In Adopt a Radical Position, I suggested that home school parents should seek to nurture four unusual qualities in their kids: (1) mastery, (2) self-discipline, (3) interpretation, and (4) influence. Before releasing your child to experience the thrills of step 3, Supervise the Study of Subjects, you need to determine whether mastery of the three skills of the trivium has been attained. Over the next 3 posts, I’ll explore this question:

How do you measure mastery?

The Race

I live in Indianapolis, Indiana, home of the “world’s greatest racing spectacle,” the Indianapolis 500. Every May, nearly 300,000 people gather to watch this exciting 200 lap, 500 mile race. Adrenaline rushes as the cars fly around the track, traveling the length of a football field in one second, at speeds exceeding 220 mph. As drivers compete for placement in the turns, they endure G-force of four times the weight of gravity which is comparable to the G-force of the space shuttle take offs. The sleek fiberglass shell of the Indy car hides a powerful engine that can run at 675 horsepower which is 4 times the speed of an average car. Experienced pit crews perform mechanical magic as they refuel and replace worn tires in an astounding 20 seconds or less. Aggressive, careless, or tired drivers occasionally lose control of their cars, and the yellow caution flags come out when fiery crashes bring the manic race to a screeching halt. Unlike horse races which are over in a few minutes, the Indy car race is a marathon often exceeding three hours!

Imagine for a minute that classical home schooling is an Indy car race. As in the Indy 500, other factors enter into the equation for a successful homeschooling race such as unforeseen circumstances (weather), finances (sponsors), and the community (spectators), but for this post, we’ll focus on the three factors which most impact mastery: your child (the driver), the content (the car), and you, the parent (assuming the roles of both pit crew and clean up crew). But before we tackle the driver, the car, and the crew, let’s define the end of the race.

The Finish Line

Every Indy Car driver dreams of winning the Indy 500. Completing the race is the ultimate goal. In homeschooling, we’re not concerned about finishing before our peers, but we want to finish the race in God’s perfect timing for our particular child. The first race that we need to finish is Step 2, Teach the Skills of the Trivium, so that we can then move on to finish the second race, Step 3, Supervise the Study of Subjects. Both steps culminate in mastery.

According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, the primary definition of the verb “master” is

“to conquer, to bring under control, to overcome, to subdue, to own, to rule, or to solve.”

Powerful images of domination and achievement arise, and, in the purest sense, to master something is to dominate. However, I prefer the second definition in Webster’s which is “to become skilled or proficient in the use of.” To complete the thought left dangling by the above preposition, your task as the classical home school parent is to teach until your child is:

• skilled or proficient in the use of the English language

• skilled or proficient in the use of critical thinking abilities

• skilled or proficient in the use of oral and written communication

Once the trivium race is finished, your job is then to supervise the continued acquisition of skills in areas of interest so that they are on their way to mastery in other areas of expertise.

You know your child has reached mastery when he or she has consummate possession of the skill. Theoretically, full command of language, thought, and communication signals the end of Step 2 and the beginning of Step 3. Practically, your son or daughter needs to have such command of the English language that the vocabulary, complex sentence structure, and literary style of the classics is not overwhelming. The ability to comprehend and wrestle with the meaning of the text is also necessary. Finally, the child who is ready to move on to the supervised study of subjects has the skill to write extensively about the themes of the classics.

The Driver

Some glamourous Indy Car celebrities grow up in renowned racing families, but no matter how famous Daddy was, junior doesn’t just inherit the raw DNA ability to drive. All champions have to learn the basic rules of driving just like every other licensed driver. Once the basics are mastered, then they can then move on to more sophisticated concepts. Your child is no different. He starts as a novice, moves on to apprentice, and eventually becomes a master in his craft.

The Crew

The highly-skilled mechanics who work on Indy Car crews are some of the best in the world. They receive regular training as technology advances. They know their cars and drivers so well that they can anticipate problems and solutions before they crop up. Quick to respond, they are proactive, monitoring the status of the vehicle with wireless radio and detailed gauge readings. To give your kids a classical education, you need to be current on all that you are teaching. Plan time to refresh your memory if you are a little rusty (Mom’s continuing education) or do a little advance reading before you need to teach a concept. You’ll be more confident and serve your children’s needs better if you are prepared. If you find yourself unprepared, that’s ok, too. Declare a reading week and catch up! The kids will love the break!

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In part 2 of this series on mastery, I’ll go into detail about the content to be mastered and share my short “must-know” checklists for language, critical thinking, and communication.

If you haven’t read all the posts under Step 2, Teach the Skills of the Trivium, now is the time to catch up. I’ve got over 30 posts planned for Step 3, Supervise the Study of Subjects, so you want to keep up with me if possible so you’re ready to teach in the fall!

In Three Simple But Significant Steps To A Classical Education, I outlined 3 steps for transitioning to an authentic classical Christian home education. The content that follows is the initial post in an extensive series that explores the components of Step 3, Supervise the Study of Subjects. As each post is published, I’ll add the live link to the master list under the header tab called “Step 3″ so that you can access the entire series. I hope you enjoy this content and gain a fuller understanding of the argument that I am making for adopting a true classical model.

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As the sparkling lights of the symphony hall were dimmed, a hush fell over the crowd. All chattering ceased as the distinguished maestro confidently walked across the stage and silently addressed the musicians with his baton. After many years of diligent practice, the concertmaster was perfectly equipped to escort his audience on a musical journey that would quicken hearts and challenge minds.

Over the years, the maestro had mastered the language of music theory: melody, harmony, and rhythm. The longer he studied music, the more he understood the deeper mysteries of his art. Instruments, movements, and themes became his playground for critical analysis and experimentation. Finally, he learned how to interpret the unique meaning of the music and convey the composer’s intent by coaching the performers in their craft. His mastery of language, thought, and communication within his area of expertise would bless his community tonight during the concert and for many years to come as he continued to influence his culture with his passion for bringing music to life.

The maestro demonstrates four unusual qualities that we want to foster in our rising classical scholars:

• He masters the material.

• He disciplines himself.

• He interprets meaning.

• He influences his culture.

Why call these qualities unusual? Because most of today’s preteens and teenagers are captives of an educational system that breeds opposing characteristics and behaviors. Authentic classical Christian home schooling requires a profound shift in thinking about education. Think about your own public school experience.

Mastery is difficult if you only skim the surface. You went to school for 12 years. You had one textbook for each class. Every textbook had 36 chapters - one chapter for each week of the school year. You read one chapter a week. You were segregated by age into a grade. You studied the same textbook as your peers. That textbook was approved by a committee of certified educators who decided what information every child in your grade needed to know about that particular subject. If you couldn’t keep up with the instruction, you felt like an inadequate failure. If you understood the concepts, you were bored with the repetitive drills. The time restrictions of the calendar dictated the material taught, and there was no leeway for slowing down or accelerating learning.

No time for mastery.

Self-discipline is not necessary if someone tells you what to do. You were assigned a home room, and you had your own desk. You were given a timed schedule. Tardy arrivals and absences were noted on your record. You went where you were told including the bathroom and lunchroom at specific times. You read the chapters, you took the tests, you wrote the essays, and you memorized the material, but for some reason, you can’t remember much of what you learned! You were a good student who did what you were told. Good behavior was dictated not by the heart’s desire, but by the law. As soon as the teacher left the room, chaos broke loose.

No room for learning how to make informed decisions or teach yourself.

Interpretation is impossible when someone else tells you what to think. That committee of certified educators made the important decisions for you about what facts were important in literature, grammar, science, math, social studies, health, home economics, and all the other electives. Surveys, also known as secondary sources, formed the backbone of your education. The highlights of human knowledge were offered. Some might say your education was a mile wide and an inch deep. Education experts decided that you were unable to handle the heavier “classics” (other than a token play by Shakespere or novel by Dickens). Anyway, we all know that the classics are too difficult for teenagers, right? You were required to parrot back the facts that you’d memorized on multiple choice and true-false exams.

No chance for independent thinking or interpretation of meaning.

Influence is negative when your highest goal is self. Public schools no longer teach history; they teach social studies. At the center of all social studies is the individual. Next comes his family then his community then his world. In public school, motivation for action is centered around the individual and his or her vocation. You worked hard to get good grades to get a good job. In our family, we refer to this dilemma as “me is me to me.” If educators dream of shaping kids who will influence their community, these dreams are limited to the creation of “good” citizens although good is defined in a Greek sense and not necessarily a Biblical sense. References to the God of human history are non existent, and as such, young people fail to understand their purpose. Since one of the responses of faith is sacrificial service to others, a major motivation for blessing the community cannot be discussed in public schools. Service to others requires a redirection of focus from the self to the community.

No incentive to influence or share what you have learned with others.

Thankfully, you have chosen a different path for your children! You have the luxury of time to help your rising classical scholars master the three skills of the trivium. You have the luxury of gradually training them to be independent, self-directed thinkers who are responsible for their own learning. You have the luxury of determining your own content so that your kids can learn to grapple with the great ideas of Western Civilization as they read and discuss the classics, selected surveys, and biographies. Finally, you have the extreme privilege of being able to lead your children into an eternal relationship with the Living God, teach them how to use Scripture as the spectacles through which to view the world, and show them how to serve others in a way that influences and blesses. Adopt a counter-cultural stand, and experience the joy of classical Christian homeschooling today!

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Over the next four posts, I’ll explore these qualities (mastery, self-discipline, interpretation, and influence) in detail. Before you can release your kids to the study of subjects, you need to make sure they have mastered the skills of the trivium. But how do we know when they have substantially mastered language, thought, and communication? When is it time to move on to Step 3, Supervise the Study of Subjects? In my next post, we need to answer two questions about Step 2, Teach the Skills of the Trivium: (1) what is to be learned, and (2) how will it be evaluated?