Classical Homeschooling High SchoolAs high school looms on the horizon, your homeschool teen is close to substantially mastering the three skills of the classical trivium.  Capable of skillfully using the English language to reason and express his thoughts with intelligent coherence, he can now be released to study virtually any discipline in depth! Early in your homeschooling career, you were the primary teacher, but now, you will guide your teen in the acquisition of knowledge and accumulation of graduation credits. The young scholar will now learn to be primarily responsible for his own learning with mom and dad taking a supervisory role as a mentor.

What disciplines are studied?

An authentic classical Christian homeschool uses primary sources (classic histories, literature, philosophies, science, mathematics,and government treatises) to explore meaning.  Secondary sources like surveys are used to supplement the classics and give a cohesive overview. So the idea of “living” books from the earlier years of the homeschool child’s education advances in the teen years as the rising scholar tackles the classics of the past and uses surveys (text and audio) to historically contextualize the meaning.

In this regard, a classical Christian homeschool is very different from a public school.   A course for credit does not merely comprise a textbook, but could include a textbook (serving as the survey), a classic text, and an apprentice  opportunity.  For instance, the student interested in three dimensional spheres might use a geometry textbook, the original classic on geometry written by Euclid, and a CAD-CAM program for designing shapes.

What classic texts are read?

Over the past 2,500 years of Western Civilization, the generally agreed-upon core of a classical education has remained constant while new classics are added to the collection. Hellenistic Greeks like Alexander the Great memorized the legendary epic poems of their past like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Roman senators like Cicero studied the classic epics of Homer and the classic essays of Aristotle. Christian monks studied the classics of Homer, Aristotle, and the classic oratory of Cicero.

Protestant reformers like John Calvin studied the classics of Homer, Aristotle, Cicero, and the classic Christian confessions of Saint Augustine. America’s founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson studied the classics of Homer, Aristotle, Cicero, Saint Augustine, and the classic theology of Calvin. Confederate General Robert E. Lee studied the classics of Homer, Aristotle, Cicero, Saint Augustine, and Calvin. You can see how as time marches on, certain classics endure in the core curriculum while new classics are added as they prove the test of time.

Must the homeschool high school student read all the classics?

No, even if you get an early jump on high school credit because your 12 year old has substantially mastered all three skills of the classical trivium, he would be unable to complete the list of classics before graduation. Most people take a lifetime to read all the classics! The good news is that your rising scholar can tailor his or her content, with your guidance, to include those classics that are most appropriate to his or her own interests, abilities, calling, and family values.

If this were ancient Rome, the rising scholar, having successfully mastered the three skills of the trivium, would move on to the mathematical arts (the quadrivium) which included arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and music theory. If this were the early 1700s, the rising scholar might be reading classic philosophies. Fast forward one hundred years, and you might find that classic histories like Thucydides’ history of the war between ancient Athens and Sparta influenced certain officers of the American Civil War. Vast choices of great variety await the homeschool high school student who desires to study specific areas of interest like military tactics, poetry, political theory, and scientific discoveries!

What else is needed besides classics and surveys?

In order to tackle such weighty material, your homeschool high school teen needs excellent study habits, advanced writing abilities, and the desire to engage in lengthy discussions with the parent or other mentor as the content is explored and understood. Unstructured quiet time to digest the material is also preferable as well as access to a public library or bookstore. Most of all, the rising scholar needs a willing spirit to join the great thinkers of the past and discover the riches of a classical Christian heritage in what some have called “the wisdom of the ages!”