think you and I are tracking together in our homeschool journey. I often find that when I come here, you've just posted the very question I was wanting to ask or are struggling with an issue that's been driving me nuts. This year I finally felt like I found the perfect mix of curricula for my DD9, only to find that it's sucked the life out of...well, our lives! Someone in "the" thread said that they feel like their current schooling is dry bones and they're just covering ground. I feel exactly the same way and had no idea what to do about it. It sounds like you do too, I think.

[melissel]

I voted "What thread?" Now I know......Wow!

 

:lol:

[8circles]

I have actually loved the thread. It brought me back to where we were when we started hs and lost our way a bit in the box-checking.

 

But I also agree that there's a lot of ... fluff. I kind-of feel like the same thing is being repeated as if its something new but its really not. But im not one for waxing poetic so I think that part either speaks to you or it doesn't. There are definitely some gems in that thread for me though. I love Kern and wish I had more time to listen to the talks.

[Carol in Cal.]

People were being bogged down focusing on checking the next box and putting so much emphasis on history and historical fiction that they no longer had time to just read good books and discuss them with their children.

 

 

 

 

I think that this is the hardest thing about a history based curriculum or homeschool focus. It is so easy to miss so many awesome books, starting at the very youngest ages, if you limit yourself to the ones in one curriculum or in a history-coordinated approach to literature selection. It's really important to stop and think about what you're doing every so often, and be willing to adjust. Early homeschoolers did not have all the curricula that we do, and there were actually some benefits to that. I really enjoyed using the logic stage literature approaches, for instance, and applying them to completely different books than those appropriate to our studies of history; although we used a ton of historically coordinated books as well. I had to force myself to do this starting with SOTW1 in 2nd grade, and am glad that I did.

[JudoMom]

It's not you, it was muddled by design, a faux poll, so to speak. :tongue_smilie:

 

(Shoot, I just realized that won't work with the wrong accent.)

 

It worked well enough in the accent I gave it ;).

[Ummto4]

Precisely! :lol:

 

 

 

:lol: I understood it all. I just kept reading (and reading, and reading...) hoping someone would answer the OP in a concrete way. I wasn't reading to discover the one and only recipe for the perfect classical homeschool but a bit more discussion of practical application would have been nice.

 

 

Make a S/O thread then ....:001_smile:

[elegantlion]

It's not you, it was muddled by design, a faux poll, so to speak. :tongue_smilie:

 

(Shoot, I just realized that won't work with the wrong accent.)

 

:lol::lol:

 

 

I read the whole thing this morning. Dh was at work, ds was sleeping. It was 42 pages at that point, the number of the answer to life?! Or is it Numberwang? :tongue_smilie:

 

I don't know, I think it's good that people are discussing the deeper reasons to homeschool and educate. I wish I had a few more of those wow moments when ds was younger, but it's not entirely the tree we're climbing.

[amselby81]

I started to read it, but I don't know who the Kern guy is, and I don't know what Circe is, so I'm not at all interested in that thread. Should I be?

[SunnyDays]

I'm not trying to give my kids a perfect classical education.

 

I'm not a philosophical intellectual. I'm a geek.

 

We're kindred spirits in this matter... love your post but these two points really resonate with me. We're geeks here. We love our computers and technology, we love math. But I call us equal opportunity geeks, because we also love history, politics, and lots of other things. I'm a bit of a grammar geek myself, LOL. :D (My husband is the engineer in our family... my background is in business.)

 

It's SO important to read, learn, and be curious. I have read some books on educational philosophy, but when it comes down to it, none of them fit that well. We're in that ever-popular eclectic category.

 

I love this board because I want to hang out with others who love to educate their kids and who see education as very important. You have such great insights on different curricula, what might work for a particular situation, etc. I stay because I love sharing the journey with all of you, and because I want to give my child a great education, using whatever methods and materials work the best for us as a family. That's all. :)

[mommymilkies]

Ok, I gave in and started reading the thread, and I had to laugh because I just this month switched over to Sonlight, and there is all this talk about how historical fiction is not as good as great literature, etc, etc. Well, my son prefers historical fiction, so I'll just do what works for us. :D

 

I'm not trying to give my kids a perfect classical education. I'm not equipped to do that (and let me tell you, great books scare me, because I hated a lot of the ones I had to read in high school :tongue_smilie:). I'm not a philosophical intellectual. I'm a geek. I'm raising 3 geeks. I'm happy to read some really good books, even if they are historical fiction, and leave it at that. Frankly, when people start talking educational philosophies, they just completely lose me. I have no clue what they're saying. So I know I couldn't teach using whatever philosophy they're talking about, as I can't even understand THEM. :lol:

 

But again, I'm an engineer, raising what could be little engineers (though they'll be equipped to go into whatever field they chose), so I'm ok with not teaching that way. :) I provide my kids with lots of good books, read them good books (though not as many as I'd like... in a couple years, it wll probably be much more, but we're improving... last year, I wouldn't have been able to do Sonlight, and this year it's easy peasy to fit it in). I also give them a lot of time to "go adventuring" (as they call it) on our 10 acres. The education I'm giving them is much better than what it would be if I tried to do what people are talking about in that thread. I'm not well-read enough to do it. I would be short-changing my kids if I tried. And I'm ok with that. It's like when Hunter (IIRC) says the best curriculum is the one that gets used.

:lol: I think I am in the same boat. I sure like the idea of my kids being surrounded by truth and beauty and a perfect classical/CM upbringing. But I'm also totally ok with my kids' current fascination with Dr. Who and historical fiction. We also just switched to Sonlight.

 

I do like the conversation over there. But I just feel stupid reading it because I feel like I'm missing part of the conversation.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I'm still trying to figure out just exactly what people are doing to give their kids a truly rigorous education! No one can ever quite put their finger on it :lol:

 

This is almost exactly the impression I had of the thread. :lol:

 

Make a S/O thread then

 

As it happens, we are in a really good place with our schooling right now so I am not personally on a quest for this info or any kind of change. I read the thread because, generally speaking, I have learned more about homeschooling through casually reading the myriad viewpoints and advice on this board than from all the books and articles I have read. All that to say that I don't have any desire to start a new thread and then do all the thread-sitting I feel is required as an OP...but if someone else wants to start one, I will pull up a chair, pour a glass of iced tea and read it happily, taking notes when inspired to do so.

[Halcyon]

Halcyon, it's so funny, I think you and I are tracking together in our homeschool journey. I often find that when I come here, you've just posted the very question I was wanting to ask or are struggling with an issue that's been driving me nuts. This year I finally felt like I found the perfect mix of curricula for my DD9, only to find that it's sucked the life out of...well, our lives! Someone in "the" thread said that they feel like their current schooling is dry bones and they're just covering ground. I feel exactly the same way and had no idea what to do about it. It sounds like you do too, I think.

 

Ha! To be honest, I do like much of what we're using, curriculum -wise. I love henle, as does ds. I love math mammoth, WWS, wwe, our low key spelling approach and kiss grammar has rocked our homeschool this year(in a good way) but I was still feeling like some deeper, overarching meaning to our school was missing. what exactly was I trying to achieve here, and was I going about it the right way? While I like our curriculum choices, am I focusing enough on the development of a beautiful, virtuous, humble child? Do I expose them to enough beautiful things: poetry, classics, art, music? No, I do not. So I will begin.

[nmoira]

I read the whole thing this morning. Dh was at work, ds was sleeping. It was 42 pages at that point, the number of the answer to life?! Or is it Numberwang? :tongue_smilie:

Ooooh sorry, but that's not Numberwang.

 

Have a practice round.

[Stellalarella]

Ok. I'm in. This thread made me finally want to read that thread. :001_smile:

 

I'm unable to get Analytical Learning to download, though. I think all of you must be downloading it.......:001_smile:

[anneofalamo]

I read a few pages and then got more confused and felt dumber and dumber and for sure I was raising my kids incorrectly and they were destined to flip hamburgers for life. I could feel my inadequacies growing.

I shook myself and said, enough, skimmed thru a few more pages and exited to come here in hopes I am not an idiot.

I teach my kids because the PS didn't.

We laugh, learn and sometimes we don't do anything but laugh.

I'm learning!

[Bang!Zoom!]

Ok. I'm in. This thread made me finally want to read that thread. :001_smile:

 

I'm unable to get Analytical Learning to download, though. I think all of you must be downloading it.......:001_smile:

 

[ChandlerMom]

An engineer's musings....(subtitled: if "that thread" didn't speak to you, you're not alone nor are you somehow classically inept)

 

This poll made me go skim thru it, and then I came back and read this thread. Got a big chuckle at all the engineer head scratching, 'cause when I perused "the thread" I kept thinking, "this is *so* nonsensical to an engineer!" :lol:

 

Mind you, I don't mean that in a derogatory way (really), but in the sense of being unintelligible, that with an engineer's training we can not make full sense of the discussion. I can't totally pin it down, but I think it is partly because the conversation gets into this pseudo-logical rationalization of FEELING which makes any engineer uncomfortable, PLUS I think engineers are trained to start by considering the design criteria (Why am I doing this? What do I hope to achieve?) and ALWAYS using that as a touchstone in your design and execution. Yearly, monthly, daily I am asking myself whether what I am doing aligns with my objective criteria for homeschooling. If it doesn't, I adapt. But this process or constant evaluation is devoid of emotion -- it's a logical thing and all those fuzzy emotional words that fill that thread just makes my head hurt! :lol: It's like trying to drive through a snowstorm! [Here I'm mocking myself.]

 

However, what for me obscures for others may enlighten or inspire, and that has great value. It's value for me is to clarify why I don't need to read that thread and why I don' feel the need to worry. Maybe there should be a special warning against engineers reading it (or advice to first locate a translator). ;) :lol:

Edited March 26, 2012 by ChandlerMom

[elegantlion]

:lol: I think I am in the same boat. I sure like the idea of my kids being surrounded by truth and beauty and a perfect classical/CM upbringing. But I'm also totally ok with my kids' current fascination with Dr. Who and historical fiction. We also just switched to Sonlight.

 

I do like the conversation over there. But I just feel stupid reading it because I feel like I'm missing part of the conversation.

 

Dr. Who, not beautiful or true?! :svengo: Dareth not to utter those words! I claim sooth on all things geeky.

 

I did relate to some of that thread, I just think I have a different idea of truth & beauty & wisdom.

 

Last week ds and I got to the part in LotR where Frodo and Sam encounter Faramir, clad in green, in the woods. We were cracking up because it reminded us of Robin Hood. The day before we had cracked up reading Beowulf because it mentions Beowulf and his band of men, which reminded us of Robin Hood. We read the Pyle version of Robin Hood a few years ago and have been having fun discussing stout cudgels ever since. It was a connection last week. It was fun.

 

It was fun last year when we rewrote Shakespearean sonnets in a Dirty Jobs version and a redneck version. Those were beautiful moments, felt very classical to me, in a geeky modern sort of way.

 

One week our memory work was the lyrics to "So long and thanks for all the fish". We do that kind of stuff and Latin. Our discussion of Beowulf turned to modern superheros and their strengths. I have no doubt ds is making connections in this literature, but I may be raising a future Monty Python member. Humor is a part of being creative, but it's not funny if you don't understand the joke. Classical education can be very entertaining, in that geeky cultured way. Classical humor is beautiful. :D

 

Ooooh sorry, but that's not Numberwang.

 

Have a practice round.

 

4, that was Numberwang, and I now have 38 points.

[birchbark]

I wasn't reading to discover the one and only recipe for the perfect classical homeschool but a bit more discussion of practical application would have been nice.

 

I asked for some more concrete ideas in this thread.

[i.love.lucy]

Dr. Who, not beautiful or true?! :svengo: Dareth not to utter those words! I claim sooth on all things geeky.

 

I did relate to some of that thread, I just think I have a different idea of truth & beauty & wisdom.

 

Last week ds and I got to the part in LotR where Frodo and Sam encounter Faramir, clad in green, in the woods. We were cracking up because it reminded us of Robin Hood. The day before we had cracked up reading Beowulf because it mentions Beowulf and his band of men, which reminded us of Robin Hood. We read the Pyle version of Robin Hood a few years ago and have been having fun discussing stout cudgels ever since. It was a connection last week. It was fun.

 

It was fun last year when we rewrote Shakespearean sonnets in a Dirty Jobs version and a redneck version. Those were beautiful moments, felt very classical to me, in a geeky modern sort of way.

 

One week our memory work was the lyrics to "So long and thanks for all the fish". We do that kind of stuff and Latin. Our discussion of Beowulf turned to modern superheros and their strengths. I have no doubt ds is making connections in this literature, but I may be raising a future Monty Python member. Humor is a part of being creative, but it's not funny if you don't understand the joke. Classical education can be very entertaining, in that geeky cultured way. Classical humor is beautiful. :D

 

 

 

4, that was Numberwang, and I now have 38 points.

I think humor is a very beautiful, truthful, wonderful thing. I don't see how those connections aren't fitting in with the thread.

 

For me the thread has been great simply because I am not an engineer so this is my kinda smart talkin'. ;) Philosophy, beauty, truth, literature, etc. I began this week to make our read aloud of a great book a priority in our homeschool instead of a "get to it today if we can" thing. My kids have been begging for more and it's rejuvenated us in the midst of our March doldrums.

 

You all find beauty in math. I do not. That's okay too! There have been some mega threads on the beauty and truth in math that completely lose me by post 3 or so. :lol:

[CanaryMelody]

Maybe there should be a special warning against engineers reading it (or advice to first locate a translator). ;) :lol:

 

I'm married to an engineer. He is lost and confused wondering why this crazy woman is carrying on the last few days about some thread on truth, beauty, and wisdom. He said tonight that he better read the thread so he could understand what I am talking about. I don't think he realizes just what he is saying. :lol:

[Shawna in Texas]

I've very nearly clicked the last page several times, but I was strong.

 

I'm sort of in a zone right now. I've got booklists and plans all set up for next year. I can't let anything mess those up right now. I can't have any doubts. I have to remain strong.

[NASDAQ]

It all seems very fluffy to me. Vision-y talk makes my eyes glaze over.

[sewingmama]

I read about 10 pages before I got totally lost and gave up LOL. There were some great ideas though and I really like the idea of less history reading and more classics reading.

 

It's a worthwhile thread to pick through if you get the time.

[Iucounu]

I read the thread, and was reminded a bit of the minivan scene from the movie "Go". I came away with nothing of value.

[mom31257]

I thought you might be referring to the "Filing" thread of the past.

[Mommyfaithe]

An engineer's musings....(subtitled: if "that thread" didn't speak to you, you're not alone nor are you somehow classically inept)

 

This poll made me go skim thru it, and then I came back and read this thread. Got a big chuckle at all the engineer head scratching, 'cause when I perused "the thread" I kept thinking, "this is *so* nonsensical to an engineer!" :lol:

 

Mind you, I don't mean that in a derogatory way (really), but in the sense of being unintelligible, that with an engineer's training we can not make full sense of the discussion. I can't totally pin it down, but I think it is partly because the conversation gets into this pseudo-logical rationalization of FEELING which makes any engineer uncomfortable, PLUS I think engineers are trained to start by considering the design criteria (Why am I doing this? What do I hope to achieve?) and ALWAYS using that as a touchstone in your design and execution. Yearly, monthly, daily I am asking myself whether what I am doing aligns with my objective criteria for homeschooling. If it doesn't, I adapt. But this process or constant evaluation is devoid of emotion -- it's a logical thing and all those fuzzy emotional words that fill that thread just makes my head hurt! :lol: It's like trying to drive through a snowstorm! [Here I'm mocking myself.]

 

However, what for me obscures for others may enlighten or inspire, and that has great value. It's value for me is to clarify why I don't need to read that thread and why I don' feel the need to worry. Maybe there should be a special warning against engineers reading it (or advice to first locate a translator). ;) :lol:

 

I guess it is sort of like those conceptual math threads:confused: lol.

 

Those threads make my head spin and cause my flesh to break out in hives because I really want my kids to have both a deep humanities education AND strong math understanding....

 

Those threads, back when Adrian was posting, threw me into a tailspin EVERY time....

 

I do think there should be a practical nuts and bolts thread on BOTH sides of this equation.....because I do not think Liberal Arts and STEM subjects should be mutually exclusive.

[woolybear]

I asked for some more concrete ideas in this thread.

I love a lot of those ideas in that thread. Actually, it's pretty much how we already do things. What I don't get here is the ideas in that thread don't really seem to connect to the lecture I listened to by Andrew Kern. Maybe I missed something?

[Meriwether]

I enjoyed the other thread until proponents for truth and beauty slammed some programs I use.:thumbdown: But they did it so beautifully.:glare: Call me petty, but it bothered me. We read a ton of historical fiction. We also read literature. In her last week of school, Dd read Big John's Secret, a Landmark book about the Crusades, and over half of If All the Swords In England. She'll probably finish it today and start The Magna Carta. She has recently finished The Hobbit and is working her way through LOTR trilogy. This works for us. I am not going to change what we do because of a thread, even a thought provoking one.

[stripe]

I think humor is a very beautiful, truthful, wonderful thing. I don't see how those connections aren't fitting in with the thread.

I have been dressed down by some people (not here!) for thinking humor is appropriate for young children. Apparently one must be very serious.

[mommymilkies]

Dr. Who, not beautiful or true?! :svengo: Dareth not to utter those words! I claim sooth on all things geeky.

 

I did relate to some of that thread, I just think I have a different idea of truth & beauty & wisdom.

 

Last week ds and I got to the part in LotR where Frodo and Sam encounter Faramir, clad in green, in the woods. We were cracking up because it reminded us of Robin Hood. The day before we had cracked up reading Beowulf because it mentions Beowulf and his band of men, which reminded us of Robin Hood. We read the Pyle version of Robin Hood a few years ago and have been having fun discussing stout cudgels ever since. It was a connection last week. It was fun.

 

It was fun last year when we rewrote Shakespearean sonnets in a Dirty Jobs version and a redneck version. Those were beautiful moments, felt very classical to me, in a geeky modern sort of way.

 

One week our memory work was the lyrics to "So long and thanks for all the fish". We do that kind of stuff and Latin. Our discussion of Beowulf turned to modern superheros and their strengths. I have no doubt ds is making connections in this literature, but I may be raising a future Monty Python member. Humor is a part of being creative, but it's not funny if you don't understand the joke. Classical education can be very entertaining, in that geeky cultured way. Classical humor is beautiful. :D

 

 

 

4, that was Numberwang, and I now have 38 points.

 

I think I'm in love with you. :lol:

[EMS83]

Ohhhhh. That thread. Too long, didn't read. I agree, OP had great and valid questions, though.

[momtoamiracle]

I read some of it. Some great things but most of it was over my head and didn't make a bit of sense.

 

 

The guy everyone is crazy about, can't remember his name, made the most sense to me.

[momtoamiracle]

I enjoyed the other thread until proponents for truth and beauty slammed some programs I use.:thumbdown: But they did it so beautifully.:glare: Call me petty, but it bothered me. We read a ton of historical fiction. We also read literature. In her last week of school, Dd read Big John's Secret, a Landmark book about the Crusades, and over half of If All the Swords In England. She'll probably finish it today and start The Magna Carta. She has recently finished The Hobbit and is working her way through LOTR trilogy. This works for us. I am not going to change what we do because of a thread, even a thought provoking one.

j

 

 

that bothered me too. I dont' see anything wrong with historical fiction. I have learned tons over my lifetime of reading it. It also prompts me to go digging into biographical info to see what exactly was true. History can be pretty dry so when it's brought to life by a good author I appreciate it greatly. Those are my favorite books.

 

I actually find many of the classics to be boring, pedantic, and depressing.

 

 

I will keep reading my HF and encourage my son to read it.

[momtoamiracle]

I read a few pages and then got more confused and felt dumber and dumber and for sure I was raising my kids incorrectly and they were destined to flip hamburgers for life. I could feel my inadequacies growing.

I shook myself and said, enough, skimmed thru a few more pages and exited to come here in hopes I am not an idiot.

I teach my kids because the PS didn't.

We laugh, learn and sometimes we don't do anything but laugh.

I'm learning!

 

 

 

Love it!!

[Alte Veste Academy]

I love a lot of those ideas in that thread. Actually, it's pretty much how we already do things. What I don't get here is the ideas in that thread don't really seem to connect to the lecture I listened to by Andrew Kern. Maybe I missed something?

 

You make a good point. I think the revelations of that thread don't work as revelations if you're already educating that way. We're up to our ears in good books over here. They've never taken a leave of absence at our house so a call to focus on them was missed on me. Maybe that's why I wanted more. Because I was already doing that. And, yes, I think those who are CM and really walking the walk of her philosophy on a daily basis don't need that reminder so much as those who wanted to be and then lost their way.

 

I have been dressed down by some people (not here!) for thinking humor is appropriate for young children. Apparently one must be very serious.

 

So sad. I did feel like that thread was excruciatingly serious. :lol:

 

I personally couldn't care less about an exact definition of classical and if I'm doing it right. I want "Renaissance" children anyway (and by that I mean children who are simply well-rounded; I'm not seeking to measure the children by the philosophical definition of a true Renaissance education). :tongue_smilie: I want kids who can go from reading The Chronicles of Narnia to Calvin and Hobbes, kids who are as keen to go to a Shakespeare play as to see Spiderman at the theatre. (This seems like a good place to brag about the time my kids chose to go to the symphony instead of a party at Chuck E. Cheese that we were invited to for the same afternoon. :D) I want kids who happily eat asparagus and enjoy a treat of cotton candy at the fair. I want balance for my kids.

 

I think it was Janice in NJ who talked about providing an education that consists of opening as many doors as possible. Sometimes you can spend years in a room, but some rooms will only be visited for minutes. The point, at least to me, is to let the children get a glimpse of as many rooms as possible. Locking the door to the rumpus room and only choosing to visit the fancy rooms sounds depressing. And I wonder how much it will backfire on some people.

[sagira]

I read about 10 pages before I got totally lost and gave up LOL. There were some great ideas though and I really like the idea of less history reading and more classics reading..

 

This is a conclusion I have recently come to all by myself. Do I feel smart :D

[Stellalarella]

 

:001_smile::001_smile::001_smile::001_smile: This helpful hint just gave me the biggest smile. Thank you!

[momma2three]

It all seems very fluffy to me. Vision-y talk makes my eyes glaze over.

 

:iagree:

 

I skimmed it, and didn't find it particularly interesting. The guy's responses are sort of giving me the creeps in all the threads, though. It all sounds very noble, but impractical and there doesn't seem to be many specifics. It's kind of reminding me of the Thomas Jefferson Education guy, which I admit I've only read about on here. Noble ideas that sound amazing and beautiful, but when people are asking for details they just get more noble ideas...

 

Mainly, I feel like I'm obviously missing something, since everyone else sees something concrete there and I don't. I do admit I've only skimmed all the threads, and I haven't listened to the lectures.

[simka2]

:iagree:

 

I skimmed it, and didn't find it particularly interesting. The guy's responses are sort of giving me the creeps in all the threads, though. It all sounds very noble, but impractical and there doesn't seem to be many specifics. It's kind of reminding me of the Thomas Jefferson Education guy, which I admit I've only read about on here. Noble ideas that sound amazing and beautiful, but when people are asking for details they just get more noble ideas...

 

Mainly, I feel like I'm obviously missing something, since everyone else sees something concrete there and I don't. I do admit I've only skimmed all the threads, and I haven't listened to the lectures.

 

I think this is the point. ;) We are not seeing something concrete. We are revealing in the fact that it is not concrete. ;)

[ElizaG]

But I also agree that there's a lot of ... fluff. I kind-of feel like the same thing is being repeated as if its something new but its really not.

 

I think the thread is largely about spiritual matters -- both in making virtue the focus of our teaching, and in trusting and accepting that this is not all up to us. So it's sort of like a tent revival. ;) Everyone's testimony is different and personal, but they do start to sound similar after a while.

 

I. just. could. not. finish.

 

At the same time, I am very happy for people to whom that thread "spoke" in ways it did not "speak" to me.

Something you might appreciate is that Americans no longer have a living, oral tradition of classical education, as you've experienced it. We do, though, have a tradition of "Great Books" in the vernacular (spun off in the 1920's at Columbia), which is about as close as we're going to get right now. We can't restore an entire educational heritage from centuries-old books, nor can we adopt a system from another present-day culture.

 

Circe is giving us models of how we can teach from this tradition at a "junior" level in our own homes. Really teach -- in a way you likely take for granted -- not just implement other people's methods, in a way that turns homeschooling into yet another fairly mindless household chore. And it's something that we can actually do, right now, with just ourselves and the things we have on hand.

 

At the same time, their members are working toward restoring the traditional classical subjects. It's a very heartening combination.

[woolybear]

You make a good point. I think the revelations of that thread don't work as revelations if you're already educating that way. We're up to our ears in good books over here. They've never taken a leave of absence at our house so a call to focus on them was missed on me. Maybe that's why I wanted more. Because I was already doing that. And, yes, I think those who are CM and really walking the walk of her philosophy on a daily basis don't need that reminder so much as those who wanted to be and then lost their way.

 

 

 

So sad. I did feel like that thread was excruciatingly serious. :lol:

 

I personally couldn't care less about an exact definition of classical and if I'm doing it right. I want "Renaissance" children anyway (and by that I mean children who are simply well-rounded; I'm not seeking to measure the children by the philosophical definition of a true Renaissance education). :tongue_smilie: I want kids who can go from reading The Chronicles of Narnia to Calvin and Hobbes, kids who are as keen to go to a Shakespeare play as to see Spiderman at the theatre. (This seems like a good place to brag about the time my kids chose to go to the symphony instead of a party at Chuck E. Cheese that we were invited to for the same afternoon. :D) I want kids who happily eat asparagus and enjoy a treat of cotton candy at the fair. I want balance for my kids.

 

I think it was Janice in NJ who talked about providing an education that consists of opening as many doors as possible. Sometimes you can spend years in a room, but some rooms will only be visited for minutes. The point, at least to me, is to let the children get a glimpse of as many rooms as possible. Locking the door to the rumpus room and only choosing to visit the fancy rooms sounds depressing. And I wonder how much it will backfire on some people.

Great points. Let the rumpus begin! :D

[momma2three]

I think this is the point. ;) We are not seeing something concrete. We are revealing in the fact that it is not concrete. ;)

 

Ah, okay, so that's my problem. I like concrete :) Probably even a little too much: I'm that person who goes back and asks for specific instructions a 3rd time just to make sure I have it EXACT. I like the idea of the ephemeral, but I never actually make it work for me.

[justamouse]

Ah, okay, so that's my problem. I like concrete :) Probably even a little too much: I'm that person who goes back and asks for specific instructions a 3rd time just to make sure I have it EXACT. I like the idea of the ephemeral, but I never actually make it work for me.

 

Andrew posted some exactness over on an old thread from 2011 that's been revived-lemme see if I can find it. (I always worry that the WTM police are gonna catch me logged in three times as I search for stuff).

 

Here you go

 

See, I don't agree about CM being the culmination of that thread. I used AO and read CM and still think those AO lists are too history centric in a way that's just not going to work for us anymore. Too much wasted time on 'living books' that weren't the best choices for our days.

 

I was exact too, when I was starting out. What you begin to realize after a while is that you start missing the truly awesome stuff when you're focusing all of your energy on being exact.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Circe is giving us models of how we can teach from this tradition at a "junior" level in our own homes. Really teach -- in a way you likely take for granted -- not just implement other people's methods, in a way that turns homeschooling into yet another fairly mindless household chore. And it's something that we can actually do, right now, with just ourselves and the things we have on hand.

 

I'm glad you have been encouraged by Circe and the other thread. However, what you have written here is highly offensive, not to mention laughable. There are quite a few of us who have enough intelligence, determination, personal vision, and flexibility to home educate our children with other methods without turning the process into a mindless chore.

[melissel]

I'm glad you have been encouraged by Circe and the other thread. However, what you have written here is highly offensive, not to mention laughable. There are quite a few of us who have enough intelligence, determination, personal vision, and flexibility to home educate our children with other methods without turning the process into a mindless chore.

 

But I think that's her point, though. Some of us HAVE let it turn into that mindless chore. I know I have. That's what's making me so miserable. I'm NOT particularly creative or flexible, and I don't have much personal vision, so this year I finally found the "right" curriculum that would help me streamline and automate homeschooling so that it's actually getting done--and we're all miserable. I feel like a taskmaster, DD9 feels like every school day is a grind, and DD6 feels completely left out. "The" thread spoke to those of us who are feeling this way and gave us some ideas for reviving the true education of our children. As you said above, if you feel you're already giving your kids a living, breathing, well-rounded education rather than just checking boxes, then you didn't need the breath of fresh air the thread gave some of us. Your windows are already open!

[sagira]

You make a good point. I think the revelations of that thread don't work as revelations if you're already educating that way. We're up to our ears in good books over here. They've never taken a leave of absence at our house so a call to focus on them was missed on me. Maybe that's why I wanted more. Because I was already doing that. And, yes, I think those who are CM and really walking the walk of her philosophy on a daily basis don't need that reminder so much as those who wanted to be and then lost their way.

 

 

 

So sad. I did feel like that thread was excruciatingly serious. :lol:

 

I personally couldn't care less about an exact definition of classical and if I'm doing it right. I want "Renaissance" children anyway (and by that I mean children who are simply well-rounded; I'm not seeking to measure the children by the philosophical definition of a true Renaissance education). :tongue_smilie: I want kids who can go from reading The Chronicles of Narnia to Calvin and Hobbes, kids who are as keen to go to a Shakespeare play as to see Spiderman at the theatre. (This seems like a good place to brag about the time my kids chose to go to the symphony instead of a party at Chuck E. Cheese that we were invited to for the same afternoon. :D) I want kids who happily eat asparagus and enjoy a treat of cotton candy at the fair. I want balance for my kids.

 

I think it was Janice in NJ who talked about providing an education that consists of opening as many doors as possible. Sometimes you can spend years in a room, but some rooms will only be visited for minutes. The point, at least to me, is to let the children get a glimpse of as many rooms as possible. Locking the door to the rumpus room and only choosing to visit the fancy rooms sounds depressing. And I wonder how much it will backfire on some people.

 

Love this post! Alta Veste, you should be my neighbor - ornot - we would be chatting too much.. At least tea once a month with stimulating conversation :)

[Alte Veste Academy]

But I think that's her point, though. Some of us HAVE let it turn into that mindless chore. I know I have. That's what's making me so miserable. I'm NOT particularly creative or flexible, and I don't have much personal vision, so this year I finally found the "right" curriculum that would help me streamline and automate homeschooling so that it's actually getting done--and we're all miserable. I feel like a taskmaster, DD9 feels like every school day is a grind, and DD6 feels completely left out. "The" thread spoke to those of us who are feeling this way and gave us some ideas for reviving the true education of our children. As you said above, if you feel you're already giving your kids a living, breathing, well-rounded education rather than just checking boxes, then you didn't need the breath of fresh air the thread gave some of us. Your windows are already open!

 

I get that some people have been checking boxes and lost the joy. I get that and I'm glad that thread was like a breath of fresh air for those who needed it. But I've read "the thread" and all the s/o threads and I sense a sort of...superior attitude in a great number of the posts.

Edited March 26, 2012 by Alte Veste Academy

[momtoamiracle]

You make a good point. I think the revelations of that thread don't work as revelations if you're already educating that way. We're up to our ears in good books over here. They've never taken a leave of absence at our house so a call to focus on them was missed on me. Maybe that's why I wanted more. Because I was already doing that. And, yes, I think those who are CM and really walking the walk of her philosophy on a daily basis don't need that reminder so much as those who wanted to be and then lost their way.

 

 

 

So sad. I did feel like that thread was excruciatingly serious. :lol:

 

I personally couldn't care less about an exact definition of classical and if I'm doing it right. I want "Renaissance" children anyway (and by that I mean children who are simply well-rounded; I'm not seeking to measure the children by the philosophical definition of a true Renaissance education). :tongue_smilie: I want kids who can go from reading The Chronicles of Narnia to Calvin and Hobbes, kids who are as keen to go to a Shakespeare play as to see Spiderman at the theatre. (This seems like a good place to brag about the time my kids chose to go to the symphony instead of a party at Chuck E. Cheese that we were invited to for the same afternoon. :D) I want kids who happily eat asparagus and enjoy a treat of cotton candy at the fair. I want balance for my kids.

 

I think it was Janice in NJ who talked about providing an education that consists of opening as many doors as possible. Sometimes you can spend years in a room, but some rooms will only be visited for minutes. The point, at least to me, is to let the children get a glimpse of as many rooms as possible. Locking the door to the rumpus room and only choosing to visit the fancy rooms sounds depressing. And I wonder how much it will backfire on some people.

 

 

 

this is how I view it as well.

 

 

I also feel that I am the best judge of what is good literature for my son. It's all coming from a human's head anyway. What is out of their head and heart may not agree with what I want to be in my son's head or heart. Who is to say what is "great" and what is not? If something I read speaks to me, then I view it as great and worthy to be considered.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Love this post! Alta Veste, you should be my neighbor - ornot - we would be chatting too much.. At least tea once a month with stimulating conversation :)

 

I totally agree! I think our kids would get along well too (although your baby probably would have given me a touch of baby fever...)!