Midwest Homeschool Conference Lectures, Part 3

I'm really enjoying going through my notes again! It was just too much information to take in all at once, so this really helps. I hope it gives you some good exposure to all the rich information that's out there to encourage you in home education!

4. Susan Wise Bauer & Jessie Wise, "The Well-Trained Mind"

This was very exciting for me - seeing the authors of my favorite homeschool book in person! Since I read their book 6 years ago and have been referring to it ever since, I had a pretty good idea of what they were going to say. Still, seeing them speak really brought some clarity to my classical ideals.

Language is the foundation of a modern classical education. A language intensive education trains the mind to learn and demands self-discipline. In comparison, image-based thinking is simpler and reactive. Given the two options, language vs. image, our brains default to the easier option. Classical education prioritizes the harder way of learning in the early years so it becomes easier as the student grows. Classical education emphasizes written and spoken language as the main way to learn.

Content of a lesson is secondary to the process of learning. The classical educator is not afraid to tell kids to do tasks that aren't immediately pleasurable. But that task must have a benefit down the road. One more tip - a living book means it has an author's name on the cover. Out with textbooks!

So that's the foundation - language. Three walls of classical education are the stages of learning (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and the fourth wall is the use of living books and original sources. I did not take many notes on the stages of learning because I've studied them so long, but if you are curious you should definitely learn about them by checking out The Well-Trained Mind from your library.

The roof of classical education is the chronological study of history. This is what drew me into classical education in the first part. See if you think this makes sense: in year one study the ancients, year two study the middle ages, year three study early modern times, and year four study modern times. Tie in science and literature, repeat twice, and you've got an education! Oh, how I wish I had been educated that way. But wait, I will be educated that way still! Hooray for homeschooling and my second chance at an education!

Okay...I'm getting super excited about starting The Story of the World next year! Better calm down and wrap this up!

I loved seeing Mrs. Wise's and Mrs. Bauer's personalities come through. One big criticism of following The Well-Trained Mind is that it's too much. You can't do it all and it will drive you crazy. But this isn't a day, week, or even year of schooling. This is a life of education. It doesn't all have to be done at once. This book was written by country folks who have given themselves a good education out on the farm. It's not meant to be a tense, stressful way to educate while you run down a checklist of stuff to do. I was worried that I, too would go crazy trying to attain a classical education. But now I think I understand the big picture.

5. Cathy Duffy, "Choosing Curriculum to Fit Each Child"

Cathy Duffy...does that sound familiar? Ahh, so she's the face behind that Cathy Duffy Reviews website that always pops up when I investigate curriculum! Cool.

I should have really paid attention to this lecture, but I only wrote down a single line, "Our tendency is to teach the way we learn best."

This could be a problem.

I definitely wish there was a one size fits all curriculum. We could save so much time and money! And go insane in the process.

I do recall that Mrs. Duffy spoke on learning styles and personality types and how we can pay attention to those when we select curriculum.

Did you see how much curriculum there was to choose from in that gigantic vendor hall???

{sigh} I need to pay more attention to this. Such a shame that I have no notes.