Robinson Curriculum - opinions?

[MomOfABunch]

The Robinson Curriculum was mentioned in another thread. What are your thoughts? If nothing else, it looks like a compilation of a TON of great resources in one easy place. I'm thinking about getting them, and a kindle.

[MomOfABunch]

http://www.robinsoncurriculum.com

[kiana]

1) Almost anything he posts as far as English and History can be found for free since they're public domain.

 

2) There are some serious issues with racial bias in many of his book selections. For example, here is a quote from "By Sheer Pluck", by G.A. Henty. "They are just like children," Mr. Goodenough said. "They are always either laughing or quarrelling. They are good-natured and passionate, indolent, but will work hard for a time; clever up to a certain point, densely stupid beyond. The intelligence of an average negro is about equal to that of a European child of ten years old. A few, a very few, go beyond this, but these are exceptions, just as Shakespeare was an exception to the ordinary intellect of an Englishman. They are fluent talkers, but their ideas are borrowed. They are absolutely without originality, absolutely without inventive power. Living among white men, their imitative faculties enable them to acquire a considerable amount of civilization. Left alone to their own devices they retrograde into a state little above their native savagery." I find statements like this extremely problematic, and certainly would not use his books without reading every one of them myself. I would certainly not consider Henty's books as any sort of history.

 

3) I strongly disagree with his ideas on teaching math. I do not think most children will do well when essentially left alone and told to teach themselves using Saxon's books.

[Farrar]

He's a nutjob. His "curriculum" (aka list of free old books he's selling) contains several outdated and bigoted resources. His idea that children will just do this on their own without any substantial help is a pipe dream.

 

(Sorry, but you did ask. If you agree with the guy, feel free to disregard.)

[73349]

The concept behind it is fine for an adult furthering his/her education. I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole for a K-8 student.

[MomOfABunch]

Thanks for saving me the time of investigating further!

[kwickimom]

He's a nutjob. His "curriculum" (aka list of free old books he's selling) contains several outdated and bigoted resources. His idea that children will just do this on their own without any substantial help is a pipe dream.

 

(Sorry, but you did ask. If you agree with the guy, feel free to disregard.)

 

But his own children do and are all succeeding very well. (I'm not using this curriculum nor am I thinking about it) 

[Farrar]

But his own children do and are all succeeding very well. (I'm not using this curriculum nor am I thinking about it) 

 

I'm sure it works for a few children. But the idea that you can just set every child down with no guidance and let them at a bunch of out of print educational materials and they'll end up well-educated is a pipe dream in my opinion. I also suspect that he did more than he claims (which is nothing - he basically claims he did nothing). I stand by my opinion that it's the biggest load of crock out there in homeschooling. (Well, there's a lot of crock out there in homeschooling, but this is definitely in the top ten.)

[kiana]

I'm sure it works for a few children. But the idea that you can just set every child down with no guidance and let them at a bunch of out of print educational materials and they'll end up well-educated is a pipe dream in my opinion. I also suspect that he did more than he claims (which is nothing - he basically claims he did nothing). I stand by my opinion that it's the biggest load of crock out there in homeschooling. (Well, there's a lot of crock out there in homeschooling, but this is definitely in the top ten.)

Except the youngest, his kids were all at least 7 when their mother died and he started doing this. She had been homeschooling them for some time. I can absolutely see a family pulling around dad after mom dies to try and hold it together, especially if the oldest kids (who were 12, 10, and 9) were basically good kids (which they seem to be) and worked very hard to do so.

 

I don't think that his claim that it's a good idea for every child or that it's the best way to homeschool stands up at all. I could absolutely see it working as a least-bad option for a single parent.

[scott777]

I belonged to the Robinson Facebook group for about a year, and it seemed to me that a large majority were thriving with the RC methods. As a matter of fact, many families had found the RC out of desperation because they were burnt out and failing from their previous homeschooling efforts. Just read the forums here to see such struggles.

 

The RC is far more than a book list. It is a method that develops the student into an independent self guided learner. For my students, we have modified the RC curriculum so that we have added formal history and literature. We don't use the book list. Nonetheless, the method has been a God send with saxon math and hake grammar. You know, "Give a man a Fish....Teach a man to fish".

 

 

Anyway, I am very thankful to have found this book by Doris Leclerc Ball that validates the advantages of independent learning.

 

Revolutionizing Education in America:The TOTIL Method by Doris Leclerc Ball PhD

Link: http://amzn.com/B005X8MQII

[kiwik]

I suspect like unschooling the parents do a lot of work that isn't seen by others.

[Haiku]

I know that people have posted links before to articles about the oldest Robinson children and their academic issues in trying to secure their degrees. I think it has to do with plagiarism but I am not sure. I think there has been at least one lawsuit involved. Perhaps worth looking into when considering the long-term efficacy of the approach.