Over the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at four unusual qualities that we hope to foster in our children, especially those older kids who have substantially mastered the three skills of the trivium and are ready to advance towards supervised independent study of subjects. What four qualities are we cultivating? We want our rising classical scholars to:

• Master the material

• Exhibit self-discipline

• Interpret meaning

• Influence culture

Insightful interpretation comes after a full knowledge and understanding of the topic is mastered. You cannot effectively interpret the facts if you no nothing about the underlying causes. The maestro who can bring a musical score to life or the Indy Car driver who can observe the signs of an engine problem have both learned how to interpret meaning because they have exercised self-discipline to become masters of their material. Your children have been observing and accumulating knowledge for years. Now it’s time to interpret the knowledge.

The Simple Question

How can you explain the concept of interpretation to your teens? Some people use the word interpretation as a synonym for translation as in determining the original intent of a foreign language text or conversation. Others use the word interpretation to describe the process of personalizing a dramatic script for public performance. For classical Christian homeschool students and parents, interpretation boils down to one simple question.

What does it mean?

“It” can be an idea, a spoken word, or a deed. The question is the same whether you are reading a text, listening to a conversation, or watching live and recorded action. What is the meaning of this chapter, this lecture, or this documentary?

To interpret is to understand the central message, themes, or truths

Knowing facts is not enough for our kids. Train them to ask the simple question (”what does it mean?”) by consistently asking them to tell you what “it” means as you supervise their work.

The Not-So-Simple Answer

You have enough life experience to know that asking a simple question does not always result in receiving a simple answer. Such is the case with interpretation. The answer is not always clear, nor is the answer always quickly obtained. Sometimes it takes a lot of pondering, exploring, dissecting, and reassembling to figure out the meaning of an idea, word, or deed. Often, especially in the case of the classics, the definitive meaning changes or deepens as each new generation reads and interprets the text while bringing their own perspectives to the material. The classics are considered timeless because they discuss some of the most important questions about being human, so don’t expect simple answers.

For a teen tackling the unabridged classics, understanding the central message takes time and careful thought. In the early childhood years, you have given them the three foundational tools so that they can thoughtfully analyze the possible messages and use the English language to effectively communicate their understanding by summarizing an abstract, composing an essay, or narrating the major points.

But effective communication is not a one-way street. If your kids write or narrate their understanding, you have to be available to listen to their points and ask questions about the idea. They need your participation so that they can wrestle with any counterpoints that you might suggest. Conversations are crucial to clear understanding.

Supervise the Quest for Truth

Many Christian home school parents avoid discussing ideas which are controversial. I have a dear friend who protected her daughter from certain ideas while she was living at home. When her daughter left for college, her faith was shattered because she internalized these new ideas as truth. This young woman now calls herself an atheist and is outraged that her parents withheld the “truth.” My friend’s heart is broken with grief and self-doubt. Should she have discussed both sides of evolution with her daughter? Would things have turned out differently if she and her husband had seriously talked about the opposing position instead of indignantly dismissing the counterpoints as rubbish?

Take this opportunity, while your kids are still living at home, to shepherd them in the discovery of truth. Introduce them to the classics. Don’t be afraid to talk about all the possibilities of meaning. Help them exercise their thinking skills while under your care. If you have trained them in righteousness and not just religion, then they should be able to distinguish truth from falsehood.

“My child, if you accept my words and treasure up my commandments within you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; if you indeed cry out for insight, and raise your voice for understanding; if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures- then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly, guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his faithful ones.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; prudence will watch over you; and understanding will guard you.” (Proverbs 2:1-11 NRSV)

You don’t have to share the point of view of every writer or speaker, but you can learn from those with other viewpoints. Most of the people that your adult children will encounter when they leave your safe home will have viewpoints about the meaning of life that are drastically different from your own. Prepare your children now, while under your tutelage, to use their language, thinking, and communication skills to interpret meaning, using the classics as their laboratory, so that when you finally send them out, they are ready to respond to the world’s biggest questions with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.

* * * * *

Next, we’ll look at three practical methods for interpreting meaning.

For the past two millenia, five principles or canons have governed the creation and execution of classical rhetoric. These five canons form a template for developing and critiquing speeches and written compositions. In canon one, INVENTION, the orator or writer determines the topic, discovers the arguments, and develops the thesis for his speech or essay. Canon two, ARRANGEMENT, was called “dispositio” by the ancient Romans since it involved the disposition or arrangement of the idea and supporting arguments. Contemporary home school parents and even public school teachers spend an enormous amount of time teaching their students how to organize their thoughts often without consistent success. Let’s take a look at how ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and colonial orators arranged their material.

Introduce the Idea

In the beginning of the speech or essay, the debatable idea was introduced. Ancient Romans called the introduction the exordium, and it was during this initial stage that the public speaker established his credibility and authority as an expert on the subject. Often the speaker referred to his knowledge or personal experience with the idea. Of course, the savvy orator selected evidence during the invention stage which highlighted his expertise so that the persuasive appeal of his personal character would lend weight to his arguments. Personal character, reputation, and intelligence were important factors in disposing the audience to listen and respond just as they are important to effective communication today.

Contemporary orators and writers often add a step before the introduction called the “attention-getter.” Quotations, personal stories, jokes, or other compelling statistics open the speech so that the audience is immediately alert and receptive to the speech or essay.

State the Facts

The second part of a classical discourse was called narratio or narration. A narrative account of the facts is provided, and a general explanation of the case or idea is outlined. The current state of affairs or status quo was usually described with vivid word pictures that stirred the emotions and prepared the audience to favorably consider the arguments. Although a direct appeal to accept the arguments was not made at this point, the underlying intention of the narration was to move or persuade. Today, we call this portion of the speech or essay the exposition…the facts are exposed.

Outline the Proposal

Once the facts were stated and summarized, the ancient orator briefly outlined the evidence that was to follow. Contemporary audiences would recognize this ancient practice as the place in the speech where the speaker tells you what he’s going to tell you! For example, after the attention-getter and introduction of the thesis statement, an excellent orator will “sign-post” where he’s going with the speech or essay by using transition words like “first,” “secondly,” “next,” “finally.” Then he launches into the substance of the speech or essay.

Nail the Proof

Called the confirmation, this main body of the speech was devoted to the evidence. Quality content and logical arguments were imperative. It was here that the orator proved the points of his case or debatable idea. Now he would reveal the evidence that was derived during the question portion of the invention stage starting with the least powerful proof and gradually building to the most powerful and convincing proof as the climax of the argument.

The ancient orator used persuasive techniques like appeals to exhort the audience to recognize the benefits that would accrue to each of them if they adopted his position. He often appealed to material, spiritual, or emotional self-interest. (Contemporary copywriters call this technique “what’s in it for me?”) Sometimes, the orator exposed the inherent danger of acting on the opposing idea. Ethical and logical appeals were also made when the orator wanted to move the audience toward decisions of public good like caring for widows and orphans. Above all, the ancient orator appealed to reason or the logic of his case, so it’s not surprising that ancient orators and audiences highly regarded critical thinkers.

Refute the Opposition

This portion of the speech was devoted to answering the counterarguments of one’s opponents. Of course, in order to refute, the orator had to know both sides of the argument. During the invention stage, he gathered evidence for his case and against his case. Often during the speech, the orator asked imaginary questions in anticipation of the objections being raised in the minds of his audience; he then answered these imaginary objections. Sometimes the orator denigrated the authority or credibility of an opponent. At other times, the ancient orator found it useful to reject an alternative idea as immaterial, ridiculous, unnecessary, absurd, false, or morally wrong. Today we regularly reject opposing ideas as too expensive in terms of time and money.

Conclude and Call to Action

The peroration or conclusion of the speech included a summary of the debatable idea, the arguments, and the refutation in a compelling, climactic manner. The Greek word for climax means “ladder,” and a rhetorical climax looks just like a ladder: the words, phrases, and ideas are arranged in a manner of increasing importance often in parallel structure. Usually, a final appeal was made to the listener to act on the orator’s advice.

The Apostle Paul, trained in classical rhetoric, concludes the argument of chapter 4 of The Epistle to the Romans with a climactic conclusion: “we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5 NRSV). Another example from Scripture of a classical conclusion is found in the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah at the end of Matthew, chapter 1. After listing all the generations from Abraham to Jesus, Matthew concludes with “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.” (Matthew 1:17 NRSV). Arguably, the most famous peroration in Scripture could be the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, found in 2 Kings 17:1-22 which concludes the historian’s exposition and arguments for the fall of Israel.

So now I hope you see how important artful arrangement is to the effective communication of the message and the ultimate persuasion of your audience. The orator or writer needs an introduction, a statement of facts, an outline, the proof, the refutation, and the conclusion. Although I’ve just given you a lot of detail, you can really boil classical rhetoric down to the idea, the proof, and the call to action. Canon three, STYLE, is the subject of the next post on “Communicating Well,” skill set three of the classical trivium.

* * * * *

One of the first exercises for teaching classical rhetoric in Quintilian’s Progymnasmata was storytelling. If you have younger kids, prepare them for classical rhetoric now by teaching them how to narrate stories. Read them a story, close the book, and ask them to tell you the story in their own words. If they are having trouble, coach them through the beginning, middle, and end. Teach them how to ask the standard questions: who, what, when, where, how, and why. Eventually, they will learn how to quickly summarize the story which will be useful later when incorporating narratives in their speeches and writing as well as in literary analysis.

Tags: arrangement, attention-getter, classical rhetoric, climax, conclusion, confirmation, counterarguments, critical thinkers, debatable idea, dispositio, effective communication, essay, evidence, exordium, exposition, home school, invention, logical arguments, narratio, narration, orator, organize thoughts, outline, peroration, persuasive appeals, principles of classical rhetoric, proof, public speaker, refutation, speeches, style, thesis, transitions, written compositions

Communicating effectively is not limited to classical discourse like formal speeches or written compositions. Narration is a communication skill that is used in casual conversation more than the other two combined! Think about the countless times during a day that you ask your child questions…

• How did you sleep last night?
• What did you dream about?
• What are your plans for study today?
• What was the book about?
• What would you like for dinner?
• How did you spend your free time this afternoon?
• What do you want to be when you grow up?
• What did you learn from your reading?

Moms and Dads are great at asking questions! But the risk with asking open-ended questions is that you’ll get vague responses like “okay” (how did you sleep) “I can’t remember” (what was the book about), and “I don’t know” (what did you learn today). What you want to do as a classical home educator is draw out your child’s understanding so that he or she is giving you more than one-word grunts. You know that words have the power to change the world, and you want to raise world-changers who are eloquent and persuasive! Train them in giving concise, direct answers so that when they find themselves out in the community and someone asks a question, they are prepared.

So how do you coax your reluctant child to give thoughtful responses to your questions? Socratic Dialogue is one method that we use in our home school to great effect. In this post, I’ll show you how I do it using a real-life example from Meredith’s high school biology course.

Remember that Courtroom Drama?

Unless you are a practicing attorney, you probably haven’t had a lot of experience in using Socratic Dialogue. In fact, attorneys (and some home schoolers) are the only living Westerners who still use this classical tool. Attorneys receive training in Socratic method in law school where they learn to ask leading questions of a witness.

If you have ever been to a legal deposition or watched a courtroom drama, you know that a good prosecutor asks leading questions. In preparation for the trial, the attorney “deposes” the witness. In a deposition, the attorney asks the witness pertinent questions under oath, and a court transcript is created which both the defending and prosecuting teams receive. In deposing the witness, the attorney is trying to arrive at the facts of the case. These facts are the basis for the trial, and a skillful attorney will use these facts in asking leading questions of the witness so that the witness gives him the answers that he wants. Facts are the starting point for your Socratic Dialogue preparation, too.

What are the FACTS?

Just like the attorney, you need to know the facts before you can ask useful leading questions. Unless you are already an expert on the subject matter, you need to read the material along with your child. Now I am not saying that you have to read every single word that the child reads; if you have more than one child, the task of keeping up with all of the weekly reading assignments plus all of your other family responsibilities would be overwhelming! Be selective. You might choose one subtopic from your teenage daughter’s science reading, one chapter from your preteen son’s history reading, and one picture story book to read with your youngest child. (By the way, the Socratic method works well with both fiction or nonfiction.)

In this example, I listened to a Teaching Company Biology lecture with Meredith on DNA called “The Double Helix.” We put on the 30 minute DVD, and we both took “stick and branch” notes (see image to the left - thank you, Andrew Pudewa) as the lecture progressed. We paused the DVD if there were any concepts we didn’t understand. After we watched the entire lesson and outlined the concepts, we both wrote a brief abstract or summary of the notes in paragraph form. This step ensured that we organized our thoughts and clarified any obscurities in the sticks and branches. We follow this same procedure for each lecture.

After Meredith writes her summary, she either reads it to me or lets me read it. Often there is no need for further clarification because I can see from her oral or written narration that she understands the concepts. She has effectively communicated her understanding. However, perhaps there is a concept that I think is particularly important or one that she hasn’t quite captured in her notes. That concept would serve as the subject of my leading questions. (See the blue arrows and the highlighted areas of my notes.)

This gets a little technical, but bear with me. For this example, let’s say that I want to make sure that Meredith understands how nitrogenous bases (A, T, C, G) pair up as they attach to the sugars on the two DNA strands. The sugars on DNA strand #1 have nitrogenous bases (NB) which attach to the NB on DNA strand #2. Imagine that the DNA strands are the side rails on a staircase, and the NB connections are the stair treads. (See the highlighted area in my stick and branch drawing.) Now the tricky thing is NBs are either pyrimidines or purines which means that one is larger than the other one. So the larger NB on DNA strand #1 must attach to the smaller NB on DNA strand #2 (C + G), then the smaller NB on DNA strand #1 must attach to the larger NB on DNA strand #2 (A + T), and so forth all the way down the double helix or the imaginary stair tread would be lopsided, and the double helix would not be a double helix!

Plan the Leading Questions

Now that I know where I want to end up, I can plan the questions. The easiest way to tackle this task is to break the entire concept up into short answer questions like this:

1. What are the 2 nucleic acids on each DNA strand? (sugars and phosphates)
2. What are the 2 types of nitrogenous bases? (purines and pyrimidines)
3. How are the purines different from the pyrimidines? (size - purines are smaller)
4. What are the 2 purines? (adenine: A and guanine: G)
5. What are the 2 pyrimidines? (cytosine: C and thymine: T)
6. Which of the 2 nucleic acids, sugar or phosphate, attaches to the nitrogenous base? (sugar)
7. Can a sugar attach to any of the 4 nitrogenous bases? (yes)
8. If a sugar has a purine nitrogenous base, what must the connecting nitrogenous base be? (pyrimidine)
9. What would happen if a purine attached to a purine on the DNA strand? (the “stair tread” of the double helix would be lopsided, so that it didn’t look like a double helix anymore)

If you have carefully structured your line of questions, your child should end up right where you expected and chances are good that she will understand the steps of the concept better now that she has had to think through them logically. Additionally, as the child answers the questions, you can detect any misunderstandings and discuss them right away. Yes, it would be much easier to just tell them the answers, but then she wouldn’t own her understanding, would she? Socratic Dialogue is an effective communication tool because the child learns to break the concept or idea up into components, organize the thoughts, and relate them to the parent. The conversation usually expands beyond the initial questions as a full-fledged discussion emerges, and your rising classical scholar practices the art of rhetoric through narration and Socratic Dialogue.

* * * * *

Do you have any questions for me on Socratic Dialogue? Please use the comment box below, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Tags: classical discourse, classical home educators, communicating effectively, communication skill, critical thinking, high school, home school, homeschoolers, narration, questions, Rhetoric, socratic dialogue, Socratic method, speeches, think logically, written compositions

Writing consists of two skills: first, the child practices the mechanics of developing correct letters and putting them together in properly spelled words, and secondly, the maturing child practices incorporating meaning into the composition. In this final post of the series, “Learning the Language,” step one of the classical homeschool trivium, I’ll give you concrete steps that you can implement which will help your child master the mechanics of writing. Writing with meaning will be covered later when I discuss step three of the classical trivium, “Communicating Effectively.”

* * * * *

Setting the Stage

You’ve been encouraging your child since birth to expand her spoken language abilities by surrounding her with music, conversations, nursery rhymes, and reading. You’ve gently corrected her when she made mistakes and always respond to her attempts to communicate with praise and excitement. You, your spouse, and her siblings are good role models in that you all love to read. She sees you reading all the time for pleasure and for learning. You read to her every day, and you answer every question with enthusiasm and maybe even more information than she wanted. You’ve looked at the pictures in the books and predicted the story plot line. You’ve shown her that the text moves from left to right and down by using your finger to point out occasional words. You’ve already taught her the Alphabet song. You’ve diligently laid all the necessary groundwork of a rich, literate home where printed text is meaningful and pleasurable to read. Somewhere around the age of 5 or 6 years old, she’ll be ready to acquire another critical skill of language development: writing!

Learning about Letters

Now that she can sing her ABCs reasonably well (even if she slurs the phrase “lmnop”), it’s time to start writing the letters of the alphabet. She may already know the names of some letters from your daily reading-aloud time. You don’t need to purchase an expensive curriculum to teach your kids their ABCs. Just purchase a unlined art sketchbook with smooth paper, or go to Kinkos and have them bind 100 pages in a spiral. You’ll put one letter on each of 26 pages then later you’ll add the letter blends like the sound “sh” and the sound “ck.”

Start with her name. Teach her how to make the letters of her name by saying each letter as you write. Be very specific when you show her how to make each letter. For example, to make the uppercase letter “T” say something like “draw a straight line across” then “now find the middle of the line and draw a straight line down.” Or when showing her how to draw the letter “B” say “start at the top and draw a straight line down” then “go back to the top and draw a fat tummy that points to the right and stops halfway” then draw a 2^nd fat tummy that starts at the center also points right.” Make sure you show her how to write both the uppercase and lowercase letter on the page. Be sure to use the words uppercase and lowercase instead of big and little when describing the letters.

Help her find pictures from magazines that start with each letter, or if you or she are good artists, draw a picture and color it like an apple for the letter “A.” So now you have one page with the uppercase and lowercase letter and a picture or drawing of an object that starts with that letter. When you are finding pictures for the consonants, select images that sound like the single consonant and not a blend. For example, pick a “sock” for the letter “S” and not a “sheltie.” You’ll be adding photos of blends later.

In addition to working in your ABC book, use magnetic letters on the refrigerator, dry erase boards, magna doodles, paint, sand, or play letter games. You can make an easy BINGO board game on cardstock with the letters and letter blends, but don’t just say the letter “D;” say “D as in dog.” I really appreciated the DIY games in Peggy McKay’s book, Games for Reading. Even as the kids got older, we played a reading game every Friday. Make learning the alphabet fun!

Putting it all together in 30 minutes a day

Now that she is becoming familiar with her ABCs, she is ready to begin reading out loud, narrating the story, then writing her synopsis. This will probably be hardest for you because it will take longer, and it might be painful at first as she struggles with pronouncing and deciphering each word, but it is worth the effort! Continue reading out loud to her, but give her 30 minutes a day of dedicated reading time where she reads instead of you. (Caution: many parents make the mistake of discontinuing read-alouds once the child is reading by herself, but this is a big mistake. They need to hear an advanced reader speak difficult words and add inflection, pauses, and emphasis where needed.)

Here are some constructive ways to spend that 30 minute daily reading and writing time. (Don’t worry if you spend more than 30 minutes in the beginning…they’ll pick up speed as they gain proficiency):

1. Select a familiar book that is below her reading level (easy.)

2. Have her read the book out loud.

3. Select a new book from your own collection or from the weekly library trip that is slightly above her abilities. (difficult.)

4. Have her read this book out loud, too.

5. Work on a letter or letter blend in your ABC book, or play a game.

When you think she has mastered her ABCs (both upper and lowercase), you can introduce a handwriting book or purchase a handwriting pad at the local school supply store and create your own contextual words and sentences for her to copy as she practices writing.

Adding narration, dictation, and copywork through stories

When you begin to notice progress, create another blank book for her stories and incorporate this step in the daily routine:

Write a short story together. Let her generate the idea. In the beginning, have her dictate the story, and you write it down. Spell the word back to her before moving on to the next word. Repeat the entire sentence as it is completed. As she progresses in her skills, have her copy your dictation. Eventually, she can write her own story. (It can be 1-2 sentences long in the beginning.)

Here are two options for the story book.

Option one: take a blank piece of copy paper and turn it so that the short side (8 1/2”) is north. Draw a horizontal line about 2/3 down the page. Then draw lines like wide-ruled notebook paper under the horizontal line to fill the bottom 1/3. First she will write the story on the lines, then she’ll illustrate the story above the text. (This is also great for narrating and dictating daily Bible stories.)

Option two: have Kinkos bind 100 blank pages like the alphabet book, but this time use one side for the draft and the opposing side for the final, proofed text. Open the book flat, turn the book sideways so that the 11” side is north and have her write the first draft of the story on the top page. Have her read it and decide if she likes it the way it is. Gently correct any errors with a red pen, and add any new adjectives or details that she wants to add in red. Then have her recopy the edited draft on the bottom page. This is valuable groundwork for the 3^rd stage of the Trivium, “Communicating Effectively.”

Have her read her story to Daddy when he gets home or to brothers and sisters after she’s completed it. Affirmation of her accomplishment will greatly contribute to her joy in her new skills!

* * * * *

So there you have it, step one of the classical trivium, “Learning the Language.” Your children learn the language through hearing, seeing, speaking, and writing.* All efforts to teach the language should result in the ultimate message that language, both spoken and written, has meaning or purpose. Spend the early childhood years helping your child master the language so that they have the necessary tools for steps two and three of the classical trivium, “Thinking Critically” and “Communicating Effectively,” respectively.

Focus your energies on copious amounts of reading of great variety, and dump the public school myth that would have you believe you need to plop the kids down with workbooks and textbooks by subject!

* * * * *

To recap, the posts of this series on “Learning the Language,” are:

Learning the Language through Listening

Reading Aloud: the Key to Language Development

What is the Purpose of Reading?

Is Phonics Instruction Really Necessary for Teaching Reading?

Practicing the Mechanics of Beginning Writing

*(For those of you who are wondering where “English Grammar” is in this laundry list, you’ll have to wait until step 2, “Thinking Critically.” ) If you think this series will encourage a friend who is already homeschooling or thinking about homeschooling, please tell her about The Classical Scholar by forwarding this post.

Originally written in 1999 by the mother-daughter team, Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (revised in 2004) applies the “Lost Tools of Learning” educational theory of Dorothy Sayers to systematically train the child over a twelve year period. The authors are wildly popular within the classical homeschooling community, and rightly so since they satisfied the desires of the many parents who were not classically educated by providing them with a detailed road map, by grade, for the rigorous content of a classical education.

Learning is organized around 3 main stages in a child’s mental development which hypothetically correlate to the 3 stages of the trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The grammar stage comprises the early elementary years when the child is absorbing facts and experiences like a sponge. Both oral and written narration is key to this stage. During the logic stage, the maturing youth begins to critically analyze information while the rhetoric stage involves the refinement of personal communication skills through public speaking and writing.

History is the foundational building block in this philosophical method and is segregated into 4 major periods: ancient, medieval, renaissance or revolutions, and modern. The family who follows this method all 12 years will rotate through each period of history 3 times.

Science and literature are coordinated with the period of history being studied. For example, when the student studies ancient history, he also studies life science which is what the people of that age would have known. Astronomy is studied with medieval history, chemistry is studied with revolutions, and physics is tackled with modern history.

Classical literature like Homer’s Iliad is read three times. During the grammar stage, the parent reads an abridged picture book version; during the logic stage, the student reads an abridged version. Finally, the student reads the original classic during the rhetoric stage. This pattern lends coherence; as the student matures, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom widens and deepens. Latin, formal logic, art, and music are also covered in this approach.

According to the authors, there are three major characteristics of this philosophy. Primarily, the “well-trained mind” classical education is language-focused; the conversion of words (symbols) into mental concepts requires different skills from those required for image-focused methods. Secondarily, skills are built over time in that knowledge is gained (grammar stage), logical tools are acquired to analyze such knowledge (logic stage) , and reasonable personal conclusions are expressed (rhetoric stage.) Finally, to the classical student, all knowledge is interrelated as evidenced by the coordination of disciplines like history, science, and literature.

Not only do the authors provide a thorough analysis of the philosophy of classical education but they also provide extensive practical application in resource lists and schedule by stage. Although rigorous and demanding on both parents and students, the challenge is beneficial. One caution, however, for the parent who is just beginning the classical education journey: don’t try to do everything that is recommended in The Well-Trained Mind; instead, use it as a reference tool and tailor the suggestions to your own family situation.

* * * * *

Are you a fan of Susan Wise Bauer’s four volume, Story of the World, history for children? If so, you might want to download a few excerpts of her newest (released March 2007) adult history, The History of the Ancient World, at Susan Wise Bauer’s Blog.

(Plus, I KNOW you would love her blog! This woman is AMAZING!! She and her husband planted a church with her parents, she home schools four kids, and she writes book after book. She is a 1st generation home schooler, so imagine what your own 1st generation “well-trained mind” kids will do when they grow up!)

* * * * *

If you are interested in sharing ideas with other homeschool parents who relish the home education philosophy of “the well-trained mind,” consider joining one of the following free Yahoo Discussion Groups. [The following descriptions are provided by each Yahoo group.]

WellTrainedMindDscn (2835 members)

“The participants on this list discuss the book “The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home” (TWTM or WTM) by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. Although we have a moderator, we do not have any “experts” — we’re all trying to figure out how to apply these principles in our own home, according to our own experiences. This group is open to all homeschoolers who are interested in learning more about classical education methods. Therefore, although religion may be mentioned, it is not to become a point of contention. The focus of the discussion is to remain on-topic, with short friendly side comments allowed. We will discuss one main topic per week, along with whatever items members want to bring to the group (questions, successes, comments).”

WellTrainedMindFamilies (556 members)

“The families on this list discuss the book “The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home” by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. This group is open to all homeschooling families who are interested in learning more about classical education methods. This list is here to discuss how to implement TWTM into everyday life and all that goes along with it…from legal issues, to book suggestions, to discipline problems, to sleeping issues, to how to teach how to share. We believe homeschooling is 24/7, so for us, basically life is one big school.”

* * * * *

Read more about the home schooling philosophies of John Holt, Charlotte Mason, and Oliver DeMille, and discover that they all encourage love of learning even though different paths are suggested to achieve such a love. Do you need some help verbalizing your own home educational philosophy? My post, “What Is Your Home Education Philosophy?,” offers 10 questions to get you started.

The profound influence of Charlotte Mason, a dedicated educator of young women in Victorian England, continues to shape the lives of many contemporary home educators. During the mid to late 1800s, Miss Charlotte Mason served as headmistress to an “infant “ school, founded a teacher’s college for young women, and wrote numerous books and letters on her philosophy of education. Many parents find the reading of the six volume set entitled The Original Homeschooling Series to be a slow but extremely valuable endeavor. Her focus is often called “the gentle art of learning” and involves narration, copywork, nature notebooks, music and art appreciation, and the use of “living books.” In defining living books, Mason explains that entire works of good, classic literature and original source documents are preferable to textbooks which excise portions of whole books in order to shape agendas. Like John Holt, her philosophy of education centered around a love of learning: “nourish a child daily with loving, right, and noble ideas…which may bear fruit in his life.” Practical advice on cultivating such love is extensive in this six volume series.

* * * * *

If you are interested in sharing ideas with other homeschool parents who embrace Charlotte Mason’s “gentle art of learning” philosophy, consider joining one of the following free Yahoo Discussion Groups. The descriptions of each group come directly from Yahoo.

Cmason (1877 members)

“This list is for persons who are using or are interested in using the Charlotte Mason Philosophy for education (including homeschooling), or to enrich their own lives. We will research and discuss the original Home Education Series by Charlotte Mason but also other materials. While we use a lesson format for topical parent discussions, any CM question is welcome at any time and ‘newbies’ are encouraged to ask questions. For the Summer we will be using quotations directly from the Original Home Schooling Series (found online in our File section) for our weekly topical discussions.”

CM4earlyyears (972 members)

“To discuss the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling for children, ages birth through 6 years. Please realize that Charlotte Mason was NOT an advocate of “formal” schooling for these years, instead, she stressed the formation of habits, exploring, and playing.”

CMSeries (851 members)

“This is a focused list for those wishing to learn more about the Charlotte Mason method of education by reading her books and Parents Review articles, and engaging in discussions of a philosophical nature. We welcome anyone who would like to dig deeper with us into the writings of CM, and who enjoys lively discussions.”

* * * * *

Continue learning about other home education philosophies by reading my posts on John Holt, Susan Wise Bauer/Jessie Wise, and Oliver DeMille who all agree that love of learning is a priority even though their methods differ. Are you still having thinking about your own family’s home education philosophy? Read 10 Questions: What Is Your Home Education Philosophy?