Die Hard Classical Homeschoolers

[Embassy]

Can you help me out?  I did a homeschool philosophies quiz over a year ago.  I just redid it with some changes to the classical category based on suggestions from others.  If you take the quiz, can you tell me if your classical score came out high?

 

You can find it here:  http://eclectic-homeschool.com/homeschool-philosophies-quiz/

[EmseB]

I got a 25 for classical, the next highest result was a 4 for CM. :)

[Guest]

I scored a 9 for Classical and an 8 for both Unit Studies and Thomas Jefferson.

 

I only vaguely recall the previous test, but I remember it didn't match as well as this one seems to.

 

The only thing I think skews my answers a little is where I idealize one thing but reality makes me do something else. So, for example, I think it is a wonderful activity to do nature sketches outside, but I can't just lolly-gag around sketching daffodils on a regular basis. I have become a bigger fn of textbooks and workbooks as my kids got older because I do think they just need to learn the material already, fun and ideal or not.

 

Also, I was a big believer in literature-based learning, but at least one of my kids struggles a lot with languaged-based learning, so again, there's a disparity between my ideals and what is going to actually get the work done.

 

I am very far from an Unschooler and that did show in the quiz correctly.

[Bluegoat]

Hmm.  I consider myself mostly a CM homeschooler, with classical and eclectic probably next in line.  I think unschooling has some important insights as well.

 

My scores said CM 12, Classical 21, Montessori 15, Unschooling 11, Waldorf 12.

 

I found this quiz tricky, there were a lot I had to mark "neither agree nor disagree" because it really isn't as simple as yes or no.  For example, I do think kids learn best when they are really interested, there is a place for child-led and project based learning, but I don't think that is always possible or best for a topic.  Some things they asked about vary a lot depending on the child or subject.  Yes, it's usually better if kids lessons are short enough to be focused, but larger blocks of time can also be good and necessary.

 

I think some of their analysis of what belongs to each group is a little shallow.  I think you can be a die-hard classical homeschooler and not believe kids under 7 should have formal education - I might argue that is a more "classical" view.  I am so not a Waldorf person and didn't really see any questions that really should have put me there, because really Waldorf is not about time outside, age of starting school, or good quality crayons.

[Guest]

Hmm.  I consider myself mostly a CM homeschooler, with classical and eclectic probably next in line.  I think unschooling has some important insights as well.

 

My scores said CM 12, Classical 21, Montessori 15, Unschooling 11, Waldorf 12.

 

I found this quiz tricky, there were a lot I had to mark "neither agree nor disagree" because it really isn't as simple as yes or no.  For example, I do think kids learn best when they are really interested, there is a place for child-led and project based learning, but I don't think that is always possible or best for a topic.  Some things they asked about vary a lot depending on the child or subject.  Yes, it's usually better if kids lessons are short enough to be focused, but larger blocks of time can also be good and necessary.

 

I think some of their analysis of what belongs to each group is a little shallow.  I think you can be a die-hard classical homeschooler and not believe kids under 7 should have formal education - I might argue that is a more "classical" view.  I am so not a Waldorf person and didn't really see any questions that really should have put me there, because really Waldorf is not about time outside, age of starting school, or good quality crayons.

 

:iagree:  I had to answer neither more than I would've cared to. 

 

I scored 20 for classical, and unexpected 14  for unschooling (because that is really not my thing), and then tied at 8's for Montessori and CM. I had a -15 for traditional which made me laugh. 

[eternalsummer]

I also saw no waldorf questions, except maybe the handicrafts and practical work one and the free play until 7 one.   don't confuse the outer trappings of waldorf for the core of the philosophy

[Guest]

I got too irritated by the questions to finish the quiz.  I guess i feel like I am the central character in the old joke, "I used to have six theories of child rearing and no children.  Now I have 6 children and no theories."  

 

I kept substituting phrases into the questions like "can be"--Projects "can be" good ways to explore a subject.  

Or, "for SOME children".  Or "ONE OF THE roles for a parent is..."

 

I pursued our a classical education with ardent focus, and we did it all the way through--homeschool, co-op and private schooling.  But ... sometimes the cost of doing it was too high in terms of personal relationship, social life, recognition of the individual proclivities of both parents and children...  

 

So I get a big fat GOOSE EGG on the test for non-completion.  And I'm actually OK with that.  :0)

 

[Reefgazer]

Mostly classical for me, it seems:

Score for Charlotte Mason: 6

Score for Classical Education: 18

Score for Montessori Education: -3

Score for Project-Based Learning: -14

Score for Reggio-Inspired:-3

Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 8

Score for Traditional Education: -7

Score for Unit Studies Approach: -3

Score for Unschooling Approach: -2

Score for Waldorf Education: 5

 

I feel this is pretty close to who I am.

Edited September 13, 2016 by reefgazer

[bolt.]

I got high marks in Montessori (15) CM and 'unit studies' (13 each) followed by an 11 for classical.

 

I got negative scores for traditional and Thomas Jefferson, and a 0 for Waldorf.

 

I think the answer types need to be changed from the 1-5 agree metric of how much a person 'values' the possible ideas or activitiess. Perhaps sentences like:

 

5: this is essential/critical, extremely important, forms the backbone of my approach

 

4: this is significantly valuable/beneficial, I wouldn't want to neglect to include some of this

 

3: this has some value, in its own place, but not really as a major component or a significant amount of time

 

2: this doesn't have much value me, I tend to avoid it or limit it, but I don't disagree with it

 

1: I consider this wasted time, a detriment to education

Edited September 12, 2016 by bolt.

[FaithManor]

20 for me on classical. Had a -10 on one that I think is a very ecclectic approach, LOL.

[Embassy]

Thanks for all the feedback!

[AK_Mom4]

Sorry this quiz was not a good fit at all for me. Or I wasn't a good fit for the quiz.

 

I got all 1,2 &3s except for 2 items. A +9 for unit studies and a -10 for Reggio (which I have never heard of)

 

We have never successfully completed a unit study. Not once in 11 years of home schooling.

We use a mix of text books - especially now that the kids get older - and classical stuff. I build at least half of the courses myself even with DD in high school.

 

My educational philosophy is that as a parent, I owe my kid the best education she can absorb - whether she wants it or not right now.

[Guest]

I'm not a diehard classical educator but a mix of eclectic/Robinson (which is kind of closest to TJ)/Classical. I began much more classical and adjusted as needed to fit our kids and goals.

 

Score for Charlotte Mason: 3

Score for Classical Education: 19

Score for Montessori Education: 13

Score for Project-Based Learning: -12

Score for Reggio-Inspired:11

Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 13

Score for Traditional Education: -13

Score for Unit Studies Approach: 9

Score for Unschooling Approach: 5

Score for Waldorf Education: -6

 

Some of the criticism I have after taking the test is that it was hard to fit a truly eclectic approach. For example I believe both in the value of great books AND love a well formulated textbook. We do some unit and nature studies but I find prioritizing the basic subject is crucial, especially in lower grades. We want to facilitate areas of talent and passion in our kids so they 'own' their education but I firmly believe a parent can fulfil that by being a strong and engaged teacher and not just going child led.

 

It's so hard to formulate a good quiz, especially since so many of us are varied in our application of what we have learned in teaching just based on the real life people we are educating. I'm very classical in theory, but in practice we have ended up using some units and even some Montessori techniques so the children can learn what needs to be assimilated.

 

Also, a definition section might be helpful. Because I still have no clue what Reggio is?

 

ETA - huh! Found Reggio:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

Edited September 12, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[Guest]

The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based upon the following set of principles:

 

Children must have some control over the direction of their learning;

Children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, and observing;

Children have a relationship with other children and with material items in the world that children must be allowed to explore;

Children must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves.

 

The Reggio Emilia approach to teaching young children puts the natural development of children as well as the close relationships that they share with their environment at the center of its philosophy. The foundation of the Reggio Emilia approach lies in its unique view of the child. In this approach, there is a belief that children have rights and should be given opportunities to develop their potential. “Influenced by this belief, the child is beheld as beautiful, powerful, competent, creative, curious, and full of potential and ambitious desires."[6] The child is also viewed as being an active constructor of knowledge. Rather than being seen as the target of instruction, children are seen as having the active role of an apprentice.[7] This role also extends to that of a researcher. Much of the instruction at Reggio Emilia schools takes place in the form of projects where they have opportunities to explore, observe, hypothesize, question, and discuss to clarify their understanding.[8] Children are also viewed as social beings and a focus is made on the child in relation to other children, the family, the teachers, and the community rather than on each child in isolation.[9]

I don't agree with all of it but mix it with Socratic dialogues and high quality books and I think it's pretty bang on. I like the apprenticeship idea and the individuality of the child, just also believe formal education experiences are equality valuable in creating a holistic, well educated person :)

[mamiof5]

18 for classical. 16 for Montessori, CM, unit studies and Waldorf. Thomas Jefferson, unschooling and traditional also got high numbers (14,11 and 9). Project based was super low.

 

Doesn't surprise me, we have a big mix of stuff and methods going on. Not sure how numeric score is assigned and how accurately describes our schooling? Lots of my answers were neither agree or disagree, since it really depends on the situation, child, subject etc.

 

One time dh asked which was our style, I responded "mish-posh". After a long stare I kind of clarified, probably eclectic with some classical emphasis? Sort of? Just had to give him some piece of mind 😄. It varies per subject too...so, I don't spend too much effort in defining our "style" :-)

[El...]

Wow!  I got 16 for classical, which I expected, an 12 for unschooling!  No others were even close.  Interesting quiz.  I think classical is what we are doing (and what I think works for us) and unschooling is my dream. 

[Susan in TX]

This was my score:

 

Score for Charlotte Mason: 3
Score for Classical Education: 6
Score for Montessori Education: 3
Score for Project-Based Learning: -13
Score for Reggio-Inspired:3
Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: -7
Score for Traditional Education: -4
Score for Unit Studies Approach: -3
Score for Unschooling Approach: 8
Score for Waldorf Education: 11

 

I find it very odd that I scored highest for Waldorf and then unschooling. My homeschooling doesn't fit into either of these categories. I would say that my philosophy is a combination of Traditional and Classical with a bit of CM thrown in.

 

Susan in TX

[TravelingChris]

I got CM 17.  Classical 6 Unit Studies 9 Unschooling 2  Reggio 1 (I had never heard of that one before), and the others were negative or 0.  THomas Jefferson (not sure about that kind ) o.  Montessori -1  Waldorf education -5. project based -6 and finally traditional -11..  

I am no longer homeschooling because my children are all adults but I based it on my ideals.  I didn't do much unit studies in our education but did always mention links to other subjects so I think it worked out that I am mostlu unit studies though I didn't do them.  I definitely am not traditional so that is right and my lunch out today with a few retired school teachers telling stories about the schools has me redoubled on that account.  

[Corraleno]

Odd quiz — I ended up answering "neither" for more than half of them I think. And I'm not sure which questions were being scored as a checkmark for "classical education," since there weren't any questions about the study of classical languages, literature, and culture.

 

My "classical education" score was 3 — yet I have a son who will graduate with 3 years of Latin and 5 of Greek, including multiple gold medals & perfect papers on the NLE/NGE; who has an entire bookcase filled with classical history and literature, some of which he has read in the original languages; who has watched every Teaching Co course on the classical world (some more than once); and who has literally stood in the shadow of Mt Parnassus and climbed the walls of Troy. But apparently none of that would qualify as "classical education" according to the quiz.  :confused1:

Edited September 12, 2016 by Corraleno

[LucyStoner]

What works for one son doesn't work for the other and that leaves me very fuzzy on some answers here.

 

What is more important to me than what kind of homeschooler I am is "what kind of educational approaches best serve the needs of my children?"

[LEK]

Classical it is.

I am very surprised that unschooling was the second top score and only 1 point behind classical, my educational philosophy is very far from an unschooling one.

 

Score for Charlotte Mason: 6
Score for Classical Education: 12
Score for Montessori Education: 9
Score for Project-Based Learning: 3
Score for Reggio-Inspired:6
Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 0
Score for Traditional Education: -14
Score for Unit Studies Approach: 6
Score for Unschooling Approach: 11
Score for Waldorf Education: 3

[lanalouwho]

Definitely classical for me. I expected CM to be a bit higher though

 

Score for Charlotte Mason: 10 

Score for Classical Education: 23 

Score for Montessori Education: 16 

Score for Project-Based Learning: 15 

Score for Reggio-Inspired:8 

Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 11 

Score for Traditional Education: -17 

Score for Unit Studies Approach: 11 

Score for Unschooling Approach: 10 

Score for Waldorf Education: 5 

 

Sent from my HTCD200LVW using Tapatalk

[Erica in OR]

Score for Charlotte Mason: 6 

Score for Classical Education: 21 
Score for Montessori Education: 3 
Score for Project-Based Learning: 6 
Score for Reggio-Inspired:8 
Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 10 
Score for Traditional Education: -10 
Score for Unit Studies Approach: 9 
Score for Unschooling Approach: 0 
Score for Waldorf Education: 5

[Loowit]

Score for Charlotte Mason: 13
Score for Classical Education: 11
Score for Montessori Education: 9
Score for Project-Based Learning: -3
Score for Reggio-Inspired:5
Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 2
Score for Traditional Education: -19
Score for Unit Studies Approach: 3
Score for Unschooling Approach: 3
Score for Waldorf Education: 4

[brehon]

My results for this quiz were very similar to the last quiz. And I still have issues with how the questions were worded, possibly because I teach teens to toddlers. Like Patty I frequently added "sometimes" or "in the early years" or "for some kids". The questions that really stood out to me as being age dependent were the ones dealing with teaching v. mentoring v. facilitating.

[BlsdMama]

Score for Charlotte Mason: 13 
Score for Classical Education: 23 
Score for Montessori Education: 6 
Score for Project-Based Learning: 7 
Score for Reggio-Inspired:-6 
Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 6 
Score for Traditional Education: -12 
Score for Unit Studies Approach: 0 
Score for Unschooling Approach: -9 
Score for Waldorf Education: 5 

 

I'm quite surprised actually.  I thought the questions sounded as though the creator thought that classical and learning outside the classroom were more mutually exclusive, but the scores came out pretty accurately reflective of what I believe, IMO, though I would have expected a reverse of the CM and Classical scores but they would have been my two highest.

[lllll]

nm

Edited October 5, 2016 by Cathi

[EMS83]

Classical 23

Unschooling 21

Charlotte Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Waldorf, and Project-Based all 16

 

The first two are spot on.  I'm not super familiar with Thomas Jefferson or Waldorf education.  Might need to go Google!

Charlotte Mason and Project-Based is hit and miss for us, largely limited by our logistical and developmental circumstances.

 

Other results:

Montessori 14

Unit Studies 13

Reggio-Inspired 11

Traditional -16

 

That's fairly accurate as well.  I'm not familiar with Reggio-Inspired, either.

 

I'm a huge fan of Dr. Mary Hood, who loved both Charlotte Mason and John Holt.  She dubbed her flavor of homeschooling as relaxed, and I've followed suit.  We are relaxed eclectic.

[TX Native]

For the heck of it, I put neither agree nor disagree for all the questions. I received a score of 0 for everything. I thought there might be a neutral homeschool style as an option. My true score on my 2nd test was high on classical and CM. Can I truly be a classical and CM homeschool style mix if I can't stand the Circe Institute podcasts no matter how hard I try to like them?

[Melissa in Australia]

I scored Charlotte Mason 20 Classical 14

[....]

Classical 23

Unschooling 21

Charlotte Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Waldorf, and Project-Based all 16

 

 

 

Lol...my scores were almost the same for Charlotte Mason, Unschooling and Classical.  No wonder our homeschool has so many issues!   :tongue_smilie:

[marbel]

I'm with those who found the quiz a bit frustrating.  I kept thinking "sometimes" or "depends on the subject matter" or "depends on the child."   I was a bit surprised by my results as I thought I'd have a little bit of unschooler in me and have never done a unit study.  

 

 

Score for Charlotte Mason: 17 
Score for Classical Education: 16 
Score for Montessori Education: 8 
Score for Project-Based Learning: 3 
Score for Reggio-Inspired:6 
Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 14 
Score for Traditional Education: -12 
Score for Unit Studies Approach: 6 
Score for Unschooling Approach: 0 
Score for Waldorf Education: 8

[Mimm]

I agree with too many approaches. I agreed with too much on the quiz. :) I had high scores in Classical, Unschooling, Project Based, Unit Studies, Montessori... My highest score was Classical but no one in my house is being educated classically and my lowest (at -20) was Traditional Education. I'm not sure what that means. Does "traditional" mean "what is currently done in public school"? Age segregated, textbooks, schedules, etc? I doubt anyone homeschooling longer than a few years would get a high score there, or they'd be sending their kid to public school (side note: my school age kids are in public school). :) 

 

The thing is, I consider things like project-based learning, or unit studies tools that can be plugged into other styles of schooling. I'm sure there homeschoolers out there that are exclusively unit study homeschoolers (for instance) but I think most people are like this. They combine various ideas and philosophies into what works at this moment, with this kid.

[amsunshine]

My top 3 were:  Classical 21; Montessori 14 and Waldorf 8.

 

My bottom 3 were:  Unschooling 3; Traditional Education 0 and Project Based Learning -9.

 

 

I wouldn't have guessed Waldorf would make my top 3, but I guess it wasn't a strong score.  I definitely am not a fan of project based learning, so that score was no surprise, lol.

[Janeway]

I looked over the quiz and started it. It looked great. But, it did not work for me just because I am one way in the early years and another in the later years. I guess it would work for me in that I could take the test and answer what I think for grammar school and then take it again and answer what I would say for upper school.

[Janeway]

But the quiz is a lot of fun!

 

Here is what I got when I answered based on younger children...

Score for Charlotte Mason: 13 

Score for Classical Education: 21 
Score for Montessori Education: 13 
Score for Project-Based Learning: 6 
Score for Reggio-Inspired:11 
Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 12 
Score for Traditional Education: -23 
Score for Unit Studies Approach: 11 
Score for Unschooling Approach: 15 
Score for Waldorf Education: 13

[Janeway]

But the quiz is a lot of fun!

 

Here is what I got when I answered based on younger children...

Score for Charlotte Mason: 13 

Score for Classical Education: 21 

Score for Montessori Education: 13 

Score for Project-Based Learning: 6 

Score for Reggio-Inspired:11 

Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 12 

Score for Traditional Education: -23 

Score for Unit Studies Approach: 11 

Score for Unschooling Approach: 15 

Score for Waldorf Education: 13

And here is what I got when I answered based on older kids...

 

Score for Charlotte Mason: 9 

Score for Classical Education: 16 

Score for Montessori Education: 3 

Score for Project-Based Learning: -6 

Score for Reggio-Inspired:10 

Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 5 

Score for Traditional Education: 5 

Score for Unit Studies Approach: -3 

Score for Unschooling Approach: -6 

Score for Waldorf Education: 10

[RootAnn]

My highest two scores were Classical & CM (6 & 5, respectively). Everything else was all negative. Apparently, I'm very anti-TJ as that was hugely negative.

I'm highly eclectic with a big classical influence, but I agree with previous posters that the questions weren't worded well in terms of how I could answer them.

[GinaPagnato]

My highest score was for classical (expected this), and my lowest was for project-based learning (TOTALLY expected this!)

 

I hate projects with a fiery passion, lol!

[LindaOz]

Wow. I've used a lot of CM over the years and I just scored a big fat zero for CM. That must reflect my recent swing away from CM writing methods for older kids. But wow - didn't expect a zero.

[LMD]

 

Score for Charlotte Mason: 19

Score for Classical Education: 19

Score for Montessori Education: 8

Score for Project-Based Learning: 2

Score for Reggio-Inspired:0

Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: -1

Score for Traditional Education: -21

Score for Unit Studies Approach: 3

Score for Unschooling Approach: 9

Score for Waldorf Education: 5

 

Even for classical and cm is about right. Next highest is unschooling and montessori which is about right too - I'm not an unschooler but plenty of unstructured, child responsible creative time is important to me.

[Kalmia]

Score for Charlotte Mason: 15
Score for Classical Education: 20
Score for Montessori Education: 3
Score for Project-Based Learning: -9
Score for Reggio-Inspired:5
Score for Thomas Jefferson Education: 2
Score for Traditional Education: -17
Score for Unit Studies Approach: 8
Score for Unschooling Approach: 6
Score for Waldorf Education: 8

 

The two top ones seem right since I used classical and CM methods when I was homeschooling and the very bottom one (traditional education) is definitely my least favorite, but I found myself answering neutrally to an awful lot of questions because I would have had to qualify them to answer in any other way. I have no idea what questions why Waldorf or unit studies came out so high since I do not use any elements of either (unless perhaps it was a focus on nature that tipped toward Waldorf, but there is no way to differentiate between Waldorf and CM nature which are very different ). Some of the questions were repetitive and I found myself thinking that the repeats were wasted opportunities for getting at more subtle differences between philosophies. Other questions had so many elements that I couldn't answer because I agreed with one or two of the things listed but not all.