Humans love to argue, so there has always been debate about what works constitute the definitive classics of the Western Canon, and honestly, you may not agree with the value of every book or piece of fine art that people call classic.  Practically, you’ll never have time to explore every classic, so your responsibility is to choose those classics that best meet the vision of your family. What essentials from the inherited knowledge of Western civilization will you study?  Are there certain themes that you and your spouse feel you must cover?  My husband and I require study of certain historical and literary classics from ancient Israel, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, medieval Europe, and colonial America.  We are especially concerned that our kids have a solid foundation in the development of Western thought as it relates to freedom, law, and government.  You may be more concerned with other abstract ideas that would drive the selection of content.

How can you tailor the content of classical education to the unique abilities and interests of your teen?  Since there is such a broad wealth of classic literature in the Western Canon, you can customize the curricula to each child in your family.  Your teen may have a propensity to use his hands in building machines.  Why have him read a boring textbook when he, like Brunelleschi, could read the ancient thoughts of the architect Vetruvius?  You may have a teen who is artistically inclined; select content from the great masters of the Renaissance to study like Raphael, Michelangelo, and Da Vinci.  Study the works, imitate the works, and read definitive biographies about the artists.  Do you have a future thespian in your home?  Let him plumb the depths of works of Homer, Vergil, Shakespeare, and other poets.   The potential for customization is only limited by your vision of your family themes and your teen’s interests.

In establishing a vision, I suggest you create a mock high school transcript to guide your selections. Once you have the big picture for exploration of ideas, you need to squeeze it into a format that would satisfy college admissions officers.  To illustrate, my kids received a full credit for a course that I called “Greek Civilization.”  We read a modern survey to get the historical context of the ideas that were expressed in the ancient histories of Herodotus and Thucydides.  By the way, we only read selections from the ancient documents.  We also read an ancient biographer, Plutarch, on selected famous politicians from ancient Greece.  Basically, I decided what classics I wanted them to study then I created a name for the course.  Become familiar with what your preferred colleges require then adjust your transcript accordingly to reflect what they actually studied.

Finally, as you are establishing a long vision of content, you need to decide who will supervise your teen in the daily discipline of tackling meaningful ideas.  Will you or your spouse assume the primary role like Jesus?  Or will you hire a tutor like Socrates to fill in the gaps in your own availability and knowledge?  Online courses and dual-credit university classes can supplement the daily dialogue that occurs in the home.  If you are leading the charge, you’ll need to construct your first course.  Set aside time to research the Western Canon for selected sources, refresh your own understanding by preparing a survey of what you will cover, and create research and writing prompts that lean toward “why” questions as opposed to “what” questions. Dedicate weekly time to stop and discuss what you are both learning.  Have fun as you wrestle with the meaningful ideas about the fundamental realities of life!

To continue discovering how to customize the high school transcript, complete the following “absorb, do, and connect” activities.

Absorb Activities:

• Watch Crafting the College Application
• Read It’s Never Too Early to Start the Scholarship Search
• Watch How to Keep Accurate Homeschooling Records (x:xx)
• Listen to  (x:xx)
• Read From Transcript to Transformation in Heart of the Matter Online Magazine

Do Activities:

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• Browse Lee Binz’ high school blog The Home Scholar
• Did you know…?
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Connect Activities:

• Complete the pdf Student Gifts Abilities Interests
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Well done!  Now that you have completed the Classical Makeover Beyond the Trivium, you are well on your way to realizing the classical Christian paideia, selecting the classics of the Western Canon that best meet your family’s vision, and customizing a high school transcript that fully reflects your teen’s interests, abilities, and values.  During the high school years, you will continue to refine your vision, so bookmark this page so that it is easy to find the next time that you are working on the high school transcript.