Peggy in Va Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 So are we all part of the urban legend? "Legend has it that hundreds of women not only taught their children classically after being inspired by "The Well-Trained Mind", they actually banded together on an internet chat room and discussed their ups and downs.... "This multitude harassed the countryside, turning out thoughtful, educated children who wore nice shoes and had time to play outside... "Imagine the horror! Families that liked to spend time together! Parents that read aloud to their children! Mummified chickens! "Thankfully, it was only a legend...." :lol::rofl: Before you know it they'll be checking us out on "Snopes" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jami Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 My first thought was that Drew has managed to disagree with Susan and the Trivium view of classical education w/o stooping to insulting people or making us out to be imaginary. Oh well, I guess I don't really care what this woman thinks. She sounds like of bitter but that certainly won't make me read her book. Why in the world should she be bitter?? That's what's odd to me. From her articles it sounds like she tried to do WTM by the book and it didn't fit them. So she adapted it to focus more on the skills taught by the trivium (reading, thinking, speaking), than the stages model. One still learns those skills using WTM. *shrug* It's quite possible her insights would have been a helpful addition, but she's not marketing herself in a wise way at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Wise Bauer Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 My first thought was that Drew has managed to disagree with Susan and the Trivium view of classical education w/o stooping to insulting people or making us out to be imaginary. I couldn't agree more. I think Drew has hold of the wrong end of the stick ;) and I expect he feels the same way about me, but I find his ideas interesting, his posts helpful, and I'm always pleased when I see him here. (which I haven't done for a while...where is PlaidDad, anyway?) SWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 My personal experience is that educating my kids with the WTM as my guide looks NOTHING like our local public schools. NOTHING. Yep. If our local schools were teaching this way, I wouldn't be homeschooling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Oh, oh!! (raising hand and waving wildly) May I write a chapter? I'd like to title it "Color coding success in Excel." LOL! My husband will co-author that with you, he's an Excel master and everything he does is color coded. He also prints them out really tiny, he has very good vision and he's always trying to get the whole thing on one page. Sometimes I bring him a magnifying glass with his papers if they're really small and it's ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 (edited) I haven't had time yet to read everyone's responses about this book, but I did go to Amazon and read some of the sample pages. I took just this one quote from a page as representative of how 'lofty' this author thinks her writing is... "The English word liberal derives from the Latin adjective liberalis which means "freeborn condition" thus explaining why these arts were taught to free men (the elite) while the lower classes were taught the servile arts (derived from the Latin word, servus, meaning "servant")." Can you say RUN-ON?? :D I am not very impressed with her haughtiness. Is anyone going to buy this thing and write an honest review? Ginger Edited April 18, 2009 by Blueridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highereducation Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 (edited) I'll read it, if nobody else does...but her first page gave me a headache, so I guess I'd better buy a supersized bottle of Excedrin to go with it! Edited April 18, 2009 by Highereducation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Mine will be called "Educating the next generation of active learners or how to read while bouncing on an exercise ball" :lol: Mine is "I Could Write Neater For A Dollar: Conflicting Parenting Styles in Working and Homeschooling Mother Families". Yes, I heard this line this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mama Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 LOL!!!! I'm going to write the book "Obsessive Compulsive Chart Making in the Trivium" Oh, please do let me know when this is released. Excel is my friend. Signed, Box-checker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mama Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Oh, oh!! (raising hand and waving wildly) May I write a chapter? I'd like to title it "Color coding success in Excel." :lol::lol::lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 So, basically, what she tried to do wasn't working for her, so she did a little research and tweaked her curriculum until it fit her family. On that basis, why don't all the rest of us have books out? "Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book." ~ Cicero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DianeLockman Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 SWB is an icon in the homeschooling community and deservedly so. She and her mom have inspired a huge following of homeschoolers. In fact, I first heard about homeschooling when I picked up a copy of TWTM at the library in 1999. I am extremely grateful for her contribution to the life-changing decision to pull my kids out of public school. However, as I labored over the years to achieve all that TWTM suggested, I continually fell short, and I am a very organized, type-A high achiever, so I wondered how in the world SWB could do all that she suggested. Trivium Mastery is the culmination of my personal quest to understand and apply the foundational tenets of an historical classical education. I wanted to get back to the core elements of a classical education and strip away all that was unnecessary. What I discovered was liberating. The "one woman" mentioned in the book teaser is not SWB but rather Dorothy Sayers (Oxford, England ~ 1940s) who speculated that there were three developmental stages of child development that correlated to the three "stages" of the classical trivium. In fact, an authentic classical trivium was never taught in chronological stages. Rather, three skills were simultaneously mastered over the student's youth: language, thought, and speech. This revelation freed me to focus on teaching my kids these three skills in whatever fashion best met their particular personality. In this way, I have been able to tailor the curriculum to each child based on their innate gifts, abilities, and interests. Before I ever entertained the idea of publishing my ideas in a book, I wrote blog essays about my findings (see The Classical Scholar) and spoke at state and local homeschooling conventions. I continued to hear the same response: "These ideas are great, but how do you DO it?" So, the book is my attempt to show my readers HOW through essays on the 3 skills and 12 real-life case studies with kids from the ages of 5-13 (the amazon blurb is incorrect -- the oldest kid is not 17). I am working on the sequel to show my readers how to do the high school years, and it should be published sometime next spring. Although I no longer follow the details of TWTM, I deeply respect parents who are able to manage the rigor of this method. You are amazing women, and your children are blessed by your sacrifice. Kindest regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highereducation Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 SWB is an icon in the homeschooling community and deservedly so. She and her mom have inspired a huge following of homeschoolers. In fact, I first heard about homeschooling when I picked up a copy of TWTM at the library in 1999. I am extremely grateful for her contribution to the life-changing decision to pull my kids out of public school. However, as I labored over the years to achieve all that TWTM suggested, I continually fell short, and I am a very organized, type-A high achiever, so I wondered how in the world SWB could do all that she suggested. Trivium Mastery is the culmination of my personal quest to understand and apply the foundational tenets of an historical classical education. I wanted to get back to the core elements of a classical education and strip away all that was unnecessary. What I discovered was liberating. The "one woman" mentioned in the book teaser is not SWB but rather Dorothy Sayers (Oxford, England ~ 1940s) who speculated that there were three developmental stages of child development that correlated to the three "stages" of the classical trivium. In fact, an authentic classical trivium was never taught in chronological stages. Rather, three skills were simultaneously mastered over the student's youth: language, thought, and speech. This revelation freed me to focus on teaching my kids these three skills in whatever fashion best met their particular personality. In this way, I have been able to tailor the curriculum to each child based on their innate gifts, abilities, and interests. Before I ever entertained the idea of publishing my ideas in a book, I wrote blog essays about my findings (see The Classical Scholar) and spoke at state and local homeschooling conventions. I continued to hear the same response: "These ideas are great, but how do you DO it?" So, the book is my attempt to show my readers HOW through essays on the 3 skills and 12 real-life case studies with kids from the ages of 5-13 (the amazon blurb is incorrect -- the oldest kid is not 17). I am working on the sequel to show my readers how to do the high school years, and it should be published sometime next spring. Although I no longer follow the details of TWTM, I deeply respect parents who are able to manage the rigor of this method. You are amazing women, and your children are blessed by your sacrifice. Kindest regards. Best of luck to you, Diane - but if I could make a gentle suggestion, the part that is bolded above would make a wonderful marketing angle, as opposed to what is on Amazon right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DianeLockman Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Thank you for showing grace, Highereducation, in your response. I really appreciate your suggestion; unfortunately, I don't have direct access to the marketing info that appears on amazon, so I am bound to live with it "as is" until I can talk to my publisher on Monday. Ladies, thanks again for your honest reactions. Although some of your comments were painful, I am grateful for your feedback and hope you'll give me a second chance. I'm really not a monster out to capitalize on the success of Susan. I'm a homeschool mom like you sharing what I've learned. Blessings, Diane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Thank you for showing grace, Highereducation, in your response. I really appreciate your suggestion; unfortunately, I don't have direct access to the marketing info that appears on amazon, so I am bound to live with it "as is" until I can talk to my publisher on Monday. Ladies, thanks again for your honest reactions. Although some of your comments were painful, I am grateful for your feedback and hope you'll give me a second chance. I'm really not a monster out to capitalize on the success of Susan. I'm a homeschool mom like you sharing what I've learned. Blessings, Diane I just wanted to say you handled this thread very graciously....we tend to be a tad protective of SWB and TWTM....even though very few of us follow it exactly as outlined. I wish you the best with your book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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